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The Countermajoritarian Classics (And An Upside Down Theory Of Judicial Review), Corinna Barrett Lain Aug 2010

The Countermajoritarian Classics (And An Upside Down Theory Of Judicial Review), Corinna Barrett Lain

Corinna Lain

Brown v. Board of Education. Engel v. Vitale. Miranda v. Arizona. Furman v. Georgia. Roe v. Wade. Within the academy, these countermajoritarian classics stand as a testament to the Supreme Court’s willingness to thwart the will of a national majority in the name of minority rights. Yet a historical examination of these cases reveals a dramatically different narrative, illustrating just how majoritarian even ostensibly countermajoritarian cases can be. Indeed, in several of these cases, the Court’s ruling was so majoritarian, so consistent with national public opinion, that it only looked countermajoritarian because the seemingly majoritarian stance of the democratically elected …


Hotness Discrimination: Appearance Discrimination As A Mirror For Reflecting On The Body Of Employment Discrimination Law, William R. Corbett Jun 2010

Hotness Discrimination: Appearance Discrimination As A Mirror For Reflecting On The Body Of Employment Discrimination Law, William R. Corbett

William R. Corbett

Abstract for Hotness Discrimination: Appearance Discrimination as a Mirror for Reflecting on the Body of Employment Discrimination Law William R. Corbett This essay considers the topic of appearance-based employment discrimination. The essay introduces the topic by juxtaposing the “hot” story of the summer, the bank employee who claims that she was fired for “being too hot,” with Professor Deborah Rhode’s recently published book, The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law. In the essay, I argue that although appearance discrimination is one of the most common forms of discrimination in employment and other areas of life and …


In Search Of A Theory Of Deference: The Eighth Amendment, Democratic Pedigree, And Constitutional Decisionmaking, Eric Berger Feb 2010

In Search Of A Theory Of Deference: The Eighth Amendment, Democratic Pedigree, And Constitutional Decisionmaking, Eric Berger

Eric Berger

The Supreme Court’s recent Eighth Amendment death penalty case law is in disarray, and the confusion is symptomatic of a larger problem in constitutional doctrine. In Baze v. Rees and Kennedy v. Louisiana, the Court approached the challenged state policies with vastly different levels of deference. Though the Court purported to apply longstanding Eighth Amendment tests in both cases, Baze was highly deferential to state policy, and Kennedy was not deferential at all. Remarkably, neither the Court nor legal scholars have acknowledged, let alone justified, these contrasting approaches. This article proposes a theory of deference to address this discrepancy. Courts …


The Roberts’S Supreme Court Takes A Sledge Hammer To Ashwander And Cautious Constitutional Jurisprudence: Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission, Allen E. Shoenberger Feb 2010

The Roberts’S Supreme Court Takes A Sledge Hammer To Ashwander And Cautious Constitutional Jurisprudence: Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission, Allen E. Shoenberger

Allen E Shoenberger

The methodology of the Supreme Court in its recent decision permitting unlimited corporate financing of election advertisements is more troubling that the specific holding. All signs of constitutional restraint are abandoned as the court employs a sledgehammer to smash Congresses attempt to eliminate the actuality and fear of corruption from electoral politics.


Disappearing Civil Liberties: The Case Of Post-9/11 Fiction, Carla Spivack Dec 2009

Disappearing Civil Liberties: The Case Of Post-9/11 Fiction, Carla Spivack

Carla Spivack

No abstract provided.