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Articles 2011 - 2040 of 3331

Full-Text Articles in Law

Justiciable Generalized Grievances, Kimberly L. Wehle Oct 2008

Justiciable Generalized Grievances, Kimberly L. Wehle

All Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court's prevailing test for Article III standing - injury-in-fact, causation, and redressability - generally restricts suits to remedy injuries affecting broad segments of the public in substantially equal measure. In Massachusetts v. EPA, the Supreme Court appeared to depart from this proposition in holding that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has standing to sue the EPA to prompt it to slow global warming, a harm that affects everyone on Earth. The dissenting Justices assailed the majority for finding justiciable a so-called “generalized grievance” in contravention of prior standing precedent that is based on the notion that if parties seek …


The Supreme Common Law Court Of The United States, Jack M. Beermann Oct 2008

The Supreme Common Law Court Of The United States, Jack M. Beermann

Faculty Scholarship

The U.S. Supreme Court's primary role in the history of the United States, especially in constitutional cases (and cases hovering in the universe of the Constitution), has been to limit Congress's ability to redefine and redistribute rights in a direction most people would characterize as liberal. In other words, the Supreme Court, for most of the history of the United States since the adoption of the Constitution, has been a conservative force against change and redistribution. The Court has used five distinct devices to advance its control over the law. First, it has construed rights-creating constitutional provisions narrowly when those …


Judicial Independence: A Call For Reform, Terence J. Lau Oct 2008

Judicial Independence: A Call For Reform, Terence J. Lau

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Gender And Justice: Parity And The United States Supreme Court, Paula A. Monopoli Sep 2008

Gender And Justice: Parity And The United States Supreme Court, Paula A. Monopoli

Paula A Monopoli

There is a deep concern among many American women that only one woman remains on the United States Supreme Court. When Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in on September 25, 1981, most people never imagined that twenty-five years later there would still be only one woman on the Court. It appears that it will be many more years before there is a critical mass of women sitting on the high court. Given its central role, the Court should better represent the gender balance in American society. In a number of other countries, voluntary or involuntary parity provisions have been …


September 23, 2008: Excerpt From For The Establishment Of Religion, Bruce Ledewitz Sep 2008

September 23, 2008: Excerpt From For The Establishment Of Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Excerpt from For the Establishment of Religion“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


Judging In Chambers: The Powers Of A Single Justice Of The Supreme Court, Daniel M. Gonen Sep 2008

Judging In Chambers: The Powers Of A Single Justice Of The Supreme Court, Daniel M. Gonen

Daniel Gonen

A relatively obscure power of individual federal judges is the power to grant interim relief to a litigant pending appellate review of a lower court’s judgment or order. Individual judges routinely use this power, exercising virtually unfettered discretion to control the interim outcome of cases during the months and years it can take for the appellate process to conclude. In some cases, an individual judge has the power to decide if a case will be kept in a reviewable posture at all. This article explores this power, largely focusing on the Supreme Court level, and offers a critical assessment of …


August 3, 2008: Is There A Common Core To Religion?, Bruce Ledewitz Aug 2008

August 3, 2008: Is There A Common Core To Religion?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Is There a Common Core to Religion?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


The Wages Of Originalist Sin: District Of Columbia V. Heller, Jeffrey M. Shaman Jul 2008

The Wages Of Originalist Sin: District Of Columbia V. Heller, Jeffrey M. Shaman

Jeffrey M. Shaman

This essay analyzes and critiques the Supreme Court’s recent decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which ruled that that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms unconnected with service in a militia. The focus of the essay is on Justice Scalia’s majority opinion in Heller, which adheres strictly to an extreme view of originalism holding that the Constitution should be interpreted by ascertaining its original meaning at the time it was adopted. Justice Scalia believes that the Constitution has a static meaning, and that changes in the world around us are of no relevance to constitutional …


Interview With Barbara Atkins And Janet Mitchell By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Barbara M. Atkins, Janet F. Mitchell Jul 2008

Interview With Barbara Atkins And Janet Mitchell By Andrea L’Hommedieu, Barbara M. Atkins, Janet F. Mitchell

