Religion Law Commons^™

Free Exercise For Whom? -- Could The Religious Liberty Principle That Catholics Established In Perez V. Sharp Also Protect Same-Sex Couples' Right To Marry?, Eric Alan Isaacson

Eric Alan Isaacson

Recent discussions about the threat that same-sex couples hypothetically pose to the religious freedom of Americans whose religions traditions frown upon same-sex unions have largely overlooked the possibility that same-sex couples might have their own religious-liberty interest in being able to marry. The General Synod of the United Church of Christ brought the issue to the fore with an April 2014 lawsuit challenging North Carolina laws barring same-sex marriages. Authored by a lawyer who represented the California Council of Churches and other religions organizations as amici curiae in recent marriage-equality litigation, this article argues that although marriage is a secular …

Cross, Crucifix, Culture: An Approach To The Constitutional Meaning Of Confessional Symbols, Frederick Mark Gedicks, Pasquale Annicchino

Frederick Mark Gedicks

In the United States and Europe the constitutionality of government displays of confessional symbols depends on whether the symbols also have nonconfessional secular meaning (in the U.S.) or whether the confessional meaning is somehow absent (in Europe). Yet both the United States Supreme Court (USSCt) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) lack a workable approach to determining whether secular meaning is present or confessional meaning absent. The problem is that the government can nearly always articulate a possible secular meaning for the confessional symbols that it uses, or argue that the confessional meaning is passive and ineffective. What …

Corporate “Soul”: Legal Incorporation Of Catholic Ecclesiastical Property In The United States - A Historical Perspective, Vicenç Feliú

Vicenç Feliú

This work is a revision and update of a study carried out in 1933 by Monsignor Patrick J. Dignan. Dignan’s purpose in his study was to outline the history of how the Roman Catholic Church secured laws for the protection of church property in accordance with the hierarchical nature of the Church. The purpose of the present article is to bring up to date Dignan’s work and complete a survey of the law in its present state. The article analyzes the differences in the law since the original survey to determine if Dignan’s conclusion that the Church should operate to …

Ideological Voting Applied To The School Desegregation Cases In The Federal Courts Of Appeals From The 1960’S And 70’S, Joe Custer

Joe Custer

This paper considers a research suggestion from Cass Sunstein to analyze segregation cases from the 1960's and 1970's and whether three hypothesis he projected in the article "Ideological Voting on Federal Courts of Appeals: A Preliminary Investigation," 90 Va. L. Rev. 301 (2004), involving various models of judicial ideology, would pertain. My paper considers Sunstein’s three hypotheses in addition to other judicial ideologies to try to empirically determine what was influencing Federal Court of Appeals Judges in regard to Civil Rights issues, specifically school desegregation, in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Jurisprudence, Interpretation, And Relevance: How Relevant Is Jurisprudence In Modern Practice?, David C. Bell

David C Bell

Jurisprudence and statutory interpretation are distained by law school students and in legal circles outside the academic realm, but both are an integral part of the legal process and as such should be included in all law school education in an effort to turn out practice ready lawyers. This paper will look at the different theories of statutory interpretation, breaking down how the individual theories go about interpretation. The different theories to be analyzed include hermeneutics, textualism, purposive interpretation, dynamic interpretation, liberal interpretation, legal process theory, moral theory, and active liberty. Then the paper will analyze parallels between the interpretation …

Hispanics In The Heartland: The Fremont, Nebraska Immigration Ordinance And The Future Of Latino Civil Rights, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

While Arizona has been labeled by Professor Kristina Campbell as a “modern-day Selma” in the struggle for Latino civil rights, Nebraska has become a state which is a quiet, but promising, state in the movement for Latino civil rights that should not be overlooked. This Article examines not only the issues surrounding the Fremont immigration ordinance, but other recent legislative attempts at the state level to curtail the rights of Latinos in Nebraska. While many such legislative attempts to limit the rights of Latinos in Nebraska have taken place in the past several years, the ruling in the Keller case …

The Ministerial Exception And The Limits Of Religious Sovereignty, Ian C. Bartrum

Ian C Bartrum

This paper explores the scope of independent religious sovereignty in the context of the ministerial exception.

