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Full-Text Articles in Law
State Constitutionalism In The Age Of Party Polarization, Neal Devins
State Constitutionalism In The Age Of Party Polarization, Neal Devins
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Congressional Threats Of Removal Against Federal Judges, Marc O. Degirolami
Congressional Threats Of Removal Against Federal Judges, Marc O. Degirolami
Faculty Publications
The federal judicial branch has lately become the object of increasing scrutiny and distrust by its legislative counterpart. Congressional suspicion is often directed toward judicial discretion in criminal sentencing and, more generally, the degree to which judges are perceived to be beholden to a particular ideological point of view or personal bias. This distrust has bred a potent strain of political opportunism that Congress has manifested in several recent bills. One of these, the Feeney Amendment to the PROTECT Act, all but eliminated judicial discretion in sentencing and tacitly threatens judges' continued employment. Though the Supreme Court's recent decision in …
A Matter Of Power: Structural Federalism And Separation Doctrine In The Present, Frances Howell Rudko
A Matter Of Power: Structural Federalism And Separation Doctrine In The Present, Frances Howell Rudko
Faculty Publications
Public reaction to the 1823 Supreme Court decision in Green v. Biddle prompted John Marshall’s letter to Henry Clay, who had argued the case as amicus curiae for the defendant. The letter is significant because Marshall, who had been a legislator himself, candidly expresses not only his personal dissatisfaction with the congressional assault on the 1823 decision but also the constitutional basis for his opinion. The significance of Marshall’s extrajudicial opinion becomes more apparent when it is considered in the aftermath of the recent tug-of-war between Congress and the Court which culminated in the decision in City of Boerne v. …
Government Lawyers And The New Deal, Neal Devins
Government Lawyers And The New Deal, Neal Devins
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Notes On A Bicentennial Constitution, Part I: Processes Of Change, William W. Van Alstyne
Notes On A Bicentennial Constitution, Part I: Processes Of Change, William W. Van Alstyne
Faculty Publications
With the approach of the Bill of Rights bicentennial, this paper takes the cause for celebration as an equally important occasion for critique. This work argues that the most distinguishing aspects of our Constitution are not the Bill of Rights, federalism, and separation of powers, but rather the availability of judicial review, the political insulation of federal judges, and the limited mechanisms available for constitutional change.