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 …
Masthead, 2024 UC Law SF
How American Society And Law Continue To Prevent People With Disabilities Seeking Education And Employment, 2024 UC Law SF
How American Society And Law Continue To Prevent People With Disabilities Seeking Education And Employment, Angelica Guevara
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
Our Founders specifically identified education as necessary to economic success and full participation in our democracy and society. However, the Supreme Court held in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez that education in America is not a constitutional right; instead, it is a commodity that few can afford. Then, in 2023, Biden v. Nebraska exposed the direct result of that ruling: the average American––regardless of their disability status––struggles to pay back their student loans, even when they have a well-paying job. The student debt crisis significantly impacts the economic future of students with disabilities, who make on average sixty-six …
The Cycle Of Delegitimization: Lessons From Dred Scott On The Relationship Between The Supreme Court And The Nation, 2024 UC Law SF
The Cycle Of Delegitimization: Lessons From Dred Scott On The Relationship Between The Supreme Court And The Nation, Jonathon J. Booth
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
This Article examines how Chief Justice Taney’s opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford sparked a cycle of delegitimization that parallels contemporary debates about the Supreme Court’s legitimacy crisis. Part I explicates how one family’s fight for freedom in Missouri reached the Supreme Court, the resulting radical decision, and the nation’s reaction to show the initial stages of this cycle. Part II examines the impact of Dred Scott on politics and law during the James Buchanan administration (1857–1861). During this period, the federal government, Southern states, and some Western territories swiftly implemented the decision, for example by expelling free Black residents. …
Will The New Roberts Court Revive A Formalist Approach To Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence?, 2024 UC Law SF
Will The New Roberts Court Revive A Formalist Approach To Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence?, Roger Antonio Tejada
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
While all Chief Justices leave behind distinctive periods of judicial thought and practice, the quantitative and qualitative data presented in this article show that the Roberts Court in particular stands out in the development of Fourth Amendment precedent. The key cases that shaped the search and seizure doctrine before and during his rise show that, contrary to what many may expect, Chief Justice Roberts will likely oversee limited, pro-defendant decisions that could grant additional legitimacy to the Court’s crime-control jurisprudence. On the other hand, the new Justices’ voting records and writings suggest that there are several potential coalitions that could …
Rethinking The Fundamentals: Applying The Evolving Standards Of Decency Test To The Court’S Evaluation Of Fundamental Rights., 2024 UC Law SF
Rethinking The Fundamentals: Applying The Evolving Standards Of Decency Test To The Court’S Evaluation Of Fundamental Rights., Nick Wolfram
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
In 1910, the Supreme Court recognized in Weems v. United States that a constitution “must be capable of wider application than the mischief which gave it birth.” This principle led to the creation of the Court’s two-pronged “evolving standards of decency,” test: (1) evidence of an objective indicia of a national consensus, and (2) the reviewing court’s own independent judgment. To this day the Court has yet to apply this test outside of the Eighth Amendment context. But can the “evolving standards of decency,” test identify and protect other fundamental rights? This Article explores how the Court could apply the …
Editor-In-Chief’S Forward, 2024 UC Law SF
Editor-In-Chief’S Forward, Zoë Grimaldi
UC Law Constitutional Quarterly
No abstract provided.
