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Full-Text Articles in Legal History

The Emergence Of Neutrality, Jud Campbell Jan 2022

The Emergence Of Neutrality, Jud Campbell

Law Faculty Publications

This Article traces two interwoven jurisprudential genealogies. The first of these focuses on the emergence of neutrality in speech and press doctrine. Content and viewpoint neutrality are now the bedrock principles of modern First Amendment law. Yet the history of these concepts is largely untold and otherwise misunderstood. Scholars usually assume that expressive-freedom doctrine was mostly undeveloped before the early twentieth century and that neutrality was central to its modern rebirth. But this view distorts and sometimes even inverts historical perspectives. For most of American history, the governing paradigm of expressive freedom was one of limited toleration, focused on protecting …


Mcculloch V. Madison: John Marshall's Effort To Bury Madisonian Federalism, Kurt T. Lash Jan 2020

Mcculloch V. Madison: John Marshall's Effort To Bury Madisonian Federalism, Kurt T. Lash

Law Faculty Publications

"In his engaging and provocative new book, The Spirit of the Constitution: John Marshall and the 200-Year Odyssey of McCulloch v. Maryland, David S. Schwartz challenges McCulloch’s canonical status as a foundation stone in the building of American constitutional law. According to Schwartz, the fortunes of McCulloch ebbed and flowed depending on the politics of the day and the ideological commitments of Supreme Court justices. Judicial reliance on the case might disappear for a generation only to suddenly reappear in the next. If McCulloch v. Maryland enjoys pride of place in contemporary courses on constitutional law, Schwartz argues, then this …


Drawing Lines Of Sovereignty: State Habeas Doctrine And The Substance Of States' Rights In Confederate Conscription Cases, Withrop Rutherford May 2017

Drawing Lines Of Sovereignty: State Habeas Doctrine And The Substance Of States' Rights In Confederate Conscription Cases, Withrop Rutherford

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Survey Of The History Of The Death Penalty In The United States, Sheherezade C. Malik, D. Paul Holdsworth Mar 2015

A Survey Of The History Of The Death Penalty In The United States, Sheherezade C. Malik, D. Paul Holdsworth

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Commandeering And Constitutional Change, Jud Campbell Jan 2013

Commandeering And Constitutional Change, Jud Campbell

Law Faculty Publications

Coming in the midst of the Rehnquist Court’s federalism revolution, Printz v. United States held that federal commandeering of state executive officers is “fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty.” The Printz majority’s discussion of historical evidence, however, inverted Founding-era perspectives. When Federalists such as Alexander Hamilton endorsed commandeering during the ratification debates, they were not seeking to expand federal power. Quite the opposite. The Federalists capitulated to states’ rights advocates who had recently rejected a continental impost tax because Hamilton, among others, insisted on hiring federal collectors rather than commandeering state collectors. The commandeering power, it turns …


"Extraordinary Circumstances": The Legacy Of The Gang Of 14 And A Proposal For Judicial Nominations Reform, Michael Gerhardt, Richard Painter May 2012

"Extraordinary Circumstances": The Legacy Of The Gang Of 14 And A Proposal For Judicial Nominations Reform, Michael Gerhardt, Richard Painter

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


States' Rights And State Standing, Stephen I. Vladeck Mar 2012

States' Rights And State Standing, Stephen I. Vladeck

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Recognition: A Case Study On The Original Understanding Of Executive Power, Robert J. Reinstein Mar 2011

Recognition: A Case Study On The Original Understanding Of Executive Power, Robert J. Reinstein

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


On Equality: The Anti-Interference Principle, Donald J. Kochan Jan 2011

On Equality: The Anti-Interference Principle, Donald J. Kochan

University of Richmond Law Review

This essay seeks to summarize the general equality concept and proposes that equality requires that the government engage in anti-interference with individual choices and activities, so long as these things create no negative externalities for others. If we are serious about respecting equality, such interference actions should be avoided. Adopting an "anti-interference principle" is a necessary foundation for achieving the goal of true equality. The primary point is that equality matters. The purpose of this essay is not to survey the vast political, jurisprudential, and academic debate on equality, but instead, to take a broad look at the philosophical concept …


Failed Constitutional Metaphors: The Wall Of Separation And The Penumbra, Louis J. Sirico Jr. Jan 2011

Failed Constitutional Metaphors: The Wall Of Separation And The Penumbra, Louis J. Sirico Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Putting Rationality Back Into The Rational Basis Test: Saving Substantive Due Process And Redeeming The Promise Of The Ninth Amendment, Jeffrey D. Jackson Jan 2011

Putting Rationality Back Into The Rational Basis Test: Saving Substantive Due Process And Redeeming The Promise Of The Ninth Amendment, Jeffrey D. Jackson