The Legacy Of Rux V. Republic Of Sudan And The Future Of The Judicial War On Terror, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

The Republic of Sudan’s material support of terrorism has contributed to the loss of innocent American lives. In 2007, a group of more than 50 surviving family members of 17 United States sailors killed in the October 12, 2000 U.S.S. Cole bombing obtained a $7,956,344 judgment against the Republic of Sudan for its material support of Al-Qaeda that enabled Al-Qaeda to carry out the attack. The award included damages for the sailors’ lost wages and earning potential pursuant to the Death on the High Seas Act, but not for emotional loss. The United States Congress responded by enacting the Justice …

Can (And Should) An Insurance Defense Attorney Be Held Liable For Insurance Bad Faith?, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

Insurance defense lawyers are faced with many practical and ethical challenges in the contemporary practice of law. Outside of the practical and ethical challenges looms a question concerning insurance bad faith – can (and should) an insurance defense attorney and/or insurance defense law firm ever be held liable for insurance bad faith?

In this article, I state that with the ever-increasing expanse of bad faith liability today, insurance defense attorneys and law firms are potentially next to be encompassed in the liability circle. Today, as a general rule, insurance defense attorneys and law firms are not directly liable to an …

Unanswered Questions Of A Minority People In International Law: A Comparative Study Between Southern Cameroons & South Sudan, Bernard Sama Mr

Bernard Sama

The month July of 2011 marked the birth of another nation in the World. The distressful journey of a minority people under the watchful eyes of the international community finally paid off with a new nation called the South Sudan . As I watched the South Sudanese celebrate independence on 9 July 2011, I was filled with joy as though they have finally landed. On a promising note, I read the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon saying “[t]ogether, we welcome the Republic of South Sudan to the community of nations. Together, we affirm our commitment to helping it meet its …

El Derecho De Sucesiones Se Debe Atemperar A Los Cambios De La Sociedad Del Siglo Xxi, Edward Ivan Cueva

Edward Ivan Cueva

No abstract provided.

Religion And The Alien Tort Statute, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

The paper generally discusses the relationship between religion and the Alien Tort Statute.

The Wrap Up Of Wrap-Ups? Owner Controlled Insurance Programs And The Exclusive Remedy Defense, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

Large scale, complex commercial construction projects today often utilize Owner-Controlled Insurance Programs (OCIPS, also referred to as “Wrap-Up” programs), which streamline various insurance coverages into a single consolidated program (the OCIP), where the owner, through the OCIP, establishes and administers insurance coverage for the general contractor and all the subcontractors on the project.

OCIPs have been lauded for several reasons – efficient claims management, efficient coordination of the program, and potentially significant cost savings for the owner. Although the benefits of OCIPs have been cited in court decisions throughout the country, at least two courts have held that an owner, …

The Constitutional Canon As Argumentative Metonymy, Ian C. Bartrum

Ian C Bartrum

This article builds on Philip Bobbitt's Wittgensteinian insights into constitutional argument and law. I examine the way that we interact with canonical texts as we construct arguments in the forms that Bobbitt has described. I contend that these texts serve as metonyms for larger sets of associated principles and values, and that their invocation usually is not meant to point to the literal meaning of the text itself. This conception helps explain how a canonical text's meaning in constitutional argument can evolve over time, and hopefully offers the creative practitioner some insight into the kinds of arguments that might accomplish …

Charles Sumner: History's Misunderstood Idealist, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

Few historical figures in the history of the United States have received such contrasting treatment by historians and scholars than Senator Charles Sumner. One view of Sumner mainly focuses on Sumner as a “Cardboard Yankee,” a figure who was arrogantly too tied to principle and was someone who seldom tried to understand others, was lacking in humor, was a pedant, lacked the judgment and self-control to be effective in settling disputes, and was unable to compromise.

A more recent “revised” interpretation of Sumner contends Sumner was driven into reform movements and politics for two reasons: first, that Sumner believed the …

Protecting Statements In Catholic Tribunal Proceedings Under The Priest-Penitent Privilege: Cimijotti V. Paulsen Considered, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

No abstract provided.

The Furundzija Judgment And Its Continued Vitality In International Law, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

The Furundzija decision of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia stands as a landmark decision in international jurisprudence since it not only affirmed that the norm prohibiting torture has attained jus cogens status under international law, but expanded accountability and liability for violations of commission as well as omission. In this essay, I not only address Furundzija’s holdings and its implications in the international sphere, but specifically analyze the legacy of the Furundzija judgment on U.S. domestic civil cases involving the Alien Tort Statute.

