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Erlandson V. Kiffmeyer: Minnesota’S Absentee Voting Laws Following The Sudden Death Of Incumbent Candidate Paul Wellstone, Elizabeth M. Brama
Erlandson V. Kiffmeyer: Minnesota’S Absentee Voting Laws Following The Sudden Death Of Incumbent Candidate Paul Wellstone, Elizabeth M. Brama
William Mitchell Law Review
This article addresses the legal and practical effects of Senator Wellstone's death and the court's absentee ballot decision in Erlandson v. Kiffmeyer. Part II discusses other, surprisingly common, instances when a candidate has died or withdrawn close to an election, and examines Minnesota's approach to pre-election vacancies. Part III explores the Erlandson decision and the facts giving rise to it. Part IV then analyzes the court's decision and the legislature's reaction to it. Finally, Part V concludes that if the state has an acknowledged goal of enfranchising absentee voters even after an unexpected, catastrophic event, then state law must be …
The Quicksands Of Originalism: Interpreting Minnesota’S Constitutional Past, Douglas A. Hedin
The Quicksands Of Originalism: Interpreting Minnesota’S Constitutional Past, Douglas A. Hedin
William Mitchell Law Review
There are several varieties of the “originalist” school of constitutional thought, but all subscribe in one degree or another to the belief that a constitutional clause should be interpreted according to its original meaning or the original intent of its authors. That original understanding or intent can be discerned from the text of the clause, the history of its drafting and ratification and, sometimes, early practices and court decisions interpreting that clause. It rightly has been called a “grand theory” because it is simple and clear, explains so much, and it has the almost irresistible attraction of being anchored firmly …
The Creativity Of The Common-Law Judge: The Jurisprudence Of William Mitchell, Charles J. Reid Jr.
The Creativity Of The Common-Law Judge: The Jurisprudence Of William Mitchell, Charles J. Reid Jr.
William Mitchell Law Review
Mitchell's presence graced the Minnesota Supreme Court for nearly nineteen years, from 1881 to 1900. His output was prodigious. He produced nearly 1600 judicial opinions. It has been estimated “that excluding Sundays, and allowing a month in each year for vacation, Judge Mitchell wrote one opinion in every three days for nineteen years.” Indeed, “[i]n point of numbers, his opinions exceed those of any other justice of the Supreme Court of his state, or the nation.” It is one aspect, perhaps the central aspect, the unifying theme of this prolific body of work, that is the focus of this essay: …