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Full-Text Articles in Law
Horizontal Federalism & The Big State "Problem", Elizabeth Beske
Horizontal Federalism & The Big State "Problem", Elizabeth Beske
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Horizontal Federalism is poorly understood and increasingly important. When a big state regulates products for sale in its own markets, producers nationwide will predictably choose to modify their products to take advantage of the state’s large consumer base. Is this problematic? More importantly, does it offend the Constitution? A sharply divided Supreme Court, offering no single majority rationale, recently rejected dormant Commerce Clause challenges to California’s Proposition 12, which sets requirements for raw pork sold in California. Although the Court left California’s regulation intact, at least five Justices registered discomfort, with one dissenter expressly inviting argument under other clauses that …
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.'S Teleological Jurisprudence And What It Means For Constitutional Interpretation Today, Susan D. Carle
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.'S Teleological Jurisprudence And What It Means For Constitutional Interpretation Today, Susan D. Carle
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Observers commonly think of the Warren and Roberts Courts as polar opposites in their modes of constitutional interpretation. But how different are their approaches really? To be sure, the values that underlie the jurisprudence of the Warren and Roberts Courts are dramatically different, but their methodologies for constitutional adjudication are similar in a crucial respect: both Courts frequently employ a teleological approach. They look, in other words, to ends outside of the law to determine the direction in which constitutional law should be heading.
To prove this point, this Article examines the methods and values Justice William J. Brennan Jr. …
Digital Rummaging, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson
Digital Rummaging, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
The digital world encodes our lives with incriminating clues. How you travel, live, love, and shop are tracked through growing surveillance technologies. Police have recognized this reality and are actively exploiting new surveillance tools for investigative purposes.
The Fourth Amendment—the constitutional protection meant to limit police search powers—has not kept up with the privacy and security threats of these new digital technologies. Current doctrine has remained stymied by legal tests asking all the wrong questions about “reasonable expectations of privacy” and “trespass” searches. While the Supreme Court has acknowledged that “digital is different,” it has not yet provided a coherent …
The Court And The Private Plaintiff, Elizabeth Beske
The Court And The Private Plaintiff, Elizabeth Beske
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Two seemingly irreconcilable story arcs have emerged from the Supreme Court over the past decade. First, the Court has definitively taken itself out of the business of creating private rights of action under statutes and the Constitution, decrying such moves as relics of an “ancient regime.” Thus, the Supreme Court has slammed the door on its own ability to craft rights of action under federal statutes and put Bivens, which recognized implied constitutional remedies, into an ever-smaller box. The Court has justified these moves as necessary to keep judges from overstepping their bounds and wading into the province of the …
The Ripple Effects Of Dobbs On Health Care Beyond Wanted Abortion, Maya Manian
The Ripple Effects Of Dobbs On Health Care Beyond Wanted Abortion, Maya Manian
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
The Supreme Court’s momentous decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn fifty years of precedent on the constitutional right to abortion represents a sea of change, not only in constitutional law, but also in the public health landscape. Although state laws on abortion are still evolving after Dobbs, the decision almost immediately wreaked havoc on the delivery of medical care for both patients seeking abortion care and those not actively seeking to terminate a pregnancy.
This Article also argues that focusing the public’s attention on the deleterious consequences of abortion bans for health care beyond wanted abortion …
Why The U.S. Founders' Conceptions Of Human Agency Matter Today: The Example Of Senate Malapportionment, Susan D. Carle
Why The U.S. Founders' Conceptions Of Human Agency Matter Today: The Example Of Senate Malapportionment, Susan D. Carle
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
This Article links the U.S. founders’ ideas about “human agency”—i.e., their understandings of the link between the individual and the social and political structure—with how they designed the Constitution and, in particular, how they designed the U.S. Senate as a non-majoritarian institution. I mine primary sources to show that although the founders struggled with many dis- agreements in drafting the Constitution, they shared an amalgam of historically received ideas about human agency derived from both liberal and civic republican traditions. I identify five such ideas and then parse which of them continue to pertain today. I argue that although contemporary …
Are We Still Not Saved? Race, Democracy, And Educational Inequality, Lia Epperson
Are We Still Not Saved? Race, Democracy, And Educational Inequality, Lia Epperson
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Thirty-four years ago, in his seminal book, "And We Are Not Saved: The Elusive Quest for Racial Justice," Derrick Bell provided a critical view of American history and constitutional jurisprudence to illustrate the challenges the United States faces in reaching true equality. In his enlightened observations about the structure of our republic, Bell refers to “the American contradiction.” To see true progress toward meaningful equality, he contends, we must reckon with the challenging truth of our history—that we are a nation founded on this “constitutional contradiction”... In his work, Professor Bell argued that this American contradiction, “shrouded by myth,” serves …
Take Time To Wander Outside Your Comfort Zone, David Spratt
Take Time To Wander Outside Your Comfort Zone, David Spratt
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Guns N' Ganja: How Federalism Criminalizes The Lawful Use Of Marijuana, Ira P. Robbins
Guns N' Ganja: How Federalism Criminalizes The Lawful Use Of Marijuana, Ira P. Robbins
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Federalism is a vital tenet of our Republic. Although federal law is the supreme law of the land, our Constitution recognizes the integral role that state law plays in the national scheme. Like any pharmaceutical drug that withstands rounds of clinical testing, state law functions as a laboratory in which Congress can evaluate and potentially adopt novel policies on a nation-wide basis. Most of the time, federal and state law exist harmoniously, complementing one another; other times, however, the two systems clash, striking a dissonant chord.