George J. Mitchell Oral History Project

Biographical Note
Barbara (Mitchell) Atkins was born in July, 1935, in Waterville, Maine. She grew up with four older brothers: John, Paul, Robert, and George Mitchell (Sr.). Her mother, Mintaha, was a weaver in the woolen mills in Waterville, and her father, George, Sr., was with the Central Maine Power Company and with the Colby College maintenance department. The family practiced the Maronite Roman Catholic rite of Lebanese descent. Her mother was born in Lebanon and immigrated in 1920. Barbara attended St. Joseph’s elementary school, Waterville Junior High School, and Waterville High School, where she played volleyball, basketball, was a …


July 6, 2008: For The Establishment Of Religion: Where Are We Now?, Bruce Ledewitz Jul 2008

July 6, 2008: For The Establishment Of Religion: Where Are We Now?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “For the Establishment of Religion: Where Are We Now?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


No Civilized System Of Justice, Book Review: The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, The Supreme Court, And The Betrayal Of Reconstruction, Sonja R. West Jul 2008

No Civilized System Of Justice, Book Review: The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, The Supreme Court, And The Betrayal Of Reconstruction, Sonja R. West

Scholarly Works


A book review of The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, The Supreme Court, and The Betrayal of Reconstruction by Charles Lane (Henry Holt 2008).


June 28, 2008: The Kennedy Court On Religion, Bruce Ledewitz Jun 2008

June 28, 2008: The Kennedy Court On Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Kennedy Court on Religion“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


Why Arbitrate? The Questionable Quest For Efficiency In Hallstreet Street Associates, Llc V. Mattel, Inc., David K. Kessler May 2008

Why Arbitrate? The Questionable Quest For Efficiency In Hallstreet Street Associates, Llc V. Mattel, Inc., David K. Kessler

David K Kessler

The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) makes arbitration agreements between private parties legally enforceable. The policy favoring arbitration underlying the FAA has been justified as serving two ends: it protects freedom of contract, and it creates an efficient alternative dispute resolution system. Previous decisions by the Court have indicated a belief that, when those two goals come into conflict, the result that preserves freedom of contract should prevail. In Hallstreet Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., however, a recent case involving the Federal Arbitration Act, the Court’s decision preserved perceived efficiency at the expense of freedom of contract. The Court held that …


May 21, 2008: For The Establishment Of Religion, Bruce Ledewitz May 2008

May 21, 2008: For The Establishment Of Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “For the Establishment of Religion “ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


Dear President Bush: Leaving A Legacy On The Federal Bench, Carl Tobias May 2008

Dear President Bush: Leaving A Legacy On The Federal Bench, Carl Tobias

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


The $62 Million Question: Is Virginia's New Center To House Sexually Violent Prisoners Money Well Spent?, Molly T. Geissenhainer May 2008

The $62 Million Question: Is Virginia's New Center To House Sexually Violent Prisoners Money Well Spent?, Molly T. Geissenhainer

University of Richmond Law Review

This comment examines Virginia's current civil commitment statute for sexual predators and attempts to identify areas where Virginia should concentrate its limited resources in order to address more adequately the ever-increasing problem of what to do with sex offenders. Part II briefly describes why sex offenders present law enforcement with unique problems in prevention and deterrence. Part III details the history of civil commitment legislation. Part IV examines Supreme Court of the United States jurisprudence regarding the constitutionality of sex offender civil commitment statutes. Part V examines the Virginia Sexually Violent Predator Act. Part VI briefly considers current violent sexual …


Give A Hoot, Don’T Pollute: The Roberts Court And The Environment, David A. Schultz Apr 2008

Give A Hoot, Don’T Pollute: The Roberts Court And The Environment, David A. Schultz

David A Schultz

Analysis and predictions on the jurisprudential direction of the Roberts Court have thus far produced articles examining its possible impact on several areas of law, but so far none have assessed the Court’s treatment of environmental issues in a comprehensive fashion, even though it has decided seven cases in this area in the 2005 and 2006 terms. This Article reviews these seven decisions, concluding that based on them there is no discernable pro-business bias thus far as some had predicted. However, the Court is very divided ideologically on environmental issues, suggesting that the next presidential appointment could have a major …


