Transforming Constitutional Doctrine Through Mandatory Appeals From Three-Judge District Courts: The Warren And Burger Courts And Their Contemporary Lessons, 2025 University of Cincinnati College of Law
Transforming Constitutional Doctrine Through Mandatory Appeals From Three-Judge District Courts: The Warren And Burger Courts And Their Contemporary Lessons, Michael E. Solimine
Faculty Articles and Other Publications
Judicial interpretations of the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment underwent significant change, both expanding and retrenching in various ways, in Supreme Court doctrine during the Warren and Burger Courts. An underappreciated influence on the change is the method by which those cases reached the Court’s docket. A significant number of the cases reached the Court’s docket not by discretionary grants of writs of certiorari, as occurred in most other cases, but by mandatory appeals directly from three-judge district courts. This article makes several contributions regarding the important changes in these doctrines during the Warren Court …
Era Of Confusion: The State Of Patent Eligibility Jurisprudence And The Need For Intervention, 2024 St. Mary's University
Era Of Confusion: The State Of Patent Eligibility Jurisprudence And The Need For Intervention, Alyssa Boggs
St. Mary's Law Journal
No abstract provided.
The Poor Man's Problem In Bankruptcy, 2024 St. Mary's University
The Poor Man's Problem In Bankruptcy, Rylee Stanley
St. Mary's Law Journal
No abstract provided.
From College Campus To Corner Office: The Impact Of Sffa V. Harvard On Voluntary Affirmative Action Programs, 2024 University of Cincinnati College of Law
From College Campus To Corner Office: The Impact Of Sffa V. Harvard On Voluntary Affirmative Action Programs, Ellen Whitehair
University of Cincinnati Law Review
No abstract provided.
A Toothless Tcpa: An Analysis Of Article Iii Standing, Personal Jurisdiction, And The Disjuncture Problem’S Impact On The Efficacy Of The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 2024 University of Cincinnati College of Law
A Toothless Tcpa: An Analysis Of Article Iii Standing, Personal Jurisdiction, And The Disjuncture Problem’S Impact On The Efficacy Of The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Sebastian W. Johnson
University of Cincinnati Law Review
No abstract provided.
Parental Rights Or Political Ploys? Unraveling The Deceptive Threads Of Modern “Parental Rights” Legislation, 2024 University of Cincinnati College of Law
Parental Rights Or Political Ploys? Unraveling The Deceptive Threads Of Modern “Parental Rights” Legislation, Cecilia Giles
University of Cincinnati Law Review
No abstract provided.
Constitutional Rights And Retrenchment: The Elusive Promise Of Equal Citizenship, 2024 University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Constitutional Rights And Retrenchment: The Elusive Promise Of Equal Citizenship, Deborah L. Brake
University of Cincinnati Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Vagueness Of The Independent State Legislature Doctrine, 2024 Mitchell Hamline School of Law
The Vagueness Of The Independent State Legislature Doctrine, Jason Marisam
Washington and Lee Law Review Online
The Independent State Legislature (ISL) Theory has been one of the hottest topics in election law, with conservative thinkers championing a strong version of the theory. In Moore v. Harper, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to turn this controversial theory into actual doctrine. The Court, though, declined to adopt a maximalist version of the theory and declined to reject it outright. Instead, it offered a vague standard that gives close to zero guidance as to where, between these two poles, the doctrine sits. Several scholars and commentators have responded to the opinion with a mix of relief, because the …
Decoding Dobbs: A Typology To Better Understand The Roberts Court's Jurisprudence, 2024 Bridgewater College
Decoding Dobbs: A Typology To Better Understand The Roberts Court's Jurisprudence, Katie Yoder
Honors Projects
The U.S. Supreme Court first recognized Substantive Due Process (“SDP”) in the early twentieth century. In Lochner v. New York, the Court established that there are certain unenumerated rights that are implied by the Fourteenth Amendment.Though SDP originated in a case about worker’s rights and liberties, it quickly became relevant to many cases surrounding personal intimate decisions involving health, safety, marriage, sexual activity, and reproduction.Over the past 60 years, the Court relied upon SDP to justify expanding a fundamental right to privacy, liberty, and the right to medical decision making. Specifically, the court applied these concepts to allow for freedoms …
