Law Commons^™

State Constitutional Rights As Resistance To National Power: Toward A Functional Theory Of State Constitutions, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

In the American legal order, constitutional rights are conventionally understood to apply to and restrain the level of government created by the constitution in which those rights appear. Thus, individual rights in a lower-order constitution are understood to apply solely to the lower level government and to have no relevance to the actions of any higher level of government. This article challenges the conventional understanding by arguing that individual rights appearing in state constitutions can in many circumstances play a meaningful role in restraining the exercise of national power. Specifically, the identification and enforcement of state constitutional rights can serve …

Legal Indeterminacy And Institutional Design, Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Memorandum Of Argument, Supreme Court Of Canada, In Re James R. Demers, Jeffrey C. Tuomala

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Legal And Political Future Of Physician-Assisted Suicide, Larry Palmer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Attitudes About Attitudes, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Justice Scalia's Tax Jurisprudence, Stephen T. Black, Katherine D. Black

Law Faculty Scholarship

Justice Scalia is an outspoken conservative acclaimed for his remarkable intellect and scholarship, and is noted for his adherence to the principle of judicial restraint. He pursues what he insists is an "originalist" path that relies on the Constitution's actual text in decision-making. He works hard to try to maintain constitutional interpretation that does not change from case to case.

So what happens when an "originalist"--concerned that Congress writes imprecise legislation and then leaves its interpretation and application in the hands of administrative agencies or, worse yet, the courts-is forced to deal with tax issues? This article takes a look …

The Modest Promise Of Children’S Relationship Rights, David D. Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Matter Of Constitutional Luck: The General Applicability Requirement In Free Exercise Jurisprudence, Christopher C. Lund

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

The Canon That Tax Penalties Should Be Strictly Construed, Steve R. Johnson

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

The Missing Selves In Constitutional Self-Government, James E. Fleming

Faculty Scholarship

Both Christopher Eisgruber and Jed Rubenfeld have written important books developing sophisticated theories of constitutional self-government. Eisgruber's Constitutional Self-Government' and Rubenfeld's Freedom and Time: A Theory of Constitutional SelfGovernment2 join issue in significant ways, and therefore a dialogue concerning them should prove illuminating. Rubenfeld says his book and Eisgruber's book are somewhat similar, but very different.' Eisgruber says his book and Rubenfeld's book are fairly similar, yet also somewhat different-and where they differ, they sometimes complement one another, or perhaps supply the deficiencies in the other.4 I say the books are very similar-more similar than either recognizes or concedes-and that …

A Six-Three Rule: Reviving Consensus And Deference On The Supreme Court, Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Faculty Scholarship

Over the past three decades, the Supreme Court has struck down federal statutes by a bare majority with unprecedented frequency. This Article shows that five-four decisions regularly overturning acts of Congress are a relatively recent phenomenon, whereas earlier Courts generally exercised judicial review by supermajority voting.

One option is to establish the following rule: The Supreme Court may not declare an act of Congress unconstitutional without a two-thirds majority. The Supreme Court itself could establish this rule internally, just as it has created its nonmajority rules for granting certiorari and holds, or one Justice who would otherwise be the fifth …

Property As A Fundamental Constitutional Right? The German Example, Gregory S. Alexander

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

This article examines an apparent paradox in comparative constitutional law. Property rights are not treated as a fundamental right in American constitutional law; they are, however, under the Basic Law (i.e., constitution) of Germany, a social-welfare state that otherwise gives less weight to property. The article uses this apparent paradox as a vehicle for considering the different reasons why constitutions protect property. It explains the difference between the German and American constitutional treatment of property on the basis of the quite different approaches taken in the two systems to the purposes of constitutional protection of property.

Assassination, The War On Terrorism, And The Constitution, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

Not available.

Property As A Fundamental Constitutional Right? The German Example, Gregory S. Alexander

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Brief Of Amici Curiae Judith Areen Et Al., Grutter V. Bollinger, No. 02-241 (U.S. Feb. 19, 2003), Judith C. Areen, Neal K. Katyal

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Brief Of 13,922 Current Law Students At Accredited American Law Schools As Amici Curiae In Support Of Respondants, Grutter V. Bollinger, No. 02-241 (U.S. Feb. 18, 2003), Julie R. O'Sullivan, Peter J. Rubin

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Thinking Like A Lawyer, Jeffrey C. Tuomala

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Politics And Principle: An Alternative Take On Seth P. Waxman's Defending Congress, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Avoiding Moral Bankruptcy, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

Faced with hundreds of clergy sexual misconduct cases last year, the Archdiocese of Boston hinted that it was considering filing for bankruptcy. Although it is hard to imagine an archdiocese or church filing for bankruptcy, bankruptcy has become an important forum for many social issues that cannot be easily resolved elsewhere. This Article explores the implications of a religious organization bankruptcy filing by focusing on four problems with the bankruptcy alternative: the possibility of dismissal for being filed in bad faith; the question of what church assets are subject to the process; the fact that the church might be subject …

The Rise And Demise Of The Technology-Specific Approach To The First Amendment, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