Does The Supreme Court Still Matter?, Timothy B. Dyk Apr 2008

Does The Supreme Court Still Matter?, Timothy B. Dyk

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Stoneridge V. Scientific-Atlanta: Do Section 10(B) And Rule 10b-5 Require A Misstatement Or Omission? (Pre-Publication Draft), Rodney D. Chrisman Apr 2008

Stoneridge V. Scientific-Atlanta: Do Section 10(B) And Rule 10b-5 Require A Misstatement Or Omission? (Pre-Publication Draft), Rodney D. Chrisman

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This version is a draft submitted for publication and accepted prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling. The final version, published by QLR and also posted on Digital Commons, was modified subsequently to the Supreme Court ruling. Stoneridge v. Scientific-Atlanta promises to be the most important securities litigation case to reach the Supreme Court since Central Bank of Denver. In this important case, Stoneridge presents the Supreme Court with the opportunity to clarify the application of its ruling in Central Bank to liability for secondary actors under section 10(b) and rule 10b-5. This Article points out that the fundamental question plaguing …


Standing In The Way Of Clarity: Hein V. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., Mark Wankum Apr 2008

Standing In The Way Of Clarity: Hein V. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., Mark Wankum

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

This article deals with the often misunderstood and maligned issue of taxpayer standing. It seeks to explore the Court's standing jurisprudence as it has evolved from "cases and controversies" to a modern constitutional doctrine. The article begins with a discussion of the Framers' judiciary and the development of a modern standing doctrine. It then turns to the area of taxpayer and citizen suits, exploring the judicial landmarks and landmines from Frothigham v. Mellon to Flast. Next, applications and limitations of the Flast test during the Burger, Rehnquist, and early Roberts Courts are explored, before turning to the most recent decision …


The Colonel's Finest Campaign: Robert R. Mccormick And Near V. Minnesota, Eric Easton Mar 2008

The Colonel's Finest Campaign: Robert R. Mccormick And Near V. Minnesota, Eric Easton

All Faculty Scholarship

Today, media corporations and their professional and trade associations, along with organizations like Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the American Civil Liberties Union, carefully monitor litigation that implicates First Amendment values and decide whether, when, and how to intervene. It was not always so. Litigation by an institutional press to avoid or create doctrinal precedent under the First Amendment really began with the appointment of Col. Robert R. McCormick to head the ANPA's Committee on Freedom of the Press in the spring of 1928 and his involvement in Near v. Minnesota beginning that fall. Because of McCormick's …


Will The United States Follow England (And The Rest Of The World) In Abandoning Capital Punishment?, Frederick C. Millett Mar 2008

Will The United States Follow England (And The Rest Of The World) In Abandoning Capital Punishment?, Frederick C. Millett

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Walking down Nanjing Road in Shanghai, you will not only pass by the foreign clothing stores that seem to be taking over the area, but also Pepsi signs every fifty feet, a McDonald’s, and a KFC—all with the backdrop of Chinese characters and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Along your way, you can stop in The Chopstick Shop to find the perfect set of chopsticks, buy a smoothie from a vendor, or just sit on a bench and watch the thousands of Chinese people walk by wearing Nike hats and Levi’s jeans. Just across the river is the Pudong …


Born In The U.S.A.? Rethinking Birthright Citizenship In The Wake Of 9/11, John C. Eastman Mar 2008

Born In The U.S.A.? Rethinking Birthright Citizenship In The Wake Of 9/11, John C. Eastman

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Judgments Of The United States Supreme Court And The South African Constitutional Court As A Basis For A Universal Method To Resolve Conflicts Between Fundamental Rights, Daniel H. Erskine Feb 2008

Judgments Of The United States Supreme Court And The South African Constitutional Court As A Basis For A Universal Method To Resolve Conflicts Between Fundamental Rights, Daniel H. Erskine

