Law Commons^™

Religious Exemption Or Exceptionalism? Exploring The Tension Of First Amendment Religion Protections & Civil Rights Progress Within The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Richael Faithful

Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The District of Columbia (D.C.) marked a landmark civil rights achievement in December 2009 when the city passed the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act. The law’s enactment allowed D.C. to become the sixth jurisdiction to sanction same-sex marriage in the United States. Supporters hailed the law as a victory for lesbian and gay equality, while detractors vowed that their efforts to traditionally define marriage would continue.

Among the most public opponents of the law was the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, which operates Catholic Charities, a leading service provider to low-income residents in the metropolitan area. The Catholic …

Filling The Criminal Liability Gap For Private Military Contractors Abroad: U.S. V. Slough And The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act Of 2010, Missye Brickell

Legislation and Policy Brief

To ensure that all contractors who commit crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan can be prosecuted effectively in the United States, Congress must pass legislation to update Federal criminal law and fill the gaps that may leave certain types of contractors free from any criminal liability. The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2010 (CEJA) attempts to do just that, and while it may deter some PMCs from participating in the U.S. military and security contracting market, the benefits of having a fully accountable U.S. legal system outweigh the drawbacks for individual contracting companies.

“Bring[Ing] Our Enemies To Justice”: Terrorism And The Court, Anna Elazan

Legislation and Policy Brief

This article focuses on the venue of Mohammad’s trial and is broken into three sections. The first section reviews the historical use of military tribunals. This section begins by looking at the basis for Presidential authority to authorize the use of military commissions. This section then outlines the first use of military commissions since World War II. President George W. Bush’s authorization parallels the provisions in President Franklin Roosevelt’s authorization of the use of commissions in the 1940s. However, following authorization, the military commissions were subject to judicial challenges and significant revision by Congress. Finally, this section tracks recent developments …

“For Any Reason”: Paper Promises To Protect Service Members, Tami Martin

Legislation and Policy Brief

In short, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) is the law that prohibits lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals from serving openly in the military. Despite the fact that the Obama Administration has yet to fulfill the campaign promise of ending DADT, many believe the question is more "when" than "if" it will be repealed. Much attention has focused on ending the policy, but it is also important to consider what might happen after repeal. This article briefly examines the history of DADT, major policies meant to protect service members from harassment they experience because of their actual or perceived sexual …

The Limits Of Presidential Recess Appointment Power, Michael Mcnerney

Legislation and Policy Brief

The purpose of this article is to examine the constitutional, legislative, and traditional authority of the President to make recess appointments. The second section discusses the background of the current debate by framing the issue in the context of recent controversial appointments. The third section examines the constitutional language and common law interpretation of the President’s authority. The fourth section looks at appointment power legislation passed by Congress. The fifth section provides parliamentary and legislative recommendations for Congress to act upon to keep its authority. The article concludes by providing a final examination of the reason for a limited presidential …

Expanding The Scope Of The Good-Faith Exception To The Exclusionary Rule To Include A Law Enforcement Officer's Reasonable Reliance On Well-Settled Case Law That Is Subsequently Overruled, Ross Oklewicz

Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In 2009, the Supreme Court handed down several important decisions on criminal procedure. Perhaps unanticipated at the time, two of those decisions have been read together by lower courts to reach dramatically different results. The emerging split has been sharp, bringing with it urgent calls for the Court to intervene.

Laying the foundation for the conflicting decisions was New York v. Belton, in which the Supreme Court held that “when a policeman has made a lawful custodial arrest of the occupant of an automobile, he may, as a contemporaneous incident of that arrest, search the passenger compartment of the automobile” …

Stepping Out Of The Vehicle: The Potential Of Arizona V. Gant To End Automatic Searches Incident To Arrest Beyond The Vehicular Context, Angad Singh

Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

“Because the law says we can do it” was the response Officer Griffith offered when asked why officers searched Rodney Gant’s car when he was arrested for driving with a suspended license. Officer Griffith’s honest answer exemplifies the effect of prior Supreme Court decisions on search incident to arrest power in the vehicle context: that a vehicle search incident to arrest is a police entitlement divorced from any rationale whatsoever. Concerns for officer safety and preservation of evidence -- legal justifications that generally permit warrantless searches incident to arrest generally -- had been utterly abandoned by the Court in the …

One Free Swerve? Requiring Police To Corroborate Anonymous Tips In Order To Establish Reasonable Suspicion For Warrantless Seizure Of Alleged Drunk Drivers, Michael B. Kunz

Distinguished Student Research Papers

The Supreme Court holds that warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively unreasonable. Nonetheless, the Court has carved out exceptions that give law enforcement officials considerable flexibility with which to conduct their day-to-day criminal investigations. One such exception to the warrant requirement is that police may stop and question an individual so long as the detaining officer has a reasonable belief that criminal activity may be taking place. Furthermore, the Court permits this requisite reasonable suspicion to be based on information provided by third-party sources, and has identified specific limits as to the type and quality of information police may use. …

Judicial Erasure Of Mixed-Race Discrimination, Nancy Leong

American University Law Review

Jurisprudential remedies for racial discrimination presume the existence of clear categories. Indeed, Carolene Products’ classic allusion to “discrete and insular minorities” evokes racial groups that are readily identified and defined. Yet this reliance on categories renders antidiscrimination jurisprudence inhospitable to claims brought by individuals identified as multiracial and discriminated against on that basis. By addressing racial discrimination exclusively through categories, courts have lost sight of the fact that the purpose of antidiscrimination law is not to protect individuals from discrimination based on membership in recognized categories, but rather to protect individuals from the harms inflicted by racism.