This article examines how analytical, technological, and doctrinal developments are forcing the courts to reconsider their media-specific approach to assessing the constitutionality of media regulation. In particular, it offers a comprehensive reevaluation of the continuing validity of the Broadcast Model of regulation, which contains features, such as licensing and direct content regulation, that normally would be considered paradigmatic violations of the First Amendment. Specifically, the analysis assesses the theoretical coherence of the traditional justification for extending a lesser degree of First Amendment protection to broadcasting than to other media (i.e., the physical scarcity of the electromagnetic spectrum) as well as …

Race Conscious Affirmative Action By Tax Exempt 501(C)(3) Corporations After Grutter And Gratz, David A. Brennen

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment generally acts as a legal limit on the permissible bounds of government action. Accordingly, public universities and other government entities are constitutionally prohibited from engaging in acts that violate equal protection of the laws. The Supreme Court recently reinforced this point when it ruled, in two related cases, that public universities may consider the race of applicants when making admissions decisions, so long as an applicant's race does not amount to a deciding factor when granting admission. By its very terms, the constitutional limitation imposed by the Equal Protection Clause only directly …

The Uneasy Case For Department Of Justice Control Of Federal Litigation, Neal Devins, Michael Herz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Quo Vadis: The Continuing Metamorphosis Of The Establishment Clause Toward Realistic Substantive Neutrality, Paul E. Salamanca

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

For years, the rhetoric of substantive neutrality has dominated interpretation of the Establishment Clause. Under this approach, courts and commentators purport to ask whether a public policy under scrutiny is likely to affect religious choices in an unacceptable way. In fact, so broadly has this approach been taken that both separationists and accommodationists resort to it freely, although with radically differing perceptions as to when policy becomes unacceptable. Arguably, however, adherents to this approach have paid insufficient attention to religious behavior per se. Had they paid sufficient attention to this phenomenon, they would have been forced to acknowledge that little …

Federalism, U.S. Style, James S. Heller

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Detentions, Military Commissions, Terrorism And Domestic Case Precedent, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Laura Dickinson's recent article in this journal substantially improves appreciation of how the United States has detained suspects and instituted military commissions as well as of the roles played by the controversial procedure and tribunals when fighting terrorism. She meticulously traces how detentions and the commissions evolved, trenchantly criticizes them, and persuasively shows international tribunals' comparative advantage. Dickinson accords relevant domestic case precedent a somewhat laconic analysis, however. For example, she briefly mentions separation-of-powers concerns and Supreme Court opinions that detentions and military commissions implicate while rather tersely assessing Ex parte Quirin, the Second World War decision on which …

Suing Under §1983: The Future After Gonzaga V. Doe, Bradford Mank

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In 2002, the Supreme Court in Gonzaga University v. Doe held that the nondisclosure provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) did not establish an individual right enforceable through 42 U.S.C. §1983. Chief Justice Rehnquist's requirement of clear and unambiguous proof that Congress intended to establish an individual right on behalf of a class including the plaintiff placed an additional burden on plaintiffs by effectively demanding proof that Congress would have wanted thousands of private suits. The requirement eroded the Court's precedent emphasizing the presumptive enforcement of federal statutory rights through §1983. This Article will focus on …

Stopping Time: The Pro-Slavery And 'Irrevocable' Thirteenth Amendment, A. Christopher Bryant

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In the post-secession winter of 1861, both Houses of Congress approved a proposed thirteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Three northern States even ratified the proposal before the Civil War intervened. That version of the thirteenth amendment, introduced in the House by Representative Thomas Corwin of Ohio, purported to prohibit any future amendment granting Congress power to interfere with slavery in the States. The Congressional Globe volumes for the winter 1861 legislative session include rich debates about whether the amending power could be used to limit future exercise of that same authority. Those forgotten debates offer significant insights for modern …

Quirin Revisited, A. Christopher Bryant, Carl Tobias

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In November 2001 President George W. Bush promulgated an Executive Order, premised on Ex Parte Quirin, that authorized the establishment of military commissions as well as purported to eliminate whatever jurisdiction federal courts might have by statute and to deny federal court access to individuals prosecuted or detained for terrorism. This article finds that the profound growth of federal habeas corpus over the last sixty years and the quite narrow holding in Quirin's ultimate determination must guide contemporary application of the precedent. Also, it concludes that federal courts have power not only to assess military commissions' validity in the abstract …

Clarifying The Content-Based/Content Neutral And Content/Viewpoint Determinations, Leslie Gielow Jacobs

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

No Price Too High : Victimless Crimes And The Ninth Amendment, Robert M. Hardaway

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Hardaway argues the criminalization of victimless crimes violates the Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and creates enormous public policy problems in the society. He contends that the Ninth Amendment adjudication model and the concepts of self-determination and the harm principle are the standards to which privacy issues should be litigated. Hardaway contends that privacy issues should be litigated under the standards of the Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution adjudication model, concepts of self-determination, and the harm principle. The Ninth Amendment follows the true beliefs of the founding fathers and their adherence to Natural Law, autonomy, liberty, and the …