Law Commons^™

Social Order And The Limits Of Law: A Theoretical Essay, Arthur S. Miller

Vanderbilt Law Review

Professor Jenkins maintains that Americans demand that "the law solve all of [their] problems and secure all of [their] purposes." The result is that we "so overload the legal apparatus that it short circuits, creating a spectacular display of fireworks but affecting nothing save its own wreckage."' That assertion, even if only partially accurate, merits close and continuing attention. Jenkins' analysis of that hypothesis--that proposition-is at once thought-provoking and illuminating. We are all in his debt for having written such a challenging book, even though I have some fundamental disagreements with how he develops that theme. Jenkins' work is a …

Aesthetic Regulation Under The Police Power: The New General Welfare And The Presumption Of Constitutionality, Beverly A. Rowlett

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article will examine the existing methods of analysis employed by courts in reviewing primarily aesthetic regulations, as well as the way in which those methods have been affected by the courts' continually evolving interpretation of the concept of general welfare. The Article argues that in many cases in which regulations based solely or primarily on aesthetic considerations have been upheld, the essential constitutional inquiries have been misdirected. This is because "nonaesthetic" justifications are asserted that either are wholly derived from aesthetic benefits, or have no basis in fact--and need none because of the presumption of constitutionality. Because the more …

Point, Counterpoint: The Evolution Of American Political Philosophy, William H. Rehnquist

Vanderbilt Law Review

I would suggest to you that during the more than two centuries that have elapsed since the American Revolution, American political philosophy has been notable principally for the contrapuntal themes that rise and fall as the nation matures. Numerous commentators have pointed out that certain ideals have long been widely shared by Americans: individual autonomy, liberty, equality, and a belief in limited, decentralized government.1 But no one would be so bold as to describe the present government of the United States as embodying those ideals. We have a strong national government that, with occasional lapses, impinges more and more on …

The Effect Of Duress On The Iranian Hostage Settlement Agreement, James M. Redwine

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

As soon as the United States began celebrating the hostages' release, the validity of the agreement became a subject of intense controversy. Conservative commentators urged that the United States "renounce the deal." To them, the Declaration was not an agreement but extortion, and had "the same moral standing as an agreement made with a kidnapper, that is to say, none at all..."

Although it will take years of litigation and commentary to assess the full significance and consequences of the hostage taking and the settlement agreement, some preliminary observations may be made. The Declaration poses many difficult questions of international …

Democracy And Distrust: A Theory Of Judicial Review, Michael Conant

Vanderbilt Law Review

This review is a critique of the major themes in Democracy and Distrust: A Theory of Judicial Review,' by Professor John Hart Ely of Harvard Law School. Ely primarily addresses the amount of discretion exercised by Supreme Court justices in deciding constitutional cases, a fundamental issue since few scholars today would contest the actual existence of the judicial review power of the Court. Ely's thorough scholarship presents a fine discussion of the Court's legitimacy when it extends its discretion beyond the base of the actual constitutional language. Professor Ely misses the mark, however, in his argument that certain open-ended constitutional …