University of Richmond Law Review

This article argues for the adoption of a strengthened rational basis test that would allow courts to scrutinize the actual purpose behind legislation and demand that the legislation actually be reasonably related to its valid legislative purpose. Part II looks at the question of why it is desirable to save substantive due process rather than replace it with some other doctrine. Part III examines how substantive due process came to be the dominant form of protection for unenumerated rights, and how it has evolved from its antecedents in English law to the current test. It concludes that substantive due process …


Whiskey, Soldiers, And Voting: Western Virginia Elections In The 1790s, Jud Campbell Jan 2011

Whiskey, Soldiers, And Voting: Western Virginia Elections In The 1790s, Jud Campbell

Law Faculty Publications

Editor's Note: Elections in eighteenth-century Virginia were conducted quite differently than current elections. In this article, the author presents revealing descriptions of early elections in Montgomery County, Virginia immediately following the birth of the United States. The behavior and motivations of the electorate, as well as the candidates, provide interesting insight regarding the social structure o/that era.


The Origin Of Citizen Genet’S Projected Attack On Spanish Louisiana: A Case Study In Girondin Politics, Jud Campbell Jan 2010

The Origin Of Citizen Genet’S Projected Attack On Spanish Louisiana: A Case Study In Girondin Politics, Jud Campbell

Law Faculty Publications

In 1792 the Girondin ministry decided to send Edmond Genet to the United States with plans to recruit western frontiersmen and invade Spanish Louisiana. The episode is well known in American history, but the literature on its French origin is sparse and overemphasizes the contribution of revolutionary leader Jacques- Pierre Brissot. This essay contextualizes the French decision within the debate between Brissot, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Lebrun, and General Charles-François Dumouriez over whether France should send troops against Spanish colonies in South America. The essay argues that Lebrun promoted the western scheme in order to attack Spanish interests without …


The Inescapable Federalism Of The Ninth Amendment, Kurt T. Lash Jan 2008

The Inescapable Federalism Of The Ninth Amendment, Kurt T. Lash

Law Faculty Publications

Over the past two decades, the most influential work on the Ninth Amendment has been that of libertarian scholar Randy Barnett. Over a series of articles and books, Barnett has presented the Ninth as a provision originally intended to preserve individual natural rights. Recently uncovered historical evidence, however, suggests that the Ninth originally limited federal power in order to preserve the right to local self-government. I presented this evidence in two articles published by the Texas Law Review, the first dealing with the original meaning of the Ninth Amendment, and the second dealing with a heretofore lost jurisprudence of the …


On Federalism, Freedom, And The Founders' View Of Retained Rights - A Reply To Randy Barnett, Kurt T. Lash Jan 2008

On Federalism, Freedom, And The Founders' View Of Retained Rights - A Reply To Randy Barnett, Kurt T. Lash

Law Faculty Publications

In A Textual-Historical Theory of the Ninth Amendment, 60 Stanford Law Review, I explain how some of the most common theories of the Ninth Amendment either have nothing to do with the actual text of the Amendment or place the text in conflict with similar terms in the Tenth Amendment. Focusing on the actual words of the Amendment, I argue that the text of the Ninth point towards a federalist rule of construction in which the people's retained rights are necessarily left to the control of the collective people in the several states. I also explain how this reading fits …


Rule Of Law Conference: Global Issues And The Rule Of Law, Lord Chief Justice Nicholas Phillips Of Worth Matravers Sep 2007

Rule Of Law Conference: Global Issues And The Rule Of Law, Lord Chief Justice Nicholas Phillips Of Worth Matravers

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


James Madison’S Celebrated Report Of 1800: The Transformation Of The Tenth Amendment, Kurt T. Lash Jan 2006

James Madison’S Celebrated Report Of 1800: The Transformation Of The Tenth Amendment, Kurt T. Lash

Law Faculty Publications

It has become commonplace to describe the Rehnquist Court as having staged a "Federalism Revolution." Although the current status of the Revolution is in dispute, historical treatment of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence under Chief Justice Rehnquist no doubt will emphasize a resurgence of federalism and limited construction of federal power. Cases like Gregory v. Ashcroft, New York v. United States, United States v. Lopez, Printz v. United States, Alden v. Maine, and United States v. Morrison all share a common rule of interpretation: Narrow construction of federal power to interfere with matters believed best left under state control. The textual …


Bork Was The Beginning: Constitutional Moralism And The Politics Of Federal Judicial Selection, Gary L. Mcdowell Mar 2005

Bork Was The Beginning: Constitutional Moralism And The Politics Of Federal Judicial Selection, Gary L. Mcdowell

