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Full-Text Articles in Law
Qualified Immunity, Sovereign Immunity, And Systemic Reform, Katherine Mims Crocker
Qualified Immunity, Sovereign Immunity, And Systemic Reform, Katherine Mims Crocker
Faculty Publications
Qualified immunity has become a central target of the movement for police reform and racial justice since George Floyd’s murder. And rightly so. Qualified immunity, which shields government officials from damages for constitutional violations even in many egregious cases, should have no place in federal law. But in critical respects, qualified immunity has become too much a focus of the conversation about constitutional-enforcement reform. The recent reappraisal offers unique opportunities to explore deeper problems and seek deeper solutions.
This Article argues that the public and policymakers should reconsider other aspects of the constitutional-tort system—especially sovereign immunity and related protections for …
The Supreme Court's Reticent Qualified Immunity Retreat, Katherine Mims Crocker
The Supreme Court's Reticent Qualified Immunity Retreat, Katherine Mims Crocker
Faculty Publications
The recent outcry against qualified immunity, a doctrine that disallows damages actions against government officials for a wide swath of constitutional claims, has been deafening. But when the Supreme Court in November 2020 and February 2021 invalidated grants of qualified immunity based on reasoning at the heart of the doctrine for the first time since John Roberts became Chief Justice, the response was muted. With initial evaluations and competing understandings coming from legal commentators in the months since, this Essay explores what these cases appear to say about qualified immunity for today and tomorrow.
The Essay traces idealistic, pessimistic, and …
A Scapegoat Theory Of Bivens, Katherine Mims Crocker
A Scapegoat Theory Of Bivens, Katherine Mims Crocker
Faculty Publications
Some scapegoats are innocent. Some warrant blame, but not the amount they are made to bear. Either way, scapegoating can allow in-groups to sidestep social problems by casting blame onto out-groups instead of confronting such problems--and the in-groups' complicity in perpetuating them--directly.
This Essay suggests that it may be productive to view the Bivens regime's rise as countering various exercises in scapegoating and its retrenchment as constituting an exercise in scapegoating. The earlier cases can be seen as responding to social structures that have scapegoated racial, economic, and other groups through overaggressive policing, mass incarceration, and inequitable government conduct more …
Reconsidering Section 1983'S Nonabrogation Of Sovereign Immunity, Katherine Mims Crocker
Reconsidering Section 1983'S Nonabrogation Of Sovereign Immunity, Katherine Mims Crocker
Faculty Publications
Motivated by civil unrest and the police conduct that prompted it, Americans have embarked on a major reexamination of how constitutional enforcement works. One important component is 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which allows civil suits against any "person" who violates federal rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that "person" excludes states because Section 1983 flunks a condition of crystal clarity.
This Article reconsiders that conclusion--in legalese, Section 1983's nonabrogation of sovereign immunity--along multiple dimensions. Beginning with a negative critique, this Article argues that because the Court invented the crystal-clarity standard so long after Section 1983's enactment, the caselaw …
Split Definitive: How Party Polarization Turned The Supreme Court Into A Partisan Court, Neal Devins, Lawrence Baum
Split Definitive: How Party Polarization Turned The Supreme Court Into A Partisan Court, Neal Devins, Lawrence Baum
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Amicus Machine, Allison Orr Larsen, Neal Devins
The Amicus Machine, Allison Orr Larsen, Neal Devins
Faculty Publications
The Supreme Court receives a record number of amicus curiae briefs and cites to them with increasing regularity. Amicus briefs have also become influential in determining which cases the Court will hear. It thus becomes important to ask: Where do these briefs come from? The traditional tale describes amicus briefs as the product of interest-group lobbying. But that story is incomplete and outdated. Today, skilled and specialized advocates of the Supreme Court Bar strategize about what issues the Court should hear and from whom they should hear them. They then “wrangle” the necessary amici and “whisper” to coordinate the message. …
Legal Scholarship Highlight: The Amicus Machine, Allison Orr Larsen, Neal Devins
Legal Scholarship Highlight: The Amicus Machine, Allison Orr Larsen, Neal Devins
Popular Media
No abstract provided.
How Merrick Garland Could Help Heal America, Jeffrey Bellin
How Merrick Garland Could Help Heal America, Jeffrey Bellin
Popular Media
No abstract provided.
The Exceptions Clause As A Structural Safeguard, Tara Leigh Grove
The Exceptions Clause As A Structural Safeguard, Tara Leigh Grove
Faculty Publications
Scholars have long treated the Exceptions Clause of Article III as a serious threat to the Supreme Court’s central constitutional function: establishing definitive and uniform rules of federal law. This Article argues that scholars have overlooked an important function of the Clause. Congress has repeatedly used its broad “exceptions power” to facilitate, not to undermine, the Supreme Court’s constitutional role. Drawing on insights from social science, this Article asserts that Congress has an incentive to use its control over federal jurisdiction to promote the Court’s role in settling disputed federal questions. Notably, this argument has considerable historical support. When the …
Legal Scholarship Highlight: Confronting Supreme Court Fact Finding, Allison Orr Larsen
Legal Scholarship Highlight: Confronting Supreme Court Fact Finding, Allison Orr Larsen
Popular Media
No abstract provided.
Section 2: Structure, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 2: Structure, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Section 8: Federalism, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 8: Federalism, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Section 7: Individual Rights, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 7: Individual Rights, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Section 5: Individual Rights, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 5: Individual Rights, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Section 4: Individual Rights, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 4: Individual Rights, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Section 1: Moot Court, Partial Birth Abortion, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 1: Moot Court, Partial Birth Abortion, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Section 1: Moot Court, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 1: Moot Court, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Section 5: Federalism, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 5: Federalism, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Reflections On The Teaching Of Constitutional Law, William W. Van Alstyne
Reflections On The Teaching Of Constitutional Law, William W. Van Alstyne
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Section 6: Federalism, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 6: Federalism, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
What Brown Teaches Us About The Rehnquist Court's Federalism Revival, Neal Devins
What Brown Teaches Us About The Rehnquist Court's Federalism Revival, Neal Devins
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Better Lucky Than Good, Neal Devins
Section 7: Federalism In The Rehnquist Court, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 7: Federalism In The Rehnquist Court, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Attitudes About Attitudes, Michael J. Gerhardt
Attitudes About Attitudes, Michael J. Gerhardt
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Federalism-Rights Nexus: Explaining Why Senate Democrats Tolerate Rehnquist Court Decision Making But Not The Rehnquist Court, Neal Devins
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Federal Judicial Selection As War, Part Three: The Role Of Ideology, Michael J. Gerhardt
Federal Judicial Selection As War, Part Three: The Role Of Ideology, Michael J. Gerhardt
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Section 7: Federalism, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 7: Federalism, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
Marbury Ascendant: The Rehnquist Court And The Power To "Say What The Law Is", Timothy Zick
Marbury Ascendant: The Rehnquist Court And The Power To "Say What The Law Is", Timothy Zick
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Supreme Court Selection As War, Michael J. Gerhardt
Supreme Court Selection As War, Michael J. Gerhardt
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Constitution In Exile: Is It Time To Bring It In From The Cold?, William W. Van Alstyne
The Constitution In Exile: Is It Time To Bring It In From The Cold?, William W. Van Alstyne
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.