In the United States, state marijuana laws are currently on a crash course with …
Political Question Disconnects, Elizabeth Earle Beske
Political Question Disconnects, Elizabeth Earle Beske
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Obama's Conversion On Same-Sex Marriage, Robert Tsai
Obama's Conversion On Same-Sex Marriage, Robert Tsai
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
This essay explores how presidents who wish to seize a leadership role over the development of rights must tend to the social foundations of those rights. Broad cultural changes alone do not guarantee success, nor do they dictate the substance of constitutional ideas. Rather, presidential aides must actively re-characterize the social conditions in which rights are made, disseminated, and enforced. An administration must articulate a strategically plausible theory of a particular right, ensure there is cultural and institutional support for that right, and work to minimize blowback. Executive branch officials must seek to transform and popularize legal concepts while working …
A New Balance Of Evils: Prosecutorial Misconduct, Iqbal, And The End Of Absolute Immunity, Mark Niles
A New Balance Of Evils: Prosecutorial Misconduct, Iqbal, And The End Of Absolute Immunity, Mark Niles
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Criminal prosecutors wield immense power in the criminal justice system. While the majority of prosecutors exercise this power in a professional manner, there is compelling evidence of a serious and growing problem ofprosecutorial misconduct in this country. Although much prosecutorial misconduct results in the violation of the constitutional and other legal rights of criminal defendants, prosecutors arep rotectedfrom any liability arisingf rom these violations in all but the most exceptional cases by the defense of absolute immunity. The US. Supreme Court has justified the application ofabsolute prosecutorial immunity, in part, by noting that other means of incentivizing appropriate prosecutorial conduct …
Inferiority Complex: Should State Courts Follow Lower Federal Court Precedent On The Meaning Of Federal Law?, Amanda Frost
Inferiority Complex: Should State Courts Follow Lower Federal Court Precedent On The Meaning Of Federal Law?, Amanda Frost
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
The conventional wisdom is that state courts need not follow lower federal court precedent when interpreting federal law. Upon closer inspection, however, the question of how state courts should treat lower federal court precedent is not so clear. Although most state courts now take the conventional approach, a few contend that they are obligated to follow the lower federal courts, and two federal courts of appeals have declared that their decisions are binding on state courts. The Constitution’s text and structure send mixed messages about the relationship between state and lower federal courts, and the Supreme Court has never squarely …
Human Rights Hero: The Supreme Court In Griswold V. Connecticut, Stephen Wermiel
Human Rights Hero: The Supreme Court In Griswold V. Connecticut, Stephen Wermiel
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Yes, Virginia, There Are Stupid Questions, David Spratt
Yes, Virginia, There Are Stupid Questions, David Spratt
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Transforming Family Law Through Same-Sex Marriage: Lessons From (And To) The Western World, Macarena Saez
Transforming Family Law Through Same-Sex Marriage: Lessons From (And To) The Western World, Macarena Saez
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Same-sex marriage is a 21st century phenomenon. In less than 13 years more than 15 countries have amended their marriage laws to include same-sex couples. Some countries have made the change through political decisions but others have reached the change through adjudicative processes. A comparative analysis of decisions from the highest courts of countries or states granting marriage to same-sex couples demonstrates: 1. similar arguments are presented to these courts when making the case for and against same-sex marriage; 2. courts are using comparative law to justify their decisions on same-sex marriage; 3. the majority of courts in these countries …
From Third Parties To Parents: The Case Of Lesbian Couples And Their Children, Nancy Polikoff
From Third Parties To Parents: The Case Of Lesbian Couples And Their Children, Nancy Polikoff
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Justice Brennan And His Law Clerks, Stephen Wermiel
Justice Brennan And His Law Clerks, Stephen Wermiel
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Should Public Buildings Be Used For Worship, Stephen Wermiel
Should Public Buildings Be Used For Worship, Stephen Wermiel
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
The Secret "Kill List" And The President, Kenneth Anderson
The Secret "Kill List" And The President, Kenneth Anderson
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
What Is The Meaning Of Like: The First Amendment Implications Of Social-Media Expression, Ira Robbins
What Is The Meaning Of Like: The First Amendment Implications Of Social-Media Expression, Ira Robbins
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Everywhere the Internet goes, new legal problems are sure to follow. As social media expands and infiltrates our daily lives, society must grapple with how to extend the law to modern situations. This problem becomes increasingly pressing as more and more of our social interactions take place online. For example, Facebook has become a colossal gathering place for friends, families, co-workers, frenemies, and others to disseminate their ideas and share information. Sometimes Facebook replaces old institutions; other times it augments them. Where once a neighbor would show allegiance to a political candidate by staking a sign on the front lawn, …
In Defense Of Scholars' Briefs: A Response To Richard Fallon, Amanda Frost
In Defense Of Scholars' Briefs: A Response To Richard Fallon, Amanda Frost
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
In a thoughtful and provocative essay, Richard Fallon criticizes law professors for lightly signing onto 'scholars’ briefs,' that is, amicus briefs filed on behalf of a group of law professors claiming expertise in the subject area. Fallon argues that law professors are constrained by the moral and ethical obligations of their profession from joining scholars’ briefs without first satisfying standards similar to those governing the production of scholarship, and thus he believes that law professors should abstain from adding their names to such briefs more often than they do now.
