Fourteenth Amendment Commons^™

Red-Flag Laws, Civilian Firearms Ownership And Measures Of Freedom, Royce De R. Barondes

Faculty Publications

This essay provides context for an assessment of a part of the recently-enacted Bipartisan Safer Communities Act--federal legislation funding state red-flag procedures, which allow for seizures of firearms from persons who have not committed crimes.

First, it assesses Maryland’s experience during the first year of implementing these procedures. The essay details computations, extrapolating from Maryland’s first-year experience, showing that adoption of these statutes causes blameless persons to be subject to being killed by the government at a rate comparable to or in excess of the murder rate.

Second, the essay identifies an overlooked impact of this federal legislation. The legislation’s …

First Amendment Lochnerism & The Origins Of The Incorporation Doctrine, James Y. Stern

Faculty Publications

The 20th century emergence of the incorporation doctrine is regarded as a critical development in constitutional law, but while issues related to the doctrine's justification have been studied and debated for more than fifty years, the causes and mechanics of its advent have received relatively little academic attention. This Essay, part of a symposium on Judge Jeffrey Sutton's recent book about state constitutional law, examines the doctrinal origins of incorporation, in an effort to help uncover why the incorporation doctrine emerged when it did and the way it did. It concludes that, for these purposes, incorporation is best understood as …

Out Of The Quandary: Personal Jurisdiction Over Absent Class Member Claims Explained, A. Benjamin Spencer

Faculty Publications

Since the Supreme Court's decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, San Francisco County, litigants and lower courts have wrestled with the issue of whether a federal court must be able to exercise personal jurisdiction with respect to each of the claims asserted by absent class members in a class action and, if so, what standard governs that jurisdictional determination. This issue is rapidly coming to a head and is poised for inevitable resolution by the Supreme Court in the near future; multiple circuit courts have heard appeals from district courts that have reached varying conclusions on …

The Diverging Right(S) To Bear Arms: Private Armament And The Second And Fourteenth Amendments In Historical Context, Alexander Gouzoules

Faculty Publications

This article compares the historical evolution of the social understanding of private armament with contemporary legal doctrine on the right to bear arms. The District of Columbia v. Heller decision, which held that the Second Amendment protects a personal right to self-defense, and the McDonald v. City of Chicago decision, which held the Second Amendment to be incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment, both turned on extensive historical analysis. But by reading a broad “individual right to self-defense” into both the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, the Court assumed continuity between the social understandings at the time of these amendments’ respective ratifications. …

The Inverse Relationship Between The Constitutionality And Effectiveness Of New York City "Stop And Frisk", Jeffrey Bellin

Faculty Publications

New York City sits at the epicenter of an extraordinary criminal justice phenomenon. While employing aggressive policing tactics, such as “stop and frisk,” on an unprecedented scale, the City dramatically reduced both violent crime and incarceration – with the connections between these developments (if any) hotly disputed. Further clouding the picture, in August 2013, a federal district court ruled the City’s heavy reliance on “stop and frisk” unconstitutional. Popular and academic commentary generally highlights isolated pieces of this complex story, constructing an incomplete vision of the lessons to be drawn from the New York experience. This Article brings together all …

Not Very Collegial: Exploring Bans On Illegal Immigrant Admissions To State Colleges And Universities, Marcia A. Yablon-Zug, Danielle R. Holley-Walker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Religion In The Workplace: A Report On The Layers Of Relevant Law In The United States, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Public School Officials' Use Of Physical Force As A Fourth Amendment Seizure: Protecting Students From The Constitutional Chasm Between The Fourth And Fourteenth Amendments, Kathryn R. Urbonya

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Failure Of The Religious Freedom Restoration Act Under Section 5 Of The Fourteenth Amendment, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Constitutionality Of High-Speed Pursuits Under The Fourth And Fourteenth Amendments, Kathryn R. Urbonya

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Establishing A Deprivation Of A Constitutional Right To Personal Security Under Section 1983: The Use Of Unjustified Force By State Officials In Violation Of The Fourth, Eighth, And Fourteenth Amendments, Kathryn R. Urbonya

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Parameters Of Constitutional Reconstruction: Slaughter-House, Cruikshank, And The Fourteenth Amendment, Robert C. Palmer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Are Residential Quotas Constitutional?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“Taking” A Constitutional Look At The State Bar Of Texas Proposal To Collect Interest On Attorney-Client Trust Accounts, Thomas E. Baker, Robert E. Wood Jr.

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Rites Of Passage: Race, The Supreme Court, And The Constitution, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Equal Justice: The Warren Era Of The Supreme Court, W. Taylor Reveley Iii

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Rights Of Teachers And Professors, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

The discussion examines the current state of educators' rights and identifies two key areas that are still hotly contested: extramural utterances that my be critical of the institution itself and a teacher's freedom with his own classroom. A survey of two recent cases illuminates these issues.

A Constitution For Every Man, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

This review praises the collection of essays presented during the one hundredth anniversary of the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. The works expand on previous scholarship regarding the Fourteenth Amendment and provides a thorough understanding with smooth transitions through the Amendment’s different complexities and its history.

The Judicial Trend Toward Student Academic Freedom, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

This analysis references the growing likelihood that even “private” colleges and universities may be viewed as state actors due to these institutions growing reliance on public funds and their performance of what is often considered a public function. Given such, this examination discusses the growing sphere of student rights.

Mr. Justice Black, Constitutional Review, And The Talisman Of State Action, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

In an endorsement of Justice Black’s dissent in Bell v. Maryland, this work argues in favors of Black’s interpretation of the state action requirement and attempts to make sense of Black’s understanding in other cases where he found state action in similar private circumstances.

The Fourteenth Amendment, The “Right” To Vote, And The Understanding Of The Thirty-Ninth Congress, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

An examination of the Fourteenth Amendment’s legislative history is juxtaposed with Justice Harlan’s steadfast conclusion that such history reveals states’ right to set voting requirements.

Comment: Sit-Ins And State Action- Mr. Justice Douglas, Concurring, Kenneth L. Karst, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

This analysis of Mr. Justice Douglas’ concurrence in Garner v. Louisiana pays special attention to the lip service Justice Douglas pays to the state action requirement while never fully addressing such an issue.

State Action, William W. Van Alstyne, Kenneth L. Karst

Faculty Publications

In this extensive discussion of the Civil War amendments, this article proposes to identify the functions of the state action limitation. Specific accommodation of those functions is discussed in a variety of contexts: freedom from brutality, voting, education, employment, housing, etc.