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The New Frontier Of State Constitutional Law, Jim Rossi, James A. Gardner
The New Frontier Of State Constitutional Law, Jim Rossi, James A. Gardner
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
In the past decade, a new frontier of constitutional discourse has begun to emerge, adding a fresh perspective to state constitutional law. Instead of treating states as jurisdictional islands in a sea under reign of the federal government, this new approach sees states as co-equals among themselves and between them and the federal government in a collective enterprise of democratic self-governance. This Symposium, organized around the theme of Dual Enforcement of Constitutional Norms, provides the occasion for leading scholars on state constitutional law to take a fresh look at their subject by adopting a vantage point outside of the individualized …
Enforcing State Law In Congress's Shadow, Robert A. Mikos
Enforcing State Law In Congress's Shadow, Robert A. Mikos
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
This article examines an important yet overlooked form of federal regulation implicating efficiency and fairness concerns - congressional statutes that impose federal sanctions on individuals convicted of state crimes. These sanctions may profoundly influence state criminal proceedings, but the scholarly literature has all but ignored their effects. The article demonstrates that by raising the stakes involved in state cases, federal sanctions may cause defendants to contest state charges more vigorously, thereby producing one of two unintended consequences. First, the sanctions may make it more costly for state prosecutors to enforce state laws. Second, due to resource constraints or dislike of …