Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Law
Introduction: What Does Oakley Tell Us About The Failures Of Constitutional Decision-Making?, Taylor Flynn
Introduction: What Does Oakley Tell Us About The Failures Of Constitutional Decision-Making?, Taylor Flynn
Faculty Scholarship
The Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision in State v. Oakley, in which the court upheld a probation order prohibiting Mr. Oakley from fathering additional children until he could support them, is a compelling example of a troubling flaw in our constitutional jurisprudence. Absent the countervailing check perhaps provided by the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions, each path of doctrinal analysis, considered separately, arguably leads to the conclusion that the probation order is valid. This is so even though a number of institutional, structural, and process-based considerations converge to render the order's constitutionality highly suspect. The prevailing doctrinal approach is to disaggregate the …
The Equal Access Act: Still Controversial After All These Years, Leora Harpaz
The Equal Access Act: Still Controversial After All These Years, Leora Harpaz
Faculty Scholarship
Over its twenty-year history, the Equal Access Act has continued to spark controversy. Despite a large number of court decisions that have interpreted the scope of the statute, those controversies have not yet subsided nor are they likely to for the foreseeable future. Interpretation of the Equal Access Act is complicated by ambiguities in the statute's language and the complex relationship that exists between the statute and the First Amendment's prohibition on religious establishments combined with its protection for freedom of expression. The delicate constitutional balancing act that the statute attempts to accomplish complicates the task of statutory interpretation in …
The Equal Access Act: Still Controversial After All These Years, Leora Harpaz
The Equal Access Act: Still Controversial After All These Years, Leora Harpaz
Faculty Scholarship
Over its twenty-year history, the Equal Access Act has continued to spark controversy. Despite a large number of court decisions that have interpreted the scope of the statute, those controversies have not yet subsided nor are they likely to for the foreseeable future. Interpretation of the Equal Access Act is complicated by ambiguities in the statute's language and the complex relationship that exists between the statute and the First Amendment's prohibition on religious establishments combined with its protection for freedom of expression. The delicate constitutional balancing act that the statute attempts to accomplish complicates the task of statutory interpretation in …
Probation Restrictions Impacting The Right To Procreate: The Oakley Error, Jennifer L. Levi
Probation Restrictions Impacting The Right To Procreate: The Oakley Error, Jennifer L. Levi
Faculty Scholarship
In State v. Oakley, the all-male four-justice majority held that a probation condition restricting David Oakley's right to have children passed constitutional muster. This Article discusses this question of the appropriate approach to evaluating the constitutionality of probation conditions. The Wisconsin Supreme Court's approach is compared to that of other courts in cases involving, in some way, decisions limiting a probationer's right to have children. The Author concludes that regardless of what constitutional standard or degree of scrutiny courts apply, cases can (and do) go both ways with respect to upholding or striking down probation restrictions on fundamental rights. However, …