Law Commons^™

The 14th Amendment And Me: How I Learned Not To Give Up On The 14th Amendment, Robert Chang

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Speech Inequality After Janus V. Afscme, Charlotte Garden

Faculty Articles

This Article explores the growing divide between the Roberts Court’s treatment of the free speech rights of wealthy individuals and corporations in campaign finance cases as compared to its treatment of the rights of public-sector labor unions and their members. First, it highlights some internal contradictions in the Janus Court’s analysis. Then, it discusses the growing—yet mostly ignored—divergence in the Court’s treatment of corporate and labor speakers with respect to the use of market influence to achieve political influence.The Article has two Parts. In Part I, I explain how the Court reached its decision in Janus before critiquing the decision’s …

Judges Need To Exercise Their Responsibility To Require That Eligible Defendants Have Lawyers, Robert C. Boruchowitz

Faculty Articles

There are many courts in the United States, particularly misdemeanor courts, in which accused persons appear and often plead guilty without ever receiving the advice of counsel, even when they are eligible for a public defender. In various states, between twenty-five and sixty-eight percent of the defendants in misdemeanor cases do not have lawyers. In many courts in South Carolina, there is no public defender ever available. The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) has filed a class action lawsuit against two South Carolina cities, alleging that they are unconstitutionally denying counsel to eligible accused persons.

There is no question that …

Meta Rights, Charlotte Garden

Faculty Articles

Are individuals entitled to notice of their constitutional rights or assistance in exercising those rights? In most contexts, the answer is no. Yet, there are some important exceptions, in which the Court has held that special circumstances call for notice and procedural protections designed to facilitate rights invocations. This article refers to these entitlements as “meta rights” — rights that protect rights. The most famous of these is the Miranda warning, which notifies suspects of their Fifth Amendment rights to silence and an attorney. There are others as well — among them, the First Amendment right of individuals represented by …

Full Disclosure: Cognitive Bias, Informants, And Search Warrant Scrutiny, Mary Bowman

Faculty Articles

This article posits that cognitive biases play a significant role in the gap between the rhetoric regarding Fourth Amendment protection and actual practices regarding search warrant scrutiny, particularly for search warrants based on informants’ tips. Specifically, this article examines the ways in which implicit bias, tunnel vision, priming, and hindsight bias can affect search warrants. These biases can affect each stage of the search warrant process, including targeting decisions, the drafting process, the magistrate’s decision whether to grant the warrant, and post-search review by trial and appellate courts. These biases create room for informant falsehoods to go unchecked, with a …

Don’T Blame Crawford Or Bryant: The Confrontation Clause Mess Is All Davis’S Fault, Deborah Ahrens, John Mitchell

Faculty Articles

In Michigan v. Bryant, a dying victim lying in a parking lot provided responding officers with the identity of the man who shot him. In determining whether the subsequent use of the deceased declarant’s statement at trial violated the Confrontation Clause, the Bryant Court applied the testimonial versus nontestimonial analysis established in the Court’s previous decision, Crawford v. Washington. Holding that testimonial hearsay covered statements involving past events, while nontestimonial statements were directed at an “ongoing emergency,” the Bryant Court applied a multi-factor, totality of the circumstances analysis and found that the deceased declarant’s identification had been directed …

Citizens, United And Citizens United: The Future Of Labor Speech Rights?, Charlotte Garden

Faculty Articles

Within hours of its announcement, the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC came under attack from progressive groups. Among these groups were some of America's largest labor unions-even though the decision applies equally to unions and for-profit corporations. The reason is clear: there exist both practical and structural impediments that will prevent unions from benefitting from Citizens United to the same extent as corporations. Therefore, Citizens United stands to unleash a torrent of corporate electioneering that could drown out the countervailing voice of organized labor.

This article, however, takes a broader view of Citizens United to explore a …

The Guardians Of Knowledge In The Modern State: Post’S Republic And The First Amendment, David M. Skover, Ronald K. L. Collins

Faculty Articles

Collins and Skover’s essay examines Yale Law School Dean Robert Post’s recent book, Democracy, Expertise, and Academic Freedom: A First Amendment Jurisprudence for the Modern State (Yale, 2012). Collins and Skover describe and examine Dean Post’s dichotomy between the realm of “democratic legitimation,” where the First Amendment should offer its strongest protections, and the realm of “democratic competence,” where the First Amendment should yield to the findings of knowledgeable experts. Questioning the theoretical premises of Dean Post’s book, they argue that a “harm principle” may better explain much of the First Amendment doctrine that Post attempts to reconcile with his …

Labor Values Are First Amendment Values: Why Union Comprehensive Campaigns Are Protected Speech, Charlotte Garden

Faculty Articles

Corporate targets of union “comprehensive campaigns” increasingly have responded by filing civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuits alleging that unions’ speech and petitioning activities are extortionate. These lawsuits are the descendants of the Supreme Court’s unexplained treatment of much labor speech as less worthy of protection than other types of speech. Starting from the position that speech that promotes democratic discourse deserves top-tier First Amendment protection, this article argues that labor speech--which plays a unique role in civil society--should be on an equal footing with civil rights speech. Thus, even if union advocacy qualifies as legal extortion, …