Daniel H. Erskine

This article describes the methods utilized by the United States Supreme Court to resolve specific cases involving conflicts between federal constitutional rights, a federal constitutional right and a state constitutional or statutory right, and an international treaty right and a federal constitutional right. Consideration of particular decisions representative of the manner the Court resolves conflicts between rights in the three typologies described above, illustrates how the Court views such conflicts and the rationales employed to resolve apparent conflicting rights. The rationales used by the United States Supreme Court are compared to the South African Constitutional Court’s decisions in the Soobramoney, …


An Empirical Analysis Of The Trends, Determinants, And Effects Of Majority Opinions Of The U.S. Supreme Court, James F. Spriggs, Ryan C. Black Feb 2008

An Empirical Analysis Of The Trends, Determinants, And Effects Of Majority Opinions Of The U.S. Supreme Court, James F. Spriggs, Ryan C. Black

James F. Spriggs II

In this essay we utilize an empirical legal studies approach to understand the way in which law develops on the U.S. Supreme Court. Our empirical indicator for law is a simple, yet powerful, characteristic of the Court’s opinions—their length. Building on past legal research, we submit that opinion length is one aspect of the overall language in an opinion and captures important features of a legal ruling Our analysis contributes to the legal literature by: (1) presenting a theoretical and empirical treatment of opinion length that affords us a better understanding of how law is crafted at the Court and …


Corporate Corruption And The Complicity Of Congress And The Supreme Court - The Tortuous Path From Central Bank To Stoneridge Investment Partners, Llc V. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.., Charles W. Murdock Feb 2008

Corporate Corruption And The Complicity Of Congress And The Supreme Court - The Tortuous Path From Central Bank To Stoneridge Investment Partners, Llc V. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.., Charles W. Murdock

Charles W. Murdock

This article asserts that Congress and the federal courts are complicit in the widespread corporate corruption that has come to light this past decade. It begins by exploring the notion of bias and then chronicles judicial developments which have protected corporate officials, who have engaged in securities fraud and other wrongful conduct, at the expense of innocent shareholders and investors. It also analyzes the public policy in favor of corruption embodied in the Private Litigation Securities Reform Act, and the actions of federal courts in expanding the protection of PLSRA even beyond that dictated by the language of the statute. …


The Supreme Court's Indian Problem, Matthew L.M. Fletcher Feb 2008

The Supreme Court's Indian Problem, Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

No abstract provided.


Returning Rico To Racketeers: Corporations Cannot Constitute An Associated-In-Fact Enterprise Under 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4), Caroline N. Mitchell, Jordan Cunningham, Mark R. Lentz Jan 2008

Returning Rico To Racketeers: Corporations Cannot Constitute An Associated-In-Fact Enterprise Under 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4), Caroline N. Mitchell, Jordan Cunningham, Mark R. Lentz

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.


The Sit-Ins And The Failed State Action Revolution, Christopher W. Schmidt Jan 2008

The Sit-Ins And The Failed State Action Revolution, Christopher W. Schmidt

Studio for Law and Culture

This article revises the traditional account of why the Supreme Court, when faced in the early 1960s with a series of cases arising out of the lunch counter sit-in movement, refused to hold racial discrimination in public accommodations unconstitutional. These cases are the great aberration of the Warren Court. At a time when the justices confidently reworked one constitutional doctrine after another, often in response to the moral challenges of the civil rights movement and often in the face of considerable public resistance, they broke pattern in the sit-in cases. And they did so despite a transformation in popular opinion …


If Major Wars Affect (Judicial) Fiscal Policy, How & Why?, Nancy Staudt Jan 2008

If Major Wars Affect (Judicial) Fiscal Policy, How & Why?, Nancy Staudt

Faculty Working Papers

This paper seeks to identify and explain the effects of major wars on U.S. Supreme Court decision-making in the context of taxation. At first cut, one might ask why we should even expect to observe a correlation between military activities and judicial fiscal policy. After all, the justices have no authority whatsoever to adopt funding laws intended to relieve the budgetary pressures that tend to emerge in times international crisis. The Court, however, is able to contribute to the wartime revenueraising efforts indirectly by adopting a pro-government stance in the cases it decides in wartime periods. As the probability of …