The Misguided Use Of The Harvard/Unc Ruling To Thwart Law Firm And Other Private Employer Dei Efforts, 2024 Saint Louis University School of Law
The Misguided Use Of The Harvard/Unc Ruling To Thwart Law Firm And Other Private Employer Dei Efforts, Ronald A. Norwood
SLU Law Journal Online
This article explores the Harvard/UNC ruling and what, in the author’s view, is the misguided efforts by certain political and well-financed private actors to use that ruling to justify the eradication of private employers and law firm DEI efforts. It is the author’s firm belief that because the Supreme Court’s holding is limited to an analysis of the Constitution’s Equal Protection clause (limited to state actors) and Title VI (covering private actions receiving federal funding), that ruling should not be used by courts to quash DEI programs designed to level the employment playing field for minorities, women and other protected …
The Story Of New York Times V. Sullivan: How Free Speech Rights Were Intertwined With The Civil Rights Movement, 2024 The University of Akron
The Story Of New York Times V. Sullivan: How Free Speech Rights Were Intertwined With The Civil Rights Movement, Samantha Barbas
ConLawNOW
This essay, delivered to the Law Library of Congress as the 2023 Constitution Day Lecture, tells the story of New York Times v. Sullivan, widely regarded as one the most important First Amendment decisions of all time. It is a decision that has profoundly affected the workings of the press and shaped the contours of public discourse in the United States. And it is a decision that continues to raise controversy because of the broad protections it gives to freedom of speech at the expense of other rights such as reputation and privacy. The essay summarizes the author’s work …
U'Wa Indigenous People Vs. Columbia: Potential Applications Of The Escazu Agreement, 2024 American University Washington College of Law
U'Wa Indigenous People Vs. Columbia: Potential Applications Of The Escazu Agreement, Ariana Lippi
Sustainable Development Law & Policy
Though the case is ongoing, and results are still to be seen, it in many ways sets a precedent for indigenous communities in Latin America seeking redress for environmental and cultural injustices. With Colombia’s recent ratification of The Escazú Regional Agreement (the Agreement herein) in 2022, this case presents a unique opportunity for implementation of the Agreement and greater accountability within existing domestic legislation.
Natural Resources In The Arctic: The Equal Distribution Of Uneven Resrouces, 2024 American University Washington College of Law
Natural Resources In The Arctic: The Equal Distribution Of Uneven Resrouces, Ganeswar Matcha, Sudarsanan Sivakumar
Sustainable Development Law & Policy
This paper analyses the governance machine in place at the Arctic and examines the application of the principles of “common heritage of mankind” at the Arctic. This paper also offers some tentative propositions aimed at protecting Out Bound investment rights and how the World Trade Organization or other countries, like the U.S., can intercede in the Arctic investment sphere and attempt to regulate along with the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea.
Incentivizing Sustainability In American Enterprise: Lessons From Finnish Model, 2024 American University Washington College of Law
Incentivizing Sustainability In American Enterprise: Lessons From Finnish Model, Vasa T. Dunham
Sustainable Development Law & Policy
The disparate climate performances of Finland and the United States, two of the wealthiest countries in the world, bring to light the question of how corporate responsibility has been inspired in each jurisdiction. Having established the urgency of the climate crisis and the importance of corporate behavior in optimizing a given country’s approach to protection of the global environment, an examination of each nation’s legal frameworks may shed light on features of the corporate regime that are effective in advancing sustainability goals and those that are not.22 Part I of this paper establishes a comparative framework by providing background on …
Editor's Note, 2024 American University Washington College of Law
Editor's Note, Shade Streeter, Reagan Ferris
Sustainable Development Law & Policy
The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief (ISSN 1552-3721) is a student-run initiative at American University Washington College of Law that is published twice each academic year. The Brief embraces an interdisciplinary focus to provide a broad view of current legal, political, and social developments. It was founded to provide a forum for those interested in promoting sustainable economic development, conservation, environmental justice, and biodiversity throughout the world.
Inequitable By Design: The Strategic Distribution Of Costs And Benefits By Business Improvement Districts And Special Assessments, 2024 Cleveland State University
Inequitable By Design: The Strategic Distribution Of Costs And Benefits By Business Improvement Districts And Special Assessments, Molly Gillespie
Et Cetera
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are most commonly credited for their innovative strategies in rejuvenating the economic vitality in American cities. However, their implementation raises concerns about fairness and equity. The current practice of financing BIDs through special assessments, particularly applying the front footage method, disproportionately burdens certain property owners for the benefit of others. Consequently, property owners face a range of issues, including financial strain, involuntary annexation, and potential threats to property ownership. However, the existing framework of state constitutions lack the necessary provisions to adequately address these challenges, underscoring the need for significant reform.