Significantly, the Tribunal’s decision not only properly recognizes faults and crimes of commission, but …

The Role Of Custom In Canon, Jewish And Islamic Law: Supplemented, Superseded Or Supplanted By Written Law?, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

Custom can be a compelling source of law and supplements, even supersedes, written, codified law in religious traditions. In this essay, I address the relationship between custom and written, codified law in three religious legal traditions: the Roman Catholic Canon Law tradition, Jewish law, and Islamic law.

In the Roman Catholic Canon Law tradition, customary law reflects the values critical to community life and while it cannot contravene divine law, customary law, if reasonable, can become law even if customs contradict written canonical norms. In Jewish law, custom (minhag) is a source of rabbinic law and can even supersede halakhah …

The Holy See's Worldwide Role And International Human Rights: Solely Symbolic?, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

The Holy See has been actively involved in international relations since its very beginnings. Today, its role in the formation of international human rights instruments is seen by many as “symbolic,” based largely on its concerns as a universal moral witness to humanity.

In this paper, I contend that the Holy See’s role in promoting human rights in international affairs is not solely symbolic; rather, its diplomacy is based more on pragmatic considerations of promoting its conceptions of the universal common good and the fundamental right to life than is currently recognized. By examining the Beijing and Cairo Conferences, and …

Liability For Terrorism In American Courts: Aiding-And-Abetting Liability Under The Fsia State-Sponsor Of Terrorism Exception And The Alien Tort Statute, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

The issue of liability for terrorism and supporting terrorism in American domestic courts is one of the most active issues of current judicial decisionmaking in the area of foreign affairs. Through the state-sponsored terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Alien Tort Statute, liability extends to foreign governments (in the FSIA context) and to foreign governments, nonstate actors, or nonstate actors acting under color of law (under the ATS) when they provide support to terrorist activities.

In an October 2007 decision, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the Khulumani case held that a defendant is liable …

La Cesión De Derechos En El Código Civil Peruano, Edward Ivan Cueva

Edward Ivan Cueva

La Cesión de Derechos en el Código Civil Peruano

Algunos Apuntes En Torno A La Prescripción Extintiva Y La Caducidad, Edward Ivan Cueva

Edward Ivan Cueva

No abstract provided.

The Status Of Classical Natural Law: Plato And The Parochialism Of Modern Theory, Eric Heinze

Prof. Eric Heinze, Queen Mary University of London

The concept of modernity has long been central to legal theory. It is an intrinsically temporal concept, expressly or implicitly defined in contrast to pre-modernity.

Legal theorists sometimes draw comparisons between, on the one hand, various post-Renaissance positivist, liberal, realist or critical theories, and, on the other hand, the classical natural law or justice theories of antiquity or the middle ages, including such figures as Aristotle, Cicero, Augustine or Aquinas. Many theorists, however, while acknowledging superficial differences among the various classical theories, fail to appreciate the variety and complexity of pre-modern thought. Unduly simplifying pre-modern understandings of law, they end …

Epinomia: Plato And The First Legal Theory, Eric Heinze

Prof. Eric Heinze, Queen Mary University of London

In comparison to Aristotle, Plato’s general understanding of law receives little attention in legal theory, due in part to ongoing perceptions of him as a mystic or a totalitarian. However, some of the critical or communitarian themes that have guided theorists since Aristotle already find strong expression in Plato’s work. More than any thinker until the 19th and 20th centuries, Plato rejects the rank individualism and self-interest which, in his view, emerge within democratic legal culture. He rejects schisms between legal norms and community values, institutional separation of law from morals, intricate regimes of legislation and adjudication, and a culture …

Manual De Derecho Procesal Civil, Edward Ivan Cueva

Edward Ivan Cueva

No abstract provided.

Teoría General De La Prueba Judicial, Edward Ivan Cueva

Edward Ivan Cueva

No abstract provided.

Of Enchantment: The Passing Of The Ordeals And The Rise Of The Jury Trial, Trisha Olson

Trisha Olson

No abstract provided.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Responding To Smith; Reconsidering Reynolds, Keith Jaasma

Keith Jaasma

This comment examines the cae of Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, and Congress' response to that decision in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Comment further examines whether the Supreme Court's 1879 Decision in Reynolds v. United States, which upheld laws against polygamy in the Utah Territory, would continue to be viable in light of the RFRA and Free Excercise Clause cases that have been decided since.

Nociones Generales De Derecho Procesal Civil, Edward Ivan Cueva

Edward Ivan Cueva

No abstract provided.

Fundamentos Del Derecho Procesal Civil, Edward Ivan Cueva

Edward Ivan Cueva

No abstract provided.