Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Law
Originalism And The Meaning Of "Twenty Dollars", Michael L. Smith
Originalism And The Meaning Of "Twenty Dollars", Michael L. Smith
Faculty Articles
Originalism claims to provide answers, or at least assistance, for those hoping to interpret a Constitution filled with wide-ranging, morally loaded terminology. Originalists claim that looking to the original public meaning of the Constitution will constrain interpreters, maintain consistency and predictability in judicial decisions, and is faithful to ideals like democratic legitimacy. This essay responds with the inevitable, tough question: whether originalism can tell interpreters what the Seventh Amendment's reference to "twenty dollars" means--both as a matter of original meaning and for interpreters today.
While this appears to be an easy question, I demonstrate that rather than telling modern legal …
“Lawyers’ Work”: Does The Court Have A Legitimacy Crisis?, Lackland Bloom
“Lawyers’ Work”: Does The Court Have A Legitimacy Crisis?, Lackland Bloom
St. Mary's Law Journal
Talk of the Supreme Court’s legitimacy is pervasive. It can’t be avoided by anyone paying attention. The question this article addresses is does the Supreme Court have a legitimacy crisis. The title “Lawyers’ Work” is taken from Justice Scalia’s dissenting opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in which he declared that as long as the Court decides cases by engaging in “Lawyers’ Work” the public will leave it alone. This article concludes that Justice Scalia was partially though not entirely correct.
The article begins by considering the concept of judicial legitimacy as developed and studied by political scientists. Next it …
When “Special Needs” Meet Probable Cause: Denying The Devil Benefit Of Law, Gerald S. Reamey
When “Special Needs” Meet Probable Cause: Denying The Devil Benefit Of Law, Gerald S. Reamey
Faculty Articles
Removing laws to pursue the lawbreaker may be well intentioned, but the result is that society is susceptible to the evils those laws protect against. The traditional Fourth Amendment safeguards--probable cause and warrants--have been abandoned due to the development of a reasonableness standard because of the presence of “special needs” that were used to justify searches. The adoption of this alternative approach to Fourth Amendment interpretation was signalled by the truly landmark case of Terry v. Ohio.
By adopting the “reasonableness” analysis, the Supreme Court altered the impact of the exclusionary rule without directly modifying the rule. After Griffin v. …