This Note addresses these concerns …
The Future Of “History And Tradition”: The First Amendment Implication Of Bruen, 2024 Yeshiva University, Cardozo School of Law
The Future Of “History And Tradition”: The First Amendment Implication Of Bruen, The Floersheimer Center For Constitutional Democracy
Flyers 2023-2024
No abstract provided.
Manufactured State Immigration Emergencies As State Vigilantism, 2024 Texas A&M University School of Law
Manufactured State Immigration Emergencies As State Vigilantism, Kate Huddleston
Texas A&M Law Review
President Trump shattered norms when he declared a national emergency at the U.S.–Mexico border to build a border wall. State governors have now followed that lead in taking up what Justice Jackson, dissenting in Korematsu v. United States (1944), called the “loaded weapon” of emergency—doing so, like Trump, in the context of the border. Governors of Texas, Arizona, and Florida have all issued state declarations of emergency based on (1) migration, and (2) the Biden administration’s purported failure to engage in immigration enforcement. These state emergency declarations have not been studied or even identified in legal literature as a state …
Searching Govinfo.Gov/, 2024 Purdue University
Searching Govinfo.Gov/, Bert Chapman
Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations
This U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) database provides access to information legal, legislative, and regulatory information produced on multiple subjects by the U.S. Government. Content includes congressional bills, congressional committee hearings and prints (studies), reports on legislation, the text of laws, regulations, and executive orders and multiple U.S. Government information resources covering subjects from accounting to zoology.
Judicial Libraries As Predictors For Effective Administration Of Justice In Nigeria, 2024 University of Port Harcour, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Judicial Libraries As Predictors For Effective Administration Of Justice In Nigeria, Emmanuel Owushi
Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)
The study examined judicial libraries as predictors for effective administration of justice in Nigeria. The population involved all legal practitioners and legal educators in Nigeria. 4000 respondents were sampled. Due to unavailability of the population at the time of the study, the adopted convenience sampling technique to sample 4000 respondents across legal professional bodies in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire titled ‘Use of Judicial Library and Administration of Justice Scale’ was used for data collection. The questionnaire was structured with the 4-point Likert scale response style, designed on Google form and distributed to the respondents via various social media platforms. A …
“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”: A Lamentation On Dobbs V. Jackson’S Pernicious Impact On The Lives And Liberty Of Women, 2024 Cleveland State University College of Law
“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”: A Lamentation On Dobbs V. Jackson’S Pernicious Impact On The Lives And Liberty Of Women, April L. Cherry
Cleveland State Law Review
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned nearly fifty years of precedent when it declared in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that abortion was not a fundamental right, and therefore it was not protected by the Fourteenth Amendment and substantive due process. In law school corridors and legal scholar circles, discussion of the Court’s evisceration of abortion rights focused on the corresponding changes in Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence and the Court’s outright dismissal of stare decisis. But in homes, hospitals, community centers, and workplaces, different conversations were happening. Conversations, mostly had by women, concerned the real-life consequences of overturning …
Assessing The Future Of “Offended Observer” Standing In Establishment Clause Cases, 2024 Cleveland State University
Assessing The Future Of “Offended Observer” Standing In Establishment Clause Cases, Larry J. Obhof
Cleveland State Law Review
This Article looks at the anomaly of “offended observer” standing in Establishment Clause challenges. It calls for greater consistency in the courts’ application of constitutional standing requirements.
Under Article III, Plaintiffs seeking to raise claims in federal court must allege a concrete and particularized injury in fact in order to support federal jurisdiction. Likewise, plaintiffs seeking to challenge a government policy must allege a unique injury that is separate from the interests of the public at large. The notable exception is where plaintiffs claim personal offense at alleged government entanglement in religion. These “offended observers” are frequently given access to …