The Alienage Spectrum Disorder: The Bill Of Rights From Chinese Exclusion In Guantanamo, Won Kidane

Faculty Articles

The fundamental notion that increased ties to the polity of the United States would entitle an alien to better rights is deeply-rooted in the jurisprudence. Ordinarily, these rights tend to strengthen as one moves forward from the beginning of the spectrum, which might involve the most attenuated contact, as in the case of enemy aliens detained by United States military in a foreign land or an overseas visa applicant, to the end of the spectrum, which might involve a United States citizen. While this seems to make perfect sense, this article argues that a closer examination of the century-old jurisprudence …

Justice Stevens And The Seattle Schools Case: A Case Study On The Role Of Righteous Anger In Constitutional Discourse, Andrew Siegel

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

The Classic Rule Of Faith And Credit, David Engdahl

Faculty Articles

Since the late nineteenth century, orthodox doctrine under the Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause has presumed that the interpretation of that Clause set forth in Justice Joseph Story's 1833 Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States was essentially sound. This article argues, however, that Justice Story's view had been endorsed by almost no one before him and actually contradicted the "classic rule" of faith and credit, which Justice Story had articulated in 1813. The Supreme Court, moreover, consistently reiterated the "classic rule" despite Justice Story's change of mind, continuing to do so even after his death. By the …

From Bad To Worse?: Some Early Speculation About The Roberts Court & The Constitutional Fate Of The Poor, Andy Siegel

Faculty Articles

Conventional wisdom - supported in large measure by blackletter law - suggests that discrimination on the basis of wealth or class largely escapes constitutional sanction. If the conventional wisdom is correct, then issues of class and equal protection represent one area in which advocates of a more robust individual rights jurisprudence have little to fear from the Roberts Court. In this essay, prepared for a Symposium on "The Roberts Court and Equal Protection: Gender, Race, and Class," Professor Siegel offers a contrary view. He makes three related observations. First, existing caselaw is more complex than usually acknowledged, offering substantial interstitial …

My Father, John Locke, And Assisted Suicide: The Real Constitutional Right, John B. Mitchell

Faculty Articles

This article discusses the right to assisted suicide, a right not derived from anything explicit or implied in any textual provision of the Constitution. It is a right derived from the two underlying political philosophies, which form the basis of the entire U.S. Constitutional enterprise: John Locke's Social Contract and Civic Republicanism. In Part I, this article discusses Glucksberg's fundamental rights analysis. So much has been written about this case that this article will limit comments to briefly adding thoughts as to why, given the combination of the Court's motivation, both institutional and pragmatic, in approaching this case, and its …

Article 9 Of The Constitution Of Japan And Procedural And Substantive Heuristics For Consensus, Mark A. Chinen

Faculty Articles

Japan is considering changes to its constitution, including Article 9, which prohibits it from maintaining a military force. If amendments are made, it would mark the first time the Japanese constitution has been amended since its establishment in 1947. Professor Chinen examines the debates on Article 9 using scholarship on constitutions as providing heuristics for decision-making. Constitutions help overcome the problems of emotion and time-inconsistency. They also enable societies of different deliberative groups to avoid the pitfalls of deliberation by requiring groups to interact with one another and by providing opportunities for compromise through what Cass Sunstein refers to as …

Case Comments: Constitutional Law: Reaffirming Every Floridian’S Broad And Fundamental Right To Privacy, Diane Lourdes Dick

Faculty Articles

In this article Professor Diane Lourdes Dick examines the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (the Act) that was passed in 1999 by the Florida Legislature, which required minors seeking an abortion to either notify a parent prior to the procedure or obtain court approval to waive parental notice. A minor choosing the latter option must demonstrate to a court that she is either mature enough to make the decision or that, despite a court's finding that she lacks sufficient maturity, parental notification is clearly not in her best interest. The statute has never been enforced and the right to privacy …

Preemptive War: Is It Constitutional, John B. Mitchell

Faculty Articles

When America attacked Iraq in 2002, it was the first preemptive war in the history of our nation. While there is daily debate over the wisdom and consequences of that action, the question whether the federal government even possessed the power under the Constitution to wage preemptive war does not seem to have been raised. Although the legal literature abounds with discussion about whether the President may authorize significant military operations without the explicit authorization of Congress, the author could not find a single work written in legal cases or commentary about preemptive war. This article considers this heretofore unanswered …

Ninth Amendment Adjudication: An Alternative To Substantive Due Process Analysis Of Personal Autonomy Rights, Mark Niles

Faculty Articles

Notwithstanding decades of significant legal scholarship focusing on the Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a large portion of the practicing legal community, and even a substantial percentage of legal scholars, are unfamiliar with the provision. The primary reason for this phenomenon is the striking absence of an identifiable body of Ninth Amendment adjudication. In this Article, Mark Niles focuses on this phenomenon and endeavors to develop an interpretative theory of the amendment upon which an adjudicative role can be founded. In Part I of this Article, Niles outlines the traditional judicial treatment of the Ninth Amendment, or more precisely, …

