Law Commons^™

New York Times V. Sullivan And The Rhetorics Of Race: A Look At The Briefs, Oral Arguments, And Opinions, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

Given the strife of the Civil Rights Movement that surrounded the case, this article looks back at the use of race in New York Times v. Sullivan. Specifically, the article examines how the advocates, led by Herbert Wechsler for the Times, I. H. Wachtel, William Rogers, and Samuel Pierce for the four ministers, and Roland Nachman for Sullivan, dealt with race in their rhetorics to the Court, both in their merits briefs and their oral arguments, and also how the justices used race in their opinions. Although Justice William Brennan did not explicitly focus on race in his opinion for …

Instrumentalist And Holmesian Voices In The Rhetoric Of Reapportionment: The Opinions Of Justices Brennan And Frankfurter In Baker V. Carr, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

In his autobiography, Chief Justice Earl Warren described Baker v.Carr as “the most important case of [his] tenure on the Court.” Following Brown v. Board of Education by eight years, Baker was the second “blockbuster” case of the Warren Court. Warren felt that, if the progeny of Baker had preceded Brown, Brown would have been unnecessary.

As with other major Supreme Court cases, Baker featured rhetoric from highly influential justices, two of whom in this case were Justice William Brennan and Justice Felix Frankfurter. Justice Brennan would write the groundbreaking opinion for the Court that would be part of “the …

Constructing The Other: U.S. Muslims, Proposed Anti-Sharia Law, And The Constitutional Consequences Of Volatile Intercultural Rhetoric, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

Recently, legislators have proposed, discussed, and passed various laws that aimed to limit the use of foreign law, international law, and Sharia (a branch of Islamic law) in state court systems. Because it became law, one proposed state constitutional amendment that rhetorically linked Sharia to foreign and international law is of particular note. In the 2010 midterm elections, Oklahoma passed State Question 755 (SQ 755), a constitutional amendment that aimed to place restrictions on the use of foreign law, international law, and Sharia in Oklahoma courts.

Laws like Oklahoma’s State Question 755 are problematic for a variety of reasons. One …

A Fractured Establishment's Responses To Social Movement Agitation: The U.S. Supreme Court And The Negotiation Of An Outsider Point Of Entry In Walker V. City Of Birmingham, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

In classical social movement theory, scholars have identified the advocates of change as elements of agitation and the establishment as the entity that responds in an attempt to control the agitators. This classical approach has assumed that the establishment is a generally monolithic entity that responds in a unified manner to the efforts of the advocates of change.

While this approach may accurately characterize some rhetorical situations, it does not necessarily have to characterize all such situations. For example, one could describe the judiciary as a part of the establishment because judges are well-connected and powerful individuals who, in many …

Lifting The Pall Of Orthodoxy: The Need For Hearing A Multitude Of Tongues In And Beyond The Sexual Education Curricula At Public High Schools, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

When public high schools promote heterosexuality at the cost of denying sexual minority youth the opportunity to learn about minority sexualities, these schools contribute to the disastrous situation in which many sexual minority high school students find themselves. This approach, which many public high schools take, is unnecessarily destructive and warrants prompt change. Instead of helping to perpetuate many of the challenges that sexual minority students face in high school, public high schools can and need to help address these challenges.

To establish the case for such a position, this article begins by presenting the plight of many sexual minority …

Under A Critical Race Theory Lens – Brown V. Board Of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone And Its Troubled Legacy, Carlo Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

This critical book review argues that James T. Patterson’s narrative in, "Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy," is a mostly balanced historical reflection. Here, the term balanced will refer to giving consideration to both the negative and positive aspects of the phenomenon in question. To advance its thesis, the book review initially offers an overview of Patterson’s historical narrative and evaluation of the Brown legacy. Then the book review analyzes Patterson’s conclusions through a Critical Race Theory lens. Given the focus of Critical Race Theory on race and the law, especially on how …

The Heightened Standard Of Judicial Review In Cases Of Governmental Gender-Based Discrimination: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’S Influence On The U.S. Supreme Court In Craig V. Boren, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

This paper argues that, as an amicus curiae who was working for the American Civil Liberties Union, Ruth Bader Ginsburg influenced the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision-making in the landmark 1976 case of Craig v. Boren. Craig, which received national news coverage from the New York Times, provided women, and men, with greater protection against governmental gender-based discrimination. In making the argument, this paper initially provides a brief, but essential note on heightened scrutiny in equal protection cases. Next, the paper compares the arguments of Ginsburg and Justice William Brennan, who wrote the opinion of the Court. Finally, the paper explains …

A Key Influence On The Doctrine Of Actual Malice: Justice William Brennan’S Judicial Philosophy At Work In Changing The Law Of Seditious Libel, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

In light of the historical change in the law of seditious libel that New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) prompted and the need for further exploration of the human factors behind the case, this article gives attention to William Brennan’s judicial philosophy at work in the case. The article defines judicial philosophy as a system of guiding principles upon which a judge calls in the process of legal decision-making. Specifically, the article explains how, through Times v. Sullivan, Brennan’s instrumentalist judicial philosophy had an important influence on changing the course of legal protection for criticism of the government in the …