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Lost Jurisprudence Of The Ninth Amendment, Kurt T. Lash Jan 2005

The Lost Jurisprudence Of The Ninth Amendment, Kurt T. Lash

Law Faculty Publications

It is widely assumed that the Ninth Amendment languished in constitutional obscurity until it was resurrected in Griswold v. Connecticut by Justice Arthur Goldberg. In fact, the Ninth Amendment played a significant role in some of the most important constitutional disputes in our nation's history, including the scope of exclusive versus concurrent federal power, the authority of the federal government to regulate slavery, the constitutionality of the New Deal, and the legitimacy and scope of incorporation of the Bill of Rights into the Fourteenth Amendment. The second of two articles addressing the Lost History of the Ninth Amendment, The Lost …


Bork Was The Beginning: Constitutional Moralism And The Politics Of Judicial Selection, Gary L. Mcdowell Jan 2005

Bork Was The Beginning: Constitutional Moralism And The Politics Of Judicial Selection, Gary L. Mcdowell

Law Faculty Publications

On October 23, 1987, the United States Senate committed what many considered then-and what many still consider today-to be an unforgivable political and constitutional sin. Wielding its power to advise and consent on nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States, the upper house voted 58-42 not to confirm Judge Robert H. Bork. The vote, which was the largest margin of defeat in history for a nominee to the Supreme Court, concluded one of the most tumultuous political battles in the history of the republic, a battle that would transform the process of judicial selection for years to come.


Reflections On Brown And The Future, Oliver W. Hill Sr. Nov 2004

Reflections On Brown And The Future, Oliver W. Hill Sr.

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Call To Leadership: The Future Of Race Relations In Virginia, Rodney A. Smolla Nov 2004

A Call To Leadership: The Future Of Race Relations In Virginia, Rodney A. Smolla

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Lost Original Meaning Of The Ninth Amendment, Kurt T. Lash Jan 2004

The Lost Original Meaning Of The Ninth Amendment, Kurt T. Lash

Law Faculty Publications

This article presents previously unrecognized evidence regarding the original meaning of the Ninth Amendment. Obscured by the contemporary assumption that the Ninth Amendment is about rights while the Tenth Amendment is about powers, the historical roots of the Ninth Amendment can be found in the state ratification convention demands for a constitutional amendment prohibiting the constructive enlargement of federal power. James Madison's initial draft of the Ninth Amendment expressly adopted the language suggested by the state conventions and he insisted the final draft expressed the same rule of construction desired by the states. In an episode previously unnoticed by scholars, …


The Constitutional Convention Of 1937: The Original Meaning Of The New Jurisprudential Deal, Kurt T. Lash Jan 2001

The Constitutional Convention Of 1937: The Original Meaning Of The New Jurisprudential Deal, Kurt T. Lash

Law Faculty Publications

The paper traces the dramatic jurisprudential innovations of the New Deal Revolution, including the articulation of incorporation theory, the abandonment of judicial construction of state common law, and the ascension of textual originalism as the Court's method of constitutional interpretation. I argue that the New Deal Court transcended the political goals of the Roosevelt administration and attempted to restructure the nature of legitimate judicial review in a post-Lochner world. Acting, in effect, as a constitutional convention, the Court not only changed the nature of judicial review, it altered the shape of the Constitution in ways that cut across modern political …


"High Crimes And Misdemeanors": Recovering The Intentions Of The Founders, Gary L. Mcdowell Jan 1999

"High Crimes And Misdemeanors": Recovering The Intentions Of The Founders, Gary L. Mcdowell

Law Faculty Publications

Such serious charges by so many distinguished historians demand a careful consideration of what the Founders meant by "high Crimes and Misdemeanors": Were they only indictable crimes or did they include what one of the Framers called "political crimes and misdemeanors?" Were they offenses that a President would commit only in "the exercise of executive power" or did they also include a President's malfeasance committed in his private capacity? Were they subject to a reasonably fixed meaning or were they to be determined simply by the exercise of the "awful discretion" of those in Congress called upon to impeach and …


The Declaration Of Independence In Constitutional Interpretation: A Selective History And Analysis, Charles H. Cosgrove Jan 1998

The Declaration Of Independence In Constitutional Interpretation: A Selective History And Analysis, Charles H. Cosgrove

University of Richmond Law Review

In 1845, antislavery constitutionalist Lysander Spooner argued that the Declaration of Independence was originally a legal constitution with a direct bearing on how one ought to interpret the status of slavery under the Constitution of 1787. In 1889, the congressional act establishing the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington required that their state constitutions "not be repugnant to the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence," as if the two documents were of a piece. In 1995, attorney Christopher Darden argued to the jury in the O.J. Simpson criminal trial that slain victims Nicole …