Law Commons^™

The Popular Constitutional Canon, Tom Donnelly

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Popular constitutionalism scholarship has often left out the American people. Sure, ordinary citizens make cameo appearances—often through the actions of elected officials and elite movement leaders. However, focusing on high politics among elite actors—even if those actors are not judges—simply is not enough. If popular constitutional views do, indeed, matter, then we can expect constitutional partisans to try to manipulate the processes through which these views emerge. Some constitutional scholars have made a start, reflecting on the importance of the constitutional canon. However, these scholars focus mostly on the legal canon and often ignore its popular analog. At the same …

Striding Out Of Babel: Originalism, Its Critics, And The Promise Of Our American Constitution, André Leduc

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article pursues a therapeutic approach to end the debate over constitutional originalism. For almost fifty years that debate has wrestled with the question whether constitutional interpretations and decisions should look to the original intentions, expectations, and understandings with respect to the constitutional text, and if not, what. Building on a series of prior articles exploring the jurisprudential foundations of the debate, this Article characterizes the debate over originalism as pathological. The Article begins by describing what a constitutional therapy is.

The debate about originalism has been and remains sterile and unproductive, and the lack of progress argues powerfully for …

Semantic Vagueness And Extrajudicial Constitutional Decisionmaking, Anthony O'Rourke

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article integrates two scholarly conversations to shed light on the divergent ways in which courts and legislatures implement constitutional texts. First, there is a vast literature examining the different ways in which courts and extrajudicial institutions, including legislatures, implement the Constitution’s textually vague expressions. Second, in recent years legal philosophers have begun to use philosophy of language to elucidate the relationship between vague legal texts and the content of laws. There is little scholarship, however, that uses philosophy of language to analyze the divergent ways in which legislatures and courts implement vague constitutional provisions. This Article argues that many …

Justice Scalia’S Bottom-Up Approach To Shaping The Law, Meghan J. Ryan

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Justice Antonin Scalia is among the most famous Supreme Court Justices in history. He is known for his originalism and conservative positions, as well as his witty and acerbic legal opinions. One of the reasons Justice Scalia’s opinions are so memorable is his effective use of rhetorical devices, which convey colorful images and understandable ideas. One might expect that such powerful opinions would be effective in shaping the law, but Justice Scalia’s judicial philosophy was often too conservative to persuade a majority of his fellow Justices on the Supreme Court. Further, his regular criticisms of his Supreme Court colleagues were …

What Did They Mean?: How Principles Of Group Communication Can Inform Original Meaning Jurisprudence And Address The Problem Of Collective Intent, W. Matt Morgan

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Magic Words, Kiel Brennan-Marquez

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Broadly speaking, this Article has two goals. The first is to demonstrate the prominence of functionalism in the interpretive practices of the Supreme Court. Reading a case like NFIB, it would be easy to conclude that the tension between labels and function reflects a deep rift in our legal order. On reflection, though, the rift turns out to be something of a mirage. While judicial opinions do occasionally employ the rhetoric of label-formalism, we are all functionalists at heart.

The Article’s second goal is to explore two exceptions to this norm. One is a faux exception—an exception to functionalism that …

Sacrifice And Sacred Honor: Why The Constitution Is A "Suicide Pact", Peter Brandon Bayer

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Most legal scholars and elected officials embrace the popular cliché that “the Constitution is not a suicide pact.” Typically, those commentators extol the “Constitution of necessity,” the supposition that Government, essentially the Executive, may take any action—may abridge or deny any fundamental right—to alleviate a sufficiently serious national security threat. The “Constitution of necessity” is wrong. This Article explains that strict devotion to the “fundamental fairness” principles of the Constitution’s Due Process Clauses is America’s utmost legal and moral duty, surpassing all other considerations, even safety, security and survival.

