Law Commons^™

The Death Of The Income Tax (Or, The Rise Of America’S Universal Wage Tax), Edward J. Mccaffery

Indiana Law Journal

The killing of the income tax has not been open and notorious: such is not the style of contemporary politics. As with other markers of progressive social policy—the promises of universal health care, Obamacare, come to mind6—the income tax is dying a death by stealth, albeit stealth played out in plain view. The plot lines of the tragedy are apparent. The individual “income” tax has been split in two. One tax, for the masses, is a simple, increasingly formless wage tax. This wage/income tax adds higher brackets onto the payroll tax, the model toward which the wage/income tax aims, to …

Madison's Hope: Virtue, Self-Interest, And The Design Of Electoral Systems, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

In recent years, perhaps no institution of American governance has been so thoroughly and consistently excoriated by legal theorists as the familiar American system of winner-take-all elections. The winner-take-all system is said to waste votes, lead to majority monopolization of political power, and cause the under representation and consequent social and economic subordination of political minorities. Some political scientists have attempted to defend winner-take-all systems on the ground that they perform better than PR in maximizing long-term collective and social interests. This article argues, in contrast, that winner-take-all electoral systems rest upon, and can be adequately defended, if at all, …

Restricting Public Employees' Political Activities: Good Government Or Partisan Politics?, Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler

Faculty Publications

The article starts by reviewing, in Part II, the history of the regulation of political activities by public employees, and in Part III, the regulation of patronage. Part IV develops the argument that both sets of regulations, although justified on different grounds, are better understood as political control mechanisms. Part V provides some empirical evidence for this argument by examining voting patterns on federal legislation restricting public employees' political activities. Part VI discusses the relationship of these laws to public sector unionization. Part VII concludes the article.

Choosing Justices: A Political Appointments Process And The Wages Of Judicial Supremacy, John C. Yoo

Michigan Law Review

William H. Rehnquist is not going to be Chief Justice forever - much to the chagrin of Republicans, no doubt. In the last century, Supreme Court Justices have retired, on average, at the age of seventy-one after approximately fourteen years on the bench. By the end of the term of the President we elect this November, Chief Justice Rehnquist will have served on the Supreme Court for thirty-two years and reached the age of eighty. The law of averages suggests that Chief Justice Rehnquist is likely to retire in the next presidential term. In addition to replacing Chief Justice Rehnquist, …

When A King Speaks Of God; When God Speaks To A King: Faith, Politics, Tax Exempt Status, And The Constitution In The Clinton Administration, Randy Lee

Law and Contemporary Problems

In considering the guidance the executive branch of government has provided to resolve questions relating to religious freedom and the issue of church and state, Lee draws upon the positions of both the IRS and the President. Initially, he concludes that when the state requires churches committed to speaking truth in the public square to choose between publicizing their beliefs and remaining tax-exempt, it burdens the free exercise of religion.

Religion And The Law In The Clinton Era: An Anti-Madisonian Legacy, Marci A. Hamilton

Law and Contemporary Problems

Hamilton first examines Pres Bill Clinton's rhetoric, and then his Administration's actions to promote religious free exercise. She hopes to show that the Administration has integrated religious entities into administrative agenda-setting, which is consciously intended to serve religious ends.

The Culture Of Belief And The Politics Of Religion, William P. Marshall

Law and Contemporary Problems

Religion has stood at the center of the American stage during the years of Bill Clinton's presidency. Marshall argues that the political manifestation of religion is not confined to the instances when religion becomes involved in express political activity, such as lobbying or partisan politics, but rather, religion must be understood as a pervasive social force that has an inevitable political effect.

Taking Economic Equality Off The Table, Gene R. Nichol

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Privacy, Cyberspace, And Democracy: A Case Study, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of The Public Trust Doctrine And The Degradation Of Trust Re- Sources: Courts, Trustees And Political Power In Wisconsin, Melissa K. Scanlan

Melissa K. Scanlan

The public trust doctrine is rooted in ancient Roman law and the Wisconsin Constitution. Ancient Roman jurists be- lieved that the natural law concept that the waters are common to all was not subject to the changing whims of legis- latures. Similarly, modern theorists assert that a constitutionally-based doctrine will be more insulated from politics. This Comment demonstrates the limits of these theories. The trust doctrine is not immutable. Based on interviews with the trustees of Wisconsin's water resources, this Comment uncovers the constraints on the trustees. It shows that trust resources are at risk due to politically-motivated decisions and …

Law, Ethics, And Religion In The Public Square: Principles Of Restraint And Withdrawal, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

In recent years, scholars have begun to recognize and discuss the profound questions that arise in attempting to determine the place of religion in the law and the legal profession. This discussion has emerged on at least two separate yet related levels. On one level, scholars have debated the place of religion in various segments of the public sphere, including law and politics. On a second level, lawyers have expressed the aim to place their professional values and obligations in the context of their overriding religious obligations. This article explores, from both an ethical and jurisprudential perspective, the question of …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ten Years Of Randomized Jurisprudence: Amending The Special Needs Doctrine, Robert D. Dodson

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Noriega V. Hernández Colón: Political Persecution Under Therapeutic Scrutiny, Roberto P. Aponte Toro

Seattle University Law Review

Therapeutic jurisprudence is a relatively young school of thought. One of its major attractions to the academic community has been its claim that society could use the law, both at the legislative and adjudicatory level, to promote the psychological well-being of those affected by the law. In this commentary, I want to share a little known decision of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico regarding police persecution of political minorities. It is my contention that looking at this decision through the lens of therapeutic jurisprudence, one may discover a serious effort by the court to heal very divisive wounds on …

The Culture Of Belief And The Politics Of Religion, William P. Marshall

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

If Taxpayers Can't Be Fooled, Maybe Congress Can: A Public Choice Perspective On The Tax Transition Debate, Kyle D. Logue

Reviews

In When Rules Change: An Economic and Political Analysis of Transition Relief and Retroactivity , Shaviro takes the various strands of the existing literature on retroactivity and weaves them together, applying his unique combination of legal expertise, political pragmatism, and theoretical sophistication in public finance economics as well as political science. The result is a subtle, balanced, and scholarly treatise on transition relief and retroactivity that should serve as the starting point for all future research in the field. In its stated objectives, the book is admirably ambitious.

This Review will, in a broad sense, follow Shaviro's characterization of the …