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Full-Text Articles in Law
Precedent, Non-Universal Injunctions, And Judicial Departmentalism: A Model Of Constitutional Adjudication, Howard Wasserman
Precedent, Non-Universal Injunctions, And Judicial Departmentalism: A Model Of Constitutional Adjudication, Howard Wasserman
Faculty Publications
This Article proposes a model of constitutional adjudication that offers a deeper, richer, and more accurate vision than the simple “courts strike down unconstitutional laws” narrative that pervades legal, popular, and political discourse around constitutional litigation. The model rests on five principles:
1) an actionable constitutional violation arises from the actual or threatened enforcement of an invalid law, not the existence of the law itself;
2) the remedy when a law is constitutionally invalid is for the court to halt enforcement;
3) remedies must be particularized to the parties to a case and courts should not issue “universal” or “nationwide” …
Profound Sophistication Or Legal Sophistry, Ediberto Román, Katryna Santa Cruz, Melissa Gonzalez, Dianet Torres
Profound Sophistication Or Legal Sophistry, Ediberto Román, Katryna Santa Cruz, Melissa Gonzalez, Dianet Torres
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Holmes And Brennan, Howard Wasserman
Holmes And Brennan, Howard Wasserman
Faculty Publications
This article jointly examines two legal biographies of two landmark First Amendment decisions and the justices who produced them. In The Great Dissent (Henry Holt and Co. 2013), Thomas Healy explores Oliver Wendell Holmes’s dissent in Abrams v. United States (1919), which arguably laid the cornerstone for modern American free speech jurisprudence. In The Progeny (ABA 2014), Stephen Wermiel and Lee Levine explore William J. Brennan’s majority opinion in New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) and the development and evolution of its progeny over Brennan’s remaining twenty-five years on the Court. The article then explores three ideas: 1) the connections …
Pre-Constitutional Law And Constitutions: Spanish Colonial Law And The Constitution Of Cádiz, M C. Mirow
Pre-Constitutional Law And Constitutions: Spanish Colonial Law And The Constitution Of Cádiz, M C. Mirow
Faculty Publications
This article contributes to the intellectual and legal history of this constitutional document. It also provides a close study of how pre-constitutional laws are employed in writing constitutions. It examines the way Spanish colonial law, known as "derecho indiano" in Spanish, was used in the process of drafting the Constitution and particularly the way these constitutional activities and provisions related to the Americas. The article asserts that this pre-constitutional law was used in three distinct ways: as general knowledge related to the Americas and their institutions; as a source for providing a particular answer to a specific legal question; and …
Judicial Engagement, Written Constitutions, And The Value Of Preservation: The Case Of Individual Rights, Elizabeth Price Foley
Judicial Engagement, Written Constitutions, And The Value Of Preservation: The Case Of Individual Rights, Elizabeth Price Foley
Faculty Publications
When judges alter a written constitution because its original meaning is no longer convenient, useful or modern, they engage in judicial activism. They are actively seeking to modify the written social compact to suit their own, or their perception of society’s, current preferences. Judicial activism is a usurpation of the proper judicial role, and it undermines the proper role of We the People. Only the People may amend the written constitution when a sufficiently large number (i.e., a supermajority) believes strongly enough that a formal, written modification of the social charter is necessary. Judicial engagement refers to the need for …
The Constitution Of Cádiz In Florida, M C. Mirow
The Constitution Of Cádiz In Florida, M C. Mirow
Faculty Publications
The article explores the vibrant constitutional community that existed in St. Augustine and the province of East Florida in the final decade of Spanish control of the area. Based on relatively unexplored primary sources, it reveals a great deal of unknown information about the importance of the Constitution in Florida immediately before the territory was transferred to the United States. The article provides full description of the Constitution's promulgation in 1812 and a second promulgation of the Constitution in 1820 (something unknown in the general literature). It also addresses the construction of the St. Augustine monument to the Constitution erected …
Constitutional Theory In A Nutshell, Thomas E. Baker
Constitutional Theory In A Nutshell, Thomas E. Baker
Faculty Publications
This article provides a nutshell description of the leading theories and identifies some of the leading theorists on the Constitution. The unit of currency here is the academic law review article, not the Supreme Court decision. The citations here provide illustrative examples of the vast body of literature. The discussion provides preliminary sketches of an intellectual landscape that is vast and often foreboding to the beginner. This article is organized around three basic interpretative questions: Who has the authority to interpret the Constitution? What are the legitimate sources of meaning for interpreting the Constitution? How is the Constitution interpreted within …
The Constitutional Implications Of A Cloning Society, Elizabeth Price Foley
The Constitutional Implications Of A Cloning Society, Elizabeth Price Foley
Faculty Publications
This paper examines the social and legal implications of human cloning.
A Symposium Précis, Thomas E. Baker
A Symposium Précis, Thomas E. Baker
Faculty Publications
This article is an introduction to and overview of the Drake University Law School symposium The Constitution and the Internet, held in February of 2001. It highlights important issues including the Constitution and the Internet, civil liberty and the application of a 200 year old document to the modern age of rapidly changing technology.
The Constitutional Implications Of Human Cloning, Elizabeth Price Foley
The Constitutional Implications Of Human Cloning, Elizabeth Price Foley
Faculty Publications
Given the theoretical inevitability of human cloning, this Article attempts to fill a current intellectual void by providing an analysis of the most significant legal implications of cloning human beings. Part II sets forth the basic science behind cloning and how cloning differs from other, non-traditional forms of procreation such as in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination. Part III discusses the most commonly feared “science fiction” abuses associated with human cloning and current laws that may prevent such abuses from occurring. Part IV discusses the possible constitutional impediments to banning human cloning, including the First Amendment, the procreational liberty interest …
Towards A More Perfect Union: Some Thoughts On Amending The Constitution, Thomas E. Baker
Towards A More Perfect Union: Some Thoughts On Amending The Constitution, Thomas E. Baker
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Constitutional Fidelity And The Commerce Clause: A Reply To Professor Ackerman, Elizabeth Price Foley, Elizabeth C. Price
Constitutional Fidelity And The Commerce Clause: A Reply To Professor Ackerman, Elizabeth Price Foley, Elizabeth C. Price
Faculty Publications
Can the Constitution be legitimately, albeit implicitly, amended by the Supreme Court? The possibility of implicit constitutional amendment - most forcefully advocated by Professor Bruce Ackerman as "transformative" Supreme Court decisions - has been articulated to justify, legitimate, and entrench various radical reinterpretations of the Constitution, most notably the New Deal Court's vast expansion of the power to regulate commerce. The article concludes that such implicit constitutional amendments are theoretically illegitimate and provide strong disincentives for "We the People" to become politically active in order to "correct" flaws in the original Constitution or interpretations thereof that are deemed no longer …