The analysis begins with the most basic premises: the definition of …

Appeal To Heaven: On The Religious Origins Of The Constitutional Right Of Revolution, John M. Kang

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Metaphors And Modalities: Meditations On Bobbit's Theory Of The Constitution, Ian C. Bartrum

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Introduction: The Last Word? The Constitutional Implications Of Presidential Signing Statements, Charlie Savage

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Presidential Signing Statements In Perspective, Nelson Lund

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Unconstitutionality Of "Signing And Not-Enforcing", Michael B. Rappaport

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Signing Statements: Constitutional And Practical Limits, Louis Fisher

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Pluralism And Public Legal Reason, Lawrence B. Solum

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Comparative And Noncomparative Justice: Some Guidelines For Constitutional Adjudication, Raleigh Hannah Levine, Russell Pannier

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

A Constitutional Defense Of Legislative History, Paul E. Mcgreal

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Ancients, Moderns And Guns, Mark A. Graber

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Superb History, Dubious Constitutional And Political Theory: Comments On Uviller And Merkel, The Militia And The Right To Arms, Sanford Levinson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Authors' Reply To Commentaries On, And Criticisms Of The Militia And The Right To Arms, Or, How The Second Amendment Fell Silent, H. Richard Uviller, William G. Merkel

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Jurisprudential Revolution: Unlocking Human Potential In Grutter And Lawrence, Wilson Huhn

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Constitution And The Other Constitution, Michael Kent Curtis

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In this article, Professor Michael Kent Curtis examines how laws that shape the distribution of wealth intersect with and affect popular sovereignty and free speech and press. He presents this discussion in the context of the effect of the Other Constitution on The Constitution. Professor Curtis begins by taking a close-up look at the current campaign finance system and the concentration of media ownership in a few corporate bodies and argues that both affect the way in which various political issues are presented to the public, if at all. Professor Curtis continues by talking about the origins of our constitutional …

Law And Human Dignity: The Judicial Soul Of Justice Brennan, Stephen J. Wermiel

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The concept of human dignity has emerged in the United States in recent decades as an important theoretical and sometimes practical source of individual rights and liberties. Human dignity is cited in jurisprudential writings and discussed in some court opinions as a means of enhancing the broad phrases of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. This Essay examines the pivotal role that the late Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., played on the United States Supreme Court in making concepts of human dignity a valued and essential part of rights formulation. This essay explores Justice Brennan 's vision of …

The Moral Failure Of The Clear And Present Danger Test, David R. Dow

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The clear and present danger test has been used for almost a century to determine the speech the government may restrain. This test assumes that at some point speech transforms into an act and at that moment the speech becomes punishable. Under the clear and present danger test, the First Amendment does not protect speech that is an incitement to imminent lawless action. Professor Dow suggests that the clear and present danger test protects too little speech. He posits that speech should be protected unless the following three conditions are met: (1) the speaker's specific intent in uttering the words …

Justice John Marshall Harlan As Prophet: The Plessy Dissenter's Color-Blind Constitution, Molly Townes O'Brien

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The concept of color-blindness has long elicited much debate over its precise meaning and the role it should play in jurisprudence. Such debate was catalyzed by Justice John Marshall Harlan's well-known Plessy dissent. In the wake of the efforts of both civil rights activists and conservatives to use color-blindness to further their respective goals, Professor O'Brien seeks to clarify Harlan's vision of color-blind jurisprudence and examines the ways in which recent Supreme Court decisions echo Harlan's concepts regarding a color-blind constitution.

Professor O'Brien first provides a brief introduction to the concept of color-blindness. O'Brien then examines Harlan's experiences in politics …

Justice Or Injustice For The Poor?: A Look At The Constitutionality Of Congressional Restrictions On Legal Services, J. Dwight Yoder

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Upon enacting the Legal Services Corporation Act in 1974, Congress created the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), which provides federal funding to grantees that perform legal services for low-income individuals. In recent years, Congress has enacted restrictions upon grantees' receipt of such federal funding, limiting the legal services these legal aid attorneys can provide to their clients. This move has sparked great debate. Proponents of the restrictions argue that they are needed to correct abuse and misuse of the legal services program, while opponents argue that the restrictions only harm low-income individuals.

In this Note, the author addresses this controversial issue …

Seventh Amendment Right To Jury Trial In Non-Article Iii Proceedings: A Study In Dysfunctional Constitutional Theory, Martin H. Redish, Daniel J. La Fave

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The right to a jury trial in civil cases, as enumerated in the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, is an integral part of the Bill of Rights. Nevertheless, in this Article, Professor Redish and Mr. La Fave argue that the Supreme Court has failed to preserve this right when Congress has relegated claims to a non-Article III forum. Furthermore, they argue, the Court has done so without providing any basis in constitutional theory to justify such a relinquishment.

Professor Redish and Mr. La Fave first examine the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Seventh Amendment in instances where Congress …