Law Commons^™

Substitute And Complement Theories Of Judicial Review, David E. Landau

Indiana Law Journal

Constitutional theory has hypothesized two distinct and contradictory ways in which judicial review may interact with external political and social support. One line of scholarship has argued that judicial review and external support are substitutes. Thus, “political safeguard” theorists of American federalism and the separation of powers argue that these constitutional values are enforced through the political branches, making judicial review unnecessary. However, a separate line of work, mostly composed of social scientists examining rights issues, argues that the relationship between courts and outside support is complementary—judges are unlikely to succeed in their projects unless they have sufficient assistance from …

Executive Branch Fact Deference As A Separation Of Powers Principle, Emily A. Kile

Indiana Law Journal

This Note concludes that, although Zivotofsky I provides a basis for judicial review of the legality of the Obama Administration’s “hostilities” determination (and, by extension, other questions of statutory interpretation related to foreign affairs), that review could be blunted by judicial deference to the executive branch’s factual determinations relevant to whether the Libyan airstrikes constituted “hostilities” within the War Powers Resolution. By addressing the political question doctrine’s history and the response to Zivotofsky I, this Note will explore whether the political question doctrine—particularly in cases of statutory interpretation—has lost some of its force as a justiciability doctrine. This Note will …

Collateral Visibility: A Socio-Legal Study Of Police Body Camera Adoption, Privacy, And Public Disclosure In Washington State, Bryce Clayton Newell

Indiana Law Journal

Law enforcement use of body-worn cameras has become a subject of significant public and scholarly debate in recent years. This Article presents findings from a study of the legal and social implications of body-worn camera adoption by two police departments in Washington State. In particular, this study focuses on the public disclosure of body-worn camera footage under Washington State’s public records act, state privacy law, and original empirical findings related to officer attitudes about—and perceptions of—the impact of these laws on their work, their own personal privacy, and the privacy of the citizens they serve. The law in Washington State …

Looking Beyond The Veil, Immanuel Chioco

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

From establishments of state religions to bans on headscarves, religious minorities experience discrimination. In the post-September 11, 2001, world, Muslim women in particular have faced harsh forms of discrimination and stereotyping; this stigma has only been worsened with the recent influx of immigrants into Europe. With increasing numbers of immigrants, some countries have attempted to assimilate minority religious groups by banning the religious use of headscarves. EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., a case from the United States Supreme Court, was a break for Muslim women. This case, which involved a Muslim plaintiff, held that religious practices are to …

Eliminating Circuit-Split Disparities In Federal Sentencing Under The Post-Booker Guidelines, Elliot Edwards

Indiana Law Journal

This Note will explore the rarely discussed consequences that result when courts of appeals freely interpret the Sentencing Guidelines. This Note will not address appellate review of sentences in general, nor will it discuss disparities caused by trial courts. Instead, the discussion below will address a very specific situation, namely when a court of appeals vacates a sentence because, in its estimation, the trial court misapplied the Guidelines. Part I will relate the history of the recent sentencing re-form movement in America, noting particularly which bodies have the authority to decide sentencing policy. Part II will then analyze the interpretive …

“Illegal” Migration Is Speech, Daniel I. Morales

Indiana Law Journal

Noncitizens must comply with immigration laws just because citizens say so. The citizenry takes for granted its monopoly on immigration control, but the legitimacy of this arrangement has been called into question by cutting-edge political theorists. One prominent theorist argues, for example, that basic democratic principles require that noncitizens living outside the United States have a say in the formation of immigration law since they must obey it. This Article provides a legal response to these political theory developments, assimilating them, along with the facts on the ground, into an account of “illegal” migration as First Amendment speech.

If noncitizens’ …

Post-Racialism And The End Of Strict Scrutiny, David Schraub

Indiana Law Journal

In recent years, a growing social consensus has emerged around the aspiration of a “post-racial” America: one where race is no longer a fault line for social strife or, perhaps, a morally significant trait whatsoever. This ambition, however, lies in tension with the most basic constitutional principle governing our treatment of race in the public sphere: that of “strict scrutiny.” Post-racialism seeks to diminish the salience of race to near negligibility. The strict scrutiny of racial classifications, by contrast, significantly enhances the salience of race by treating it differently from virtually every other personal attribute or characteristic—including hair or eye …

A Taxonomy Of Independent Electoral Reapportionment Systems, James Ruley

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

This paper addresses a means of checking legislative gerrymandering, which I have called the Independent Electoral Reapportionment Commission (IERC). Its purpose is to prevent self-interested politicians from drawing biased constituency lines. While scholars have researched gerrymandering, few scholars have researched commissions designed to limit such gerrymandering, and no comprehensive work details the global means of accomplishing this goal.

Thus, the purpose of this paper is not to normatively prescribe the best practices for composing and empowering an IERC, but rather to descriptively show how different countries conduct this process. While Part II makes some determinations about which commissions may conceptually …

Realizing An Opportunity: Limiting The Power Of The Executive In The Iraqi Constitution, Cory Kopitzke

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

In the summer of 2015, Iraqi citizens took to the streets in protest. After going without essential services, such as electricity, in the sweltering heat and after enduring corruption that undermined Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State, these citizens called for meaningful changes in the management of the Iraqi government and for the fulfillment of “democratic aspirations” enshrined in the Iraqi Constitution. In response to these protests, Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, proposed sweeping reform measures to combat the decisive divides in the current administration. These reforms called for drastic change—including the elimination of the vice-president and deputy prime minister …