Courts Commons^™

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 …

Brief Amici Curiae Of Iowa Professors Of Law And History, Angela Onwuachi-Willig

Faculty Scholarship

This case calls upon the State of Iowa to reaffirm its historic commitment to protecting the equality and individual liberties of all of its citizens, including its lesbian and gay male citizens. It requires this Court to interpret Iowa’s unique constitution with due respect for both text and tradition. The case must be analyzed against the backdrop of Iowa’s leadership and courage in the areas of civil rights and family law, and the willingness of its judiciary to uphold constitutional mandates in the face of efforts to legislate prejudice and discrimination.

Plaintiff-Appellees seek nothing more than to share in the …

Federal Court Self-Preservation And Terri Schiavo, Jack M. Beermann

Faculty Scholarship

If the federal court in Florida had granted preliminary relief to allow itself more time to consider the constitutional claims that Terri Schiavo's parents brought on her behalf, and if, as expected, those claims were ultimately rejected, the federal court would have been placed in the unenviable position of having to be the institution that made the final decision to terminate Terri Schiavo's feeding and other treatment. Although I have no way of knowing whether this fact, which has not been noted in the commentary,' actually entered into the mind of any of the federal judges who considered the case, …

Vanessa Redgrave V. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc.: A Breach Of Constitutional Dimension, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

In Vanessa Redgrave v. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc., 399 Mass. 93 (1987), the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued an important ruling on the parameters of the Commonwealth's relatively new Civil Rights Act (MCRA)' by answering two questions certified to it by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The SJC held that MCRA is essentially the state equivalent of 42 U.S.C. §1983 without the federal "state action" requirement.' This article briefly examines the SJC's decision in Redgrave in light of Massachusetts precedent and the vast federal experience with §1983 actions (Section I) and then considers the …

The Governor's Private Eyes, Tamar Frankel

Faculty Scholarship

In his inaugural speech on January 3, 1967, Florida Governor Claude Kirk declared a War on Crime. For this purpose he announced the creation of a unique War on Crime Program. Its activities were to include a Citizen's Awareness Program, but its main function was directed to the investigation of crimes. As the Program's director, the Governor appointed Mr. George Wackenhut, the president of the Wackenhut Corporation, a large private investigation firm. Mr. Wackenhut agreed to provide his services for one dollar a year; his corporation was simultaneously retained to supply the Program with the necessary administrative facilities and investigative …