This Article explores …

Expanding The Scope Of The Good-Faith Exception To The Exclusionary Rule To Include A Law Enforcement Officer's Reasonable Reliance On Well-Settled Case Law That Is Subsequently Overruled , Ross M. Oklewicz

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Redistricting And Discriminatory Purpose , Michael J. Pitts

American University Law Review

State and local governments covered by the preclearance provision in Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act will soon be submitting their redistricting plans to the federal government (most often the United States Attorney General) for approval. The Attorney General can deny preclearance to a redistricting plan by finding that the plan violates Section 5’s discriminatory purpose standard. Currently, no detailed framework has been developed for determining when a redistricting plan fails to satisfy the discriminatory purpose standard. This Article fills that void by proposing such a framework - one built from judicial opinions, statutory language, legislative history, executive branch …

An Analysis Of South Africa’S Mental Health Legislation, Natalie Latoya Mccrea

Legal Writing Competition Winners

If one were to measure a society’s health by its historical environment, then something can indeed be said of South Africa. This nation is known for its long abhorrent history with apartheid entrenched with a political and human rights struggle. In 1995, the world witnessed the evisceration of apartheid and the birth of a new democratic South Africa. In light of the struggle endured by a visible portion of the South African population, a question asked is, what about the forgotten and somewhat invisible individuals, those who suffer with mental illness. The purpose ­of this work is to discuss South …

Cuomo V. Clearing House Association: Protecting Minorities From Discriminatory Lending Practices By Upholding States' Right To Enforce Predatory Lending Laws, Elvira Pereda

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Book Interview: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age Of Colorblindness, Richael Faithful

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

A Fraudulent Sense Of Belonging: The Case For Removing The 'False Claim To Citizenship' Bar For Noncitizen Voting, Anne Parsons

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Conference Highlight: Fifteenth Annual Lat.Crit. Conference, Alex Bernshteyn

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Insecure Communities: How Increased Localization Of Immigration Enforcement Under President Obama Through The Secure Communities Program Makes Us Less Safe, And May Violate The Constitution, Rachel Zoghlin

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Caster Semenya And The Myth Of A Level Playing Field, Erin E. Buzuvis

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Personal Essay: My Ordeal Of Regaining Voting Rights In Virginia, Frank Anderson

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

A Price Tag On Constitutional Rights: Georgia V. Weis And Indigent Right To Continued Counsel, Kathryn Bosse

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Volume 6 Issue 2

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

When Leviathan Speaks: Reining In The Government-Speech Doctrine Through A New And Restrictive Approach, Carl G. Denigris

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Fourth Circuit's Rejection Of Legislation History: Placing Guns In The Hands Of Domestic Violence Perpetrators, Tanjima Islam

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The 9/11 Commission And The White House: Issues Of Executive Privilege And Separation Of Powers, Daniel Marcus

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

John Brown's Constitution, Robert L. Tsai

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

It will surprise many Americans to learn that before John Brown and his men briefly captured Harper’s Ferry, they authored and ratified a Provisional Constitution. This deliberative act built upon the achievements of the group to establish a Free Kansas, during which time Brown penned an analogue to the Declaration of Independence. These acts of writing, coupled with Brown’s trial tactics after his arrest, cast doubts on claims that the man was a lunatic or on a suicide mission. Instead, they suggest that John Brown aimed to be a radical statesman, one who turned to extreme tactics but nevertheless remained …

Stepping Out Of The Vehicle: The Potential Of Arizona V. Gant To End Automatic Searches Incident To Arrest Beyond The Vehicular Context , Angad Singh

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Social Movement History Of Title Vii Disparate Impact Analysis, Susan Carle

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Ricci v. DeStefano suggests trouble ahead for disparate impact analysis under Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991. Commentators, too, have begun to question the policy bases for this doctrine. Part of the current tenuousness surrounding disparate impact analysis, which the Court first approved in its 1971 opinion in Griggs v. Duke Power Company, stems from assumptions that the EEOC pursued this theory as a last-minute, ill-conceived afterthought that was not in keeping with Congress’s intent when it passed Title VII in 1964. In this Article I use the …

State Sovereign Immunity And The Roberts Court, Stephen I. Vladeck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.