This response begins by describing the benefits of scholars’ briefs …
"Bad Juror" Lists And The Prosecutor's Duty To Disclose, Ira Robbins
"Bad Juror" Lists And The Prosecutor's Duty To Disclose, Ira Robbins
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Prosecutors sometimes use what are known as "bad juror" lists to exclude particular citizens from jury service. Not only does this practice interfere with an open and fair jury-selection process, thus implicating a defendant's right to be tried by a jury of his or her peers, but it also violates potential jurors' rights to serve in this important capacity. But who is on these lists? And is a prosecutor required to disclose the lists to defense counsel? These questions have largely gone unnoticed by legal analysts. This Article addresses the prosecutor's duty to disclose bad-juror lists. It reviews the federal …
Acta's Constitutional Problems: The Treaty Is Not A Treaty, Sean Flynn
Acta's Constitutional Problems: The Treaty Is Not A Treaty, Sean Flynn
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
On the eve of the United States’ entry into the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (“ACTA”), there is considerable confusion as to just what legal effect the agreement will have. In written answers to Senator Ron Wyden, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) went to lengths to describe ACTA as non-binding, asserting that “ACTA does not constrain Congress’ authority to change U.S. law,” and that it would operate only as an “Executive Agreement” that “can be implemented without new legislation.” But European negotiators have described the agreement to their legislature in very different terms, asserting that ACTA is “a binding international agreement …
Advice And Consent Vs. Silence And Dissent? The Contrasting Roles Of The Legislature In U.S. And U.K. Judicial Appointments, Mary Clark
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
The Senate‘s role in judicial appointments has come under increasingly withering criticism for its uninformative and spectacle-like nature. At the same time, Britain has established two new judicial appointment processes - to accompany its new Supreme Court and existing lower courts - in which Parliament plays no role. This Article seeks to understand the reasons for the inclusion and exclusion of the legislature in the U.S. and U.K. judicial appointment processes adopted at the creation of their respective Supreme Courts.
The Article proceeds by highlighting the ideas and concerns motivating inclusion of the legislature in judicial appointments in the early …
The Appropriations Power And Sovereign Immunity, Paul F. Figley
The Appropriations Power And Sovereign Immunity, Paul F. Figley
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
Discussions of sovereign immunity assume that the Constitution contains no explicit text regarding sovereign immunity. As a result, arguments about the existence - or nonexistence - of sovereign immunity begin with the English and American common-law doctrines. Exploring political, fiscal, and legal developments in England and the American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this Article shows that focusing on common-law developments is misguided. The common-law approach to sovereign immunity ended in the early 1700s. The Bankers’ Case (1690–1700), which is often regarded as the first modern common-law treatment of sovereign immunity, is in fact the last in the …
Substance Or Illusion - The Dangers Of Imposing A Standing Threshold, Amanda Leiter
Substance Or Illusion - The Dangers Of Imposing A Standing Threshold, Amanda Leiter
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Reforming The State Secrets Privilege, Amanda Frost
Reforming The State Secrets Privilege, Amanda Frost
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.
Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger And The Law, Ira Robbins
Digitus Impudicus: The Middle Finger And The Law, Ira Robbins
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
The middle finger is one of the most commonly used insulting gestures in the United States. The finger, which is used to convey a wide range of emotions, is visible on streets and highways, in schools, shopping malls, and sporting events, in courts and execution chambers, in advertisements and on magazine covers, and even on the hallowed floor of the United States Senate. Despite its ubiquity, however, as a number of recent cases demonstrate, those who use the middle finger in public run the risk of being stopped, arrested, prosecuted, fined, and even incarcerated under disorderly conduct or breach of …
Risky Business: Massachusetts V. Epa, Risk-Based Harm, And Standing In The D.C. Circuit, Amanda Leiter
Risky Business: Massachusetts V. Epa, Risk-Based Harm, And Standing In The D.C. Circuit, Amanda Leiter
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
No abstract provided.