Law Commons^™

The Constitutional Implications Of Race-Neutral Affirmative Action, Kim Forde-Mazrui

Kim Forde-Mazrui

This paper explores the constitutional implications of race-neutral affirmative action, i.e., governmental efforts to pursue affirmative action goals, such as remedying discrimination and promoting diversity, through non-racial means. For example, to increase minority enrollment, some public universities give weight in the admission process to economic background. This paper suggests that such "race-neutral" policies may be just as unconstitutional as racial preferences if they are motivated by arguably discriminatory (against whites) purposes. I then present two doctrinal defenses of race-neutral affirmative action. First, assuming that strict scrutiny would apply to such policies, I argue that remedying discrimination, even so-called "societal discrimination," …

Substantive Due Process, Arthur Lang

Arthur Lang

No abstract provided.

A Different Kind Of Sameness: Beyond Formal Equality And Antisubordination Principles In Gay Legal Theory And Constitutional Doctrine, Nancy Levit

Nancy Levit

Gay legal theory is at a crossroads reminiscent of the sameness/difference debate in feminist circles and the integrationist debate in critical race theory. Formal equality theorists take the heterosexual model as the norm and then seek to show that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals - except for their choice of partners - are just like heterosexuals. Antisubordination theorists attack the heterosexual model itself and seek to show that a society that insists on such a model is unjust. Neither of these strategies is wholly satisfactory. The formal equality model will fail to bring about fundamental reforms as long as sexual …

A New Case For Direct Congressional Regulation Of Guns In School Zones, Michael Anthony Lawrence

Michael Anthony Lawrence

This article suggests that in the wake of last year’s school shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Congress may justifiably exercise its commerce power to regulate arms in schools, notwithstanding its contrary holding in Lopez v. U.S in 1995. Sadly, with Columbine, the scope of violence in schools has assumed vastly more serious dimensions – to the point where such acts may accurately be labeled as premeditated acts of domestic terrorism.

Under such circumstances, Congress may reasonably enact laws designed to curb the interstate market for weapons used in these attacks. If Congress concludes, for example, that imposing …

Self-Defense: The Equalizer, David B. Kopel, Linda Gorman

David B Kopel

Experiments in tightening gun-control laws have eroded the right of self defense and failed to stop serious crime. Studies Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

The Evolving Police Power: Some Observations For A New Century, David B. Kopel, Glenn Harlan Reynolds

David B Kopel

A review of state and federal courts decisions on the scope of state police powers suggests that the shift from the more restrictive sic utere principle to the more open salus populi principle may be reversing, with courts -- at least in cases involving sex and marriage -- taking a much more skeptical view of government objectives and justifications.

Getting Serious About Miranda In Minnesota: Criminal And Civil Sanctions For Failure To Respond To Requests For Counsel, Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.