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The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law

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Articles 1 - 18 of 18

Full-Text Articles in Election Law

The Discipline Of Rudy Giuliani And The Real Fraud Of The 2020 Election, George M. Cohen Jul 2024

The Discipline Of Rudy Giuliani And The Real Fraud Of The 2020 Election, George M. Cohen

Catholic University Law Review

In Matter of Giuliani, the New York Appellate Division held that Rudy Giuliani’s knowingly false statements of fact during the period after the 2020 presidential election violated the Rules of Professional Conduct and warranted interim suspension of his license. This paper argues that the court reached the right result but did not use the best rule and the best rationale. Instead of focusing on Giuliani’s conduct as a series of false statements in support of a “narrative,” the better approach would have been to call it what it was: fraud. Although the fraud was not “transactional,” fraud, Giuliani’s false …


American Star Chamber: Online Misinformation, Government Intervention, And The Intellectual Matrix Of The First Amendment, Emily E. Burton Jan 2024

American Star Chamber: Online Misinformation, Government Intervention, And The Intellectual Matrix Of The First Amendment, Emily E. Burton

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Just as monarchs and clerical authorities struggled to respond to seditious and heretical writings enabled by the invention of the printing press, twenty-first century governments are experiencing a similar information revolution as a result of the digital age and a rising tide of what the United States has labeled online misinformation. Like the printing press, the Internet has enabled the spread of information at an exponentially lower cost and an exponentially higher speed as it extends the ability to publish thoughts and opinions to an increasingly diverse array of individuals. Although this was largely celebrated during the first two decades …


Judicial Selection That Fails The Separation Of Powers, Stephen Ware Aug 2023

Judicial Selection That Fails The Separation Of Powers, Stephen Ware

Catholic University Law Review

Executive power should be constrained by checks and balances. The United States’ long and strong tradition of concerns about executive power, and its complementary tradition of Madisonian checks and balances on and to the executive, include the selection of supreme court justices. Neither the U.S. Constitution nor the constitution of any state places solely in the executive the power to appoint a justice to begin a new term on the (federal or state) supreme court. However, several states fail to constrain gubernatorial power in selecting justices to finish a term already started by another justice and these interim appointments are …


Sacred Spheres: Religious Autonomy As An International Human Right, Diana V. Thomson, Kayla A. Toney May 2023

Sacred Spheres: Religious Autonomy As An International Human Right, Diana V. Thomson, Kayla A. Toney

Catholic University Law Review

How should courts resolve thorny human rights disputes that arise within religious groups? According to an emerging international consensus, they shouldn’t. When a case involves sensitive internal decisions by a religious organization, such as choosing who is qualified to teach the faith, courts are increasingly taking a hands-off approach. This global consensus has formed across international treaties, tribunals, and domestic courts in European and American nations. Every major human rights instrument and many international and domestic courts recognize that religious freedom must extend to religious communities, especially houses of worship and schools where believers gather to practice their faith and …


Changing Governance Models By Applying Blockchain Computing, Steve Young Jan 2018

Changing Governance Models By Applying Blockchain Computing, Steve Young

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.


A First Amendment Right To Observe Elections: Fulfilling The Dream Of Richmond Newspapers By Extending It To The Polling Place, Andrew D. Howell Feb 2016

A First Amendment Right To Observe Elections: Fulfilling The Dream Of Richmond Newspapers By Extending It To The Polling Place, Andrew D. Howell

Catholic University Law Review

The First Amendment has long been held to protect the right of citizens to gather information. In 1980, the Supreme Court articulated a two-pronged test in Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia, which examined both the “experience” and “logic” of granting public access to criminal trials. The jurisprudence of lower courts has since extended this qualified First Amendment presumptive right of access to civil trial and administrative hearings. This Comment examines the extension of this constitutional test to the governmental process at work at polling places. This Comment argues that the public, via the powerful vehicle of the press, ultimately meets …


Don’T Tread On Me…Online: The Fec Should Stay Out Of Free Internet-Based Political Speech, Timothy J. D’Elia Dec 2015

Don’T Tread On Me…Online: The Fec Should Stay Out Of Free Internet-Based Political Speech, Timothy J. D’Elia

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.


The Meme Of Voter Fraud, Atiba R. Ellis Oct 2014

The Meme Of Voter Fraud, Atiba R. Ellis

Catholic University Law Review

The meme of voter fraud is the idea that unworthy voters are attacking the electoral system by voting fraudulently through impersonation or other bad acts. Although scholars of election law aptly demonstrate that the meme is a myth, the meme nonetheless endures as a rationale for the continued passage of heightened voter regulations like voter identification laws. Scholarship critiquing the voter fraud meme relies on partisanship as the prime explanation for voter fraud arguments. This explanation is incomplete in light of the fact that proponents of the myth continue to believe it on an ideological level even when the lack …


Financing Elections And "Appearance Of Corruption": Citizen Attitudes And Behavior In 2012, Molly J. Walker Wilson Oct 2014

Financing Elections And "Appearance Of Corruption": Citizen Attitudes And Behavior In 2012, Molly J. Walker Wilson