From Poll Tests To The Purcell Doctrine: Merrill V. Milligan And The Precarious Preservation Of Voting Rights, 2024 Fordham University School of Law
From Poll Tests To The Purcell Doctrine: Merrill V. Milligan And The Precarious Preservation Of Voting Rights, Charis Franklin
Fordham Law Review
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (“the Voting Rights Act”) is one of the primary vehicles by which plaintiffs receive injunctive relief ahead of elections. More specifically, § 2 of the Voting Rights Act allows plaintiffs to challenge gerrymandered maps before they are used in contentious elections. However, Justice Kavanaugh’s reframing of the Purcell doctrine in Merrill v. Milligan weakened § 2’s ability to interrupt the use of these maps. This Note discusses how Justice Kavanaugh’s interpretation of the Purcell doctrine recenters the doctrine on bureaucratic inconvenience rather than voter enfranchisement, restricting voters’ access to relief prior to elections. Furthermore, …
The Anti-Innovation Supreme Court: Major Questions, Delegation, Chevron, And More, 2024 William & Mary Law School
The Anti-Innovation Supreme Court: Major Questions, Delegation, Chevron, And More, Jack M. Beermann
William & Mary Law Review
The Supreme Court of the United States has generally been a very aggressive enforcer of legal limitations on governmental power. In various periods in its history, the Court has gone far beyond enforcing clearly expressed and easily ascertainable constitutional and statutory provisions and has suppressed innovation by the other branches that do not necessarily transgress widely held social norms. Novel assertions of legislative power, novel interpretations of federal statutes, statutes that are in tension with well-established common law rules, and state laws adopted by only a few states are suspect simply because they are novel or rub up against tradition. …
The Perennial Eclipse: Race, Immigration, And How Latinx Count In American Politics, 2024 Texas A&M University School of Law
The Perennial Eclipse: Race, Immigration, And How Latinx Count In American Politics, Rachel F. Moran
Faculty Scholarship
In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Evenwel v. Abbott, a case challenging the use of total population in state legislative apportionment as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. The plaintiffs sued Texas, alleging that the State impermissibly diluted their voting power because they lived in areas with a high proportion of voting-age citizens. When total population was used to draw district lines, the plaintiffs had to compete with more voters to get their desired electoral outcomes than was true for voters in districts with low proportions of voting-age citizens. The Court rejected the argument, finding that states enjoy …
How Close Is Close Enough: A Step-By-Step Analysis To Resolve The Circuit Split Created By Misunderstanding The Spokeo Ruling, 2024 St. Mary's University
How Close Is Close Enough: A Step-By-Step Analysis To Resolve The Circuit Split Created By Misunderstanding The Spokeo Ruling, Cason Shipp
St. Mary's Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Foiled Foia: The Excessive Exemption, 2024 St. Mary's University
Foiled Foia: The Excessive Exemption, Edward L. Wilkinson Jr.
St. Mary's Law Journal
The Freedom of Information Act permits requestors access to government information unless an exemption applies. Exemption (b)(3)(B) permits the government to protect information if there is a specific reference to a FOIA exemption in the withholding statute. Congress created this new requirement in 2009 in order to remove decision making power from administrative agencies and courts and reserve the power to disclose or withhold information with the legislative branch. This exemption poses problems to courts when there is a clear intent to protect information in the withholding statute without a clear reference to Exemption (b)(3)(B). As a result, courts have …
Public Accommodations And The Right To Refrain From Expressing Oneself, 2024 Capital University Law School
Public Accommodations And The Right To Refrain From Expressing Oneself, Mark Strasser
Cleveland State Law Review
The United States Supreme Court has been unable to articulate a coherent position when addressing the right of individuals to refrain from expressing themselves. The Court has applied various tests inconsistently—emphasizing principles in some cases, ignoring them in subsequent cases, and then emphasizing them again in later cases as if those principles had always been applied. The Court’s approach is incoherent, offering little guidance to lower courts except to suggest that public accommodations laws may soon be found inconsistent with First Amendment guarantees.
