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Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Law
Against Circumspection: Judges, Religious Symbols, And Signs Of Moral Independence, Benjamin Berger
Against Circumspection: Judges, Religious Symbols, And Signs Of Moral Independence, Benjamin Berger
Benjamin L. Berger
This chapter questions the interpretation of religious signs and symbols— and the interpretive possibilities that emerge when we demand more from one another in thinking about such symbols— by examining the question of judges and religious dress in the particular context of the judge’s role as wielding the coercive force of the state through the exercise of criminal punishment. I advance the argument that recent debates have proceeded on a misleadingly simplistic approach to understanding the meaning of signs of religious belonging and identity in this setting and that, with this, we miss an opportunity for a deeper …
Some Thoughts Raised By Magna Carta: The Popular Re-Election Of Judges, William Hamilton Bryson
Some Thoughts Raised By Magna Carta: The Popular Re-Election Of Judges, William Hamilton Bryson
Law Faculty Publications
This essay, first presented at the Magna Carta anniversary symposium of the Baronial Order of Magna Charta on April 16, 2015, at The Cosmos Club, in Washington, D.C., takes as its inspiration the spirit of the rule of law, as laid down in the Magna Carta. Specifically, the author argues that the popular election and reelection of judges undermines the rule of law, and democracy in general, by exposing judges to the manipulations of financial corruption, political intimidation, and the often irrational shifts in popular opinion. To correct this problem, the author calls for amendment of the thirty-nine state constitutions …
The Broken-Hearted Lover: Erwin Chemerinsky's Romantic Longings For A Mythical Court, Gerald N. Rosenberg
The Broken-Hearted Lover: Erwin Chemerinsky's Romantic Longings For A Mythical Court, Gerald N. Rosenberg
Vanderbilt Law Review
Erwin Chemerinsky is broken hearted. "Almost forty years ago," he writes, "I decided to go to law school because I believed that law was the most powerful tool for social change and that the Supreme Court was the primary institution in society that existed to stop discrimination and to protect people's rights.' Smitten by the Court, Chemerinsky was blind to its historical role as a protector of privilege, and its structural limitations as an agent of progressive social change. Placing the Court on a pedestal, he abstracted it from the culture and the society in which it operates. For decades …
The Irrepressible Myth Of Klein, Howard M. Wasserman
The Irrepressible Myth Of Klein, Howard M. Wasserman
Howard M Wasserman
The Reconstruction-era case of United States v. Klein remains the object of a “cult” among commentators and advocates, who see it as a powerful separation of powers precedent. In fact, Klein is a myth—actually two related myths. One is that it is opaque and meaninglessly indeterminate because, given its confusing and disjointed language, its precise doctrinal contours are indecipherable; the other is that Klein is vigorous precedent, likely to be used by a court to invalidate likely federal legislation. Close analysis of Klein, its progeny, and past scholarship uncovers three identifiable core limitations on congressional control over the workings of …
Against Circumspection: Judges, Religious Symbols, And Signs Of Moral Independence, Benjamin Berger
Against Circumspection: Judges, Religious Symbols, And Signs Of Moral Independence, Benjamin Berger
Articles & Book Chapters
This chapter questions the interpretation of religious signs and symbols— and the interpretive possibilities that emerge when we demand more from one another in thinking about such symbols— by examining the question of judges and religious dress in the particular context of the judge’s role as wielding the coercive force of the state through the exercise of criminal punishment. I advance the argument that recent debates have proceeded on a misleadingly simplistic approach to understanding the meaning of signs of religious belonging and identity in this setting and that, with this, we miss an opportunity for a deeper …