Catholic University Law Review

As political spending reaches new highs in the 2012 election cycle, and as the controversy surrounding wealthy donors and interest groups grows, polls demonstrate a surge of cynicism among Americans who profess a belief that the American political system is corrupt. The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United made possible the most recent expansion of political spending. In this case, the question was whether allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertising would result in corruption or the appearance of corruption. The majority on the Court determined that it would not. Many observers have …


A Tale Of Two Minority Groups: Can Two Different Minority Groups Bring A Coalition Suit Under Section 2 Of The Voting Rights Act Of 1965, Sara Michaloski Apr 2014

A Tale Of Two Minority Groups: Can Two Different Minority Groups Bring A Coalition Suit Under Section 2 Of The Voting Rights Act Of 1965, Sara Michaloski

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Blocking The Ballot: Why Florida’S New Voting Restrictions Demonstrate A Need For Continued Enforcement Of The Voting Rights Act Preclearance Requirement, Michael Ellement Jan 2013

Blocking The Ballot: Why Florida’S New Voting Restrictions Demonstrate A Need For Continued Enforcement Of The Voting Rights Act Preclearance Requirement, Michael Ellement

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Shelby County V. Holder And The Voting Rights Act: Getting The Right Answer With The Wrong Standard, Michael James Burns Jan 2012

Shelby County V. Holder And The Voting Rights Act: Getting The Right Answer With The Wrong Standard, Michael James Burns

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Political Speech Of Charities In The Face Of Citizens United: A Defense Of Prohibition, Roger Colinvaux Jan 2012

The Political Speech Of Charities In The Face Of Citizens United: A Defense Of Prohibition, Roger Colinvaux

Scholarly Articles

The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission makes a Supreme Court challenge to the tax law rule that prohibits charities from involvement in political activities more likely, and a reexamination of the political speech of charities necessary. Part I of the Article surveys the history of the political activities prohibition in order to emphasize that it was not a reactionary policy but quite considered, and that there are strong State interests supporting it, including protection of the definition of charity from further dilution. Part II of the Article analyzes Citizens United in detail and argues that …


Plan B For Campaign-Finance Reform: Can The Fcc Help Save American Politics After Citizens United?, Lili Levi Jan 2011

Plan B For Campaign-Finance Reform: Can The Fcc Help Save American Politics After Citizens United?, Lili Levi

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.


The American Presidency, The 2008 Election, And The Constitution's Natural Born Citizenship Proviso, Sarah Helene Duggin, Mary Beth Collins Jan 2008

The American Presidency, The 2008 Election, And The Constitution's Natural Born Citizenship Proviso, Sarah Helene Duggin, Mary Beth Collins

Scholarly Articles

The following discussion describes the historical context of the natural born citizenship clause; explores some of the issues the proviso raises in contemporary American society, particularly its impact on Senator McCain and future presidential hopefuls; and offers a brief reflection on why the United States needs to amend Article II to eliminate natural born citizenship as a qualification for the presidency and vice presidency.


Natural Born In The U.S.A.: The Striking Unfairness And Dangerous Ambiguity Of The Constitution’S Presidential Qualifications Clause And Why We Need To Fix It, Sarah Helene Duggin, Mary Beth Collins Jan 2005

Natural Born In The U.S.A.: The Striking Unfairness And Dangerous Ambiguity Of The Constitution’S Presidential Qualifications Clause And Why We Need To Fix It, Sarah Helene Duggin, Mary Beth Collins

Scholarly Articles

This article explores the controversy surrounding the natural born citizenship proviso in order to demonstrate why a constitutional amendment is necessary to eliminate its inherent inequity and uncertain applicability, and to offer substantive recommendations for initiating such an amendment. Part I begins with a brief discussion of the historical and legal context of the natural born citizenship proviso. Part II explores the elusive nature of the term "natural bom Citizen," and Part III focuses on the perils of passively awaiting judicial resolution of its meaning. The structural and policy reasons why limiting the Presidency to natural born citizens is inconsistent …


Political Speech—Restrictions On Ballot-Initiative Petitions, Buckley V. American Constitutional Law Foundation, Mark L. Rienzi Jan 1999

Political Speech—Restrictions On Ballot-Initiative Petitions, Buckley V. American Constitutional Law Foundation, Mark L. Rienzi

Scholarly Articles

The Supreme Court has repeatedly noted that ballot and election regulations raise difficult questions about the interplay between the First Amendment's heightened protection for political speech, and states' need to regulate ballots and elections to ensure fair and orderly democracy. When making the delicate judgments between protecting political speech and allowing states to regulate elections, the Court has traditionally stated precisely which test it was employing to evaluate individual restrictions. Last Term, in Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation, the Court invalidated several of Colorado's restrictions on the signature-gathering process for ballot initiative petitions. In so doing, the Court failed …


Note: Exit Polls And The First Amendment, Geoffrey R. Watson Jan 1985

Note: Exit Polls And The First Amendment, Geoffrey R. Watson

Scholarly Articles

This Note examines the constitutionality and the wisdom of these state laws and congressional proposals. Part I traces the history of exit polls and election-night projections. Part II argues that restrictions on the collection or dissemination of exit poll data, whether designed to prevent disruption at the voting area or to protect the integrity of the vote, violate the first amendment. Part III concludes that a uniform poll-closing time coupled with voluntary network restraint would both allay legitimate concerns about election-night predictions and comport with first amendment values.