Questioning The Legitimacy Of The Expedited Removal Process – The Tall Task Of Protecting The Constitutional Rights Of One Of America’S Most Marginalized Groups, 2024 Cleveland State University College of Law
Questioning The Legitimacy Of The Expedited Removal Process – The Tall Task Of Protecting The Constitutional Rights Of One Of America’S Most Marginalized Groups, Jacob J. Bourquin
Cleveland State Law Review
This Note explores the origin and development of 8 U.S.C. § 1225—a heavily debated facet of the United States’ immigration law. Section 1225, colloquially referred to as the “expedited removal process,” has been interpreted to permit low-level immigration officers to summarily remove certain “arriving” noncitizens from the United States without affording them the procedural due process protections guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution to all individuals present in the United States. This Note posits that the current interpretation of § 1225, particularly the interpretation of “is arriving,” and application of the expedited removal process is inconsistent …
The Dueling First Amendment Clauses: Are They In Tension, Or Do They Work Together?, 2024 Liberty University
The Dueling First Amendment Clauses: Are They In Tension, Or Do They Work Together?, James Black
Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue
The Establishment and Free exercise clauses of the First Amendment respectively state that Congress does not have the ability to pass a law that would either establish a national religion or prohibit the free exercise of any religion. While some legal scholars have given a more secular interpretation of the Establishment Clause, suggesting that there is no place for Christianity or any other religion in the public square or to influence American government, this is in conflict with interpretation by a substantial number of legal experts and constitutional scholars living both in and before the modern era, some of whom …
"Money That Flows In The Shadows": Citizens United, Dark Money, And The Need For Rhetorical Competence, 2024 James Madison University
"Money That Flows In The Shadows": Citizens United, Dark Money, And The Need For Rhetorical Competence, Kristy Kocot
James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)
The 2010 United States Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. FEC, has the potential to present a significant threat to American democracy. The landmark decision removed limits on corporate contributions, allowing disproportionate dark money influence from corporations in American political campaigns. This paper explores the ethical dilemmas of the Citizens United decision, drawing from peer-reviewed scholarly journals, legal documents, and advocacy organizations to highlight the negative impact that dark money has on American politics. Citizens United and its aftermath demonstrate the necessity for rhetorical competence in a democracy with broad protections for individual and corporate speech. The paper argues …
Anti-Press Bias: A Response To Andersen Jones And West's Presuming Trustworthiness, 2024 Georgetown University Law Center
Anti-Press Bias: A Response To Andersen Jones And West's Presuming Trustworthiness, Erin C. Carroll
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Professors RonNell Andersen Jones and Sonja R. West’s Presuming Trustworthiness is a deeply depressing read. That is what makes it so good. The article is a clear-eyed, data-driven approach to assessing just how endangered the legal status of the free press is. Given the universality of the agreement that a free press is central to democracy, Andersen Jones and West’s message is vital. Presuming Trustworthiness should raise alarms.
In response, I hope this essay can serve as a bullhorn. I want to amplify what Andersen Jones and West’s research and data bear out. Not only has the Supreme Court ceased …
The Unconstitutionality Of Underfunded Public Defender Systems, 2024 Liberty University
The Unconstitutionality Of Underfunded Public Defender Systems, Braden Daniels
Senior Honors Theses
When a defendant is ineffectively represented by a public defender due to an underfunded public defender system, a defendant whose public defender provides him only cursory representation is entitled to a new trial only if blatantly innocent. The U.S. Supreme Court should follow its precedent and declare systemically underfunded public defender systems unconstitutional, with cases meriting reversal when the underfunding is to blame for unreasonable attorney errors, regardless of prejudice. This stems logically from the Court’s holdings in Gideon v. Wainwright, Strickland v. Washington, and United States v. Cronic. Many have argued for the reversal or modification …