Constitutional Law Commons^™

The Implications Of Snyder V. Phelps, Meghan White

Honors College

Snyder v. Phelps, a recent U.S. Supreme Court Case, appears to have had a vast but infrequently discussed impact on First Amendment law. In particular, the case changed the way Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress claims are decided. Snyder v. Phelps shifted the manner in which speech is analyzed away from the method of analysis present in Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell. Rather than focusing mainly on what the status is of the target of speech, Snyder requires one first, and possibly only, look to the dominant thrust of the speech. If the dominant thrust of speech is on a …

Avoiding Independent Agency Armageddon, Kent H. Barnett

Scholarly Works

In Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Congress’ use of two layers of tenure protection to shield Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) members from the President’s removal. The SEC could appoint and remove PCAOB members. An implied tenure-protection provision protected the SEC from the President’s at-will removal. And a statutory tenure-protection provision protected PCAOB members from the SEC’s at-will removal. The Court held that these “tiered” tenure protections unconstitutionally impinged upon the President’s removal power because they prevented the President from holding the SEC responsible for PCAOB’s actions in the same …

Equality Of Participation: A Rawlsian Critique Of U.S. Federal Campaign Finance, Spenser Flinn Powell

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Chief Justices Marshall And Roberts And The Non-Self-Execution Of Treaties, Carlos Manuel Vázquez

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article is a response to David L. Sloss, Executing Foster v. Neilson: The Two-Step Approach to Analyzing Self-Executing Treaties, 53 Harv. Int'l L L.J. 135 (2012).

David Sloss’s article, Executing Foster v. Neilson, is an important contribution to the literature on the judicial enforcement of treaties. The author agrees with much of it, as he agrees with much of Professor Sloss’ other writing on treaties. In particular, the author agrees that the two-step approach to treaty enforcement that Professor Sloss proposes is generally the right approach, and he agrees that the “intent-based” approach to the self-execution issue …

Deciphering A Duality: Understanding Conflicting Standards In Sex & Violence Censorship In U.S. Obscenity Law, Rushabh P. Bhakta

Political Science Honors Projects

This research examines the division in US obscenity law that enables strict sex censorship while overlooking violence. By investigating the social and legal development of obscenity in US culture, I argue that the contemporary duality in obscenity censorship standards arose from a family of forces consisting of faith, economy, and identity in early American history. While sexuality ingrained itself in American culture as a commodity in need of regulation, violence was decentralized from the state and proliferated. This phenomenon led to a prioritization of suppressing sexual speech over violent speech. This paper traces the emergence this duality and its source.

Empty Promises: Miranda Warnings In Noncustodial Interrogations, Aurora Maoz

Michigan Law Review

You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney; if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you at the state's expense. In 2010, the Supreme Court declined an opportunity to resolve the question of what courts should do when officers administer Miranda warnings in a situation where a suspect is not already in custody-in other words, when officers are not constitutionally required to give or honor these warnings. While most courts have found a superfluous warning to be …

Qualifying Qualified Immunity, John C. Williams

Vanderbilt Law Review

I imagine Leslie Weise and Alex Young had similar feelings when, in 2005, they attended a government-funded speech by President George W. Bush in Denver. But those feelings appear to have been mixed with ones of discontent and dissent toward the President-for the pair arrived in a car with a bumper sticker reading "No More Blood for Oil," an obvious jab at Bush's Iraq War policies. On instructions from the White House Advance Office, a volunteer named Michael Casper approached Weise and Young at their seats and ejected them from the event. The Secret Service later told Weise and Young …

Who's Got Bragging Rights: Articles Of Confederation Edition, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The order in the (newly minted) states ratified the Articles of Confederation can be compared with the order these states selected delegates to attend the Second Continental Congress which (in turn) proposed the Articles to the states for ratification. This comparison can then be exploited to assign bragging rights.

Being James Madison: What We Get For Time Travel, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

When we travel back in time to meet the 89rs, what is the best we can get for our trouble? James Madison would remind us that we can get methods, not answers. The constitution may be a machine, but is not a vending machine.

Table Annexed To Article: Who's Got Bragging Rights: Articles Of Confederation Edition, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The order in the (newly minted) states ratified the Articles of Confederation can be compared with the order these states selected delegates to attend the Second Continental Congress which (in turn) proposed the Articles to the states for ratification. This comparison can then be exploited to assign bragging rights.

Table Annexed To Article: A Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Constitution, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Why are we fascinated by the politics of judicial appointments? Does really this help anyone to understand Supreme Court decisions? Plenty of myths debunked, thanks to unanimous decisions and outcomes.

The City And The Private Right Of Action, Paul Diller

Paul Diller

No abstract provided.

Πολιτική Ένταξης Των Μεταναστών Στην Κύπρο, Nicos Trimikliniotis

Nicos Trimikliniotis

Το ζήτημα της ένταξης των μεταναστών προβάλλει ως μείζον διακύβευμα εφόσον χωρίς την ένταξη τους απειλείται ο δημοκρατικός ιστός της Κυπριακής κοινωνίας, εφόσον το πολυπολιτισμικό στοιχείο αποτελεί βασικό συστατικό του πυρήνα της κυπριακής κοινωνίας και οικονομίας εδώ και μια εικοσαετία. Το ζήτημα τούτο αποκτά μεγαλύτερη σημασία σε συνθήκες οικονομικής κρίσης, εφόσον οι μετανάστες είναι κατά κανόνα εύκολος στόχος και κατεξοχήν αποδιοπομπαίος τράγος για τα κακώς έχοντα στη κοινωνία

Saving Their Own Souls: How Rluipa Failed To Deliver On Its Promises, Sarah Gerwig-Moore

Legislation and Policy Brief

In the summer of 2001, as a graduate student in law and theology, I began work on a master’s thesis that examined the predicament of men of faith on San Quentin’s Condemned Row. I was working in the California Appellate Project—mostly assisting with direct appeals and state habeas petitions on behalf of men under a death sentence—when a colleague guided me into theological conversations with some of our clients. On Condemned Row, they waited—up to five years to be assigned a court-appointed appellate attorney, on judges’ rulings, and to find whether the legal system would ultimately exact the penalty it …

April 26, 2012: The Continuing Attack On/Engagement With Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Continuing Attack on/Engagement with Religion“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Argumentación Constitucional, Leonardo García Jaramillo

Leonardo García Jaramillo

No abstract provided.

Free To Be Biased?, Melissa Murray, Russell Robinson

Melissa Murray

No abstract provided.

Critical Race Histories: In And Out, Darren Hutchinson

Darren L Hutchinson

No abstract provided.

April 20, 2012: Back To The Bishops, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Back to the Bishops“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Reforming The Right To Legal Counsel In Singapore, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

This is an opinion prepared for the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society of Singapore on an arrested person’s right to legal counsel in Singapore. Specifically, it deals with the following: (1) it summarizes pertinent aspects of the law relating to the right to legal counsel in Singapore; (2) it surveys a number of ASEAN and Commonwealth jurisdictions to determine how long after apprehension the right to counsel is generally accorded to arrested persons, and compares the legal position in these jurisdictions to the situation in Singapore; and (3) it examines two rights ancillary to the right to legal …