The Dream That Will Not Die: Martin Luther King, Jr., And The Continuing American Revolution, Henry Mcgee

Faculty Articles

Professor Henry W. McGee, Jr. reviews Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, By David J. Garrow. Bearing the Cross depicts Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., while neither a lawyer nor a judge, belonged in the pantheon of American constitutional giants. From the Gethsemane of an Alabama jail, Dr. King carried the cross of freedom to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and ultimately to his own crucifixion on the balcony of a Memphis motel. The story of how a black Baptist minister caused the Constitution to be applied to all Americans is one …

The Dayton Peace Agreement: Constitutionalism And Ethnicity, Ronald Slye

Faculty Articles

It has been almost five years since the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia. An estimated 200,000 civilians have been killed, over two million people have been displaced from their homes, tens of thousands have been tortured and raped, and Europe has hosted yet another of the world's genocides. While the recently concluded Dayton Peace Agreement has resulted in a temporary cessation of the armed conflict, serious concerns have been raised regarding efforts to rebuild and repair the institutions of civil society. Little attention has been paid, however, to the constitutional structure of the newly created state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While …

Redefining The Sixth Amendment, John B. Mitchell

Faculty Articles

This article compares public defenders in lower courts with public defenders in superior courts across the country. The article concludes that lower criminal courts suffer from problems of funding and resource allocation and that these issues must be addressed before they can adequately administer justice.

Snake Pits And Unseen Actors: Constitutional Liability For Indirect Harm, Julie Shapiro

Faculty Articles

The purpose of this article is to find order amidst the chaos that predominates in analysis of indirect harm cases. It is the author’s hope that such an effort will assist courts, scholars, and advocates who continue to be confronted by these cases, as well as identify a focused agenda for future commentary, inquiry, and action.

Praetorianism & Common Law In Post-Colonial Settings: Judicial Responses To Constitutional Breakdowns In Pakistan, Tayyab Mahmud

Faculty Articles

The successive constitutional crises that confronted the Pakistani courts were not of their own making. But the doctrinally inconsistent, judicially inappropriate, and politically timid responses fashioned by these courts ultimately undermined constitutional governance. When confronted with the question of the validity and scope of extra constitutional power, the courts vacillated between Hans Kelsen's theory of revolutionary validity, Hugo Grotius's theory of implied mandate, and an expansive construction of the doctrine of state necessity. A more principled and realistic response would have been to declare the validity of extra constitutional regimes a nonjusticiable political question. Besides ensuring doctrinal consistency, a refusal …

In A Different Register: The Pragmatics Of Powerlessness In Police Interrogation, Janet Ainsworth

Faculty Articles

In a majority of states, a suspect is deemed to have invoked the Miranda right to counsel only if the suspect's request is clear and unequivocal. This doctrine is challenged as an insufficient protection of constitutional rights. It is argued that courts should treat even ambiguous and equivocal requests as per se effective innovations of the right to counsel.

The Senator And The Constitution: An Interview With Orrin G. Hatch, David Skover, Ronald Collins

Faculty Articles

Modern constitutional scholarship tends to focus exclusively on the role of the judiciary in the development of constitutional law. Recognizing that this "court-positivist" outlook leaves substantial gaps in constitutional literature, the authors turn their scholarly attention to legislative and executive contributions to the field. The subject of their inquiry is U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch, who has chaired the Constitutional Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and who is one of the Senate's most recognized constitutional commentators. The authors interviewed Senator Hatch about his positions on various issues in constitutional law and theory, and annotated the interview extensively to analyze …

Reconstituting 'Original Intent:' A Constitutional Law Encyclopedia For The Next Century, David Skover

Faculty Articles

In this article Professor Skover reviews the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. The Encyclopedia describes, in a fairly balanced and accurate manner, the contemporary understanding of the American constitutional heritage. The Encyclopedia exhibits the important functions that an encyclopedic work may serve in the legal culture of the twenty-first century. This review essay explores this thought. Part I describes the Encyclopedia's organizational structure, the interdisciplinary nature of its commentaries, and the divergent characters of its contributors. Part II considers the potential for its use and explores its role as the record of "original intent" for this century's constitutional "founders."

"Phoenix Rising" And Federalism Analysis, David Skover

Faculty Articles

The reaction to the Supreme Court's ruling in Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority leaves the decided impression that Garcia is a case of some importance, a milestone in the evolution of the constitutional doctrine of federalism. Whether Garcia will mark a radical shift in the jurisprudence of federalism, with major practical ramifications in the balance of federal and state economic regulatory powers, or whether the case is destined for a quick and unceremonious overruling is a question of some moment. This article evaluates the probable significance of Garcia for the development of the constitutional doctrine of federalism.

The Court Years, 1939-1975: The Autobiography Of William O. Douglas, James E. Bond

Faculty Articles

This article is a book review that highlights William O. Douglas’s character and temperament, and suggests these very traits made his legacy on the Court a disappointment. Arguing that Douglas was uncommitted to judicial craft and simply championed cases close to his heart. The article bemoans Douglas’s lack of insight into constitutional adjudication, while noting the volumes anecdotal humor, the article cites the autobiography’s disingenuousness as cause to call it a work of fiction.