Law Commons^™

How Conscientious Objectors Killed The Draft: The Collapse Of The Selective Service During The Vietnam War, Bill Raley

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article argues that a key-but-overlooked factor in the Vietnam-era breakdown of the draft system was the Supreme Court’s expansion of the religious conscientious objector ("CO") exemption. It asserts that the Court understood that the CO exemption violated the Establishment Clause, but rather than strike the exemption down, the Court avoided the constitutional issue by interpreting away the religious element of CO statutes. The Article concludes that the Court’s rulings caused CO exemptions to skyrocket, which in turn caused the draft system to collapse toward the end of the Vietnam War.

Brief Of Constitutional Law Scholars As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioners, David F. Forte, Ronald J. Colombo, Richard Epstein, Carl H. Esbeck, Robert P. George, Mary Ann Glendon, Brian Mccall, Stacy Scaldo, Steven Smith

Law Faculty Briefs and Court Documents

Lurking behind the regulatory issues presented by this appeal is a concerted effort to displace the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq. ("RFRA"), with a novel approach that would trivialize a law's burden on religion. The Court should not indulge it.

The critics' argument suffers from several analytical defects that can be remedied by (1) a proper constitutional understanding of RFRA's relationship to the Establishment Clause; (2) an accurate understanding of how the Religion Clauses safeguard third-party interests; and (3) the correct application of these understandings to the Final Rules.

Tipped Scales: A Look At The Ever-Growing Imbalance Of Power Protecting Religiously Motivated Conduct, Why That's Bad, And How To Stop It, Jeff Nelson

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note examines the current state of the law that seemingly allows individuals to harm and discriminate against others on the basis of their protected religious beliefs. This Note also explores how such a result has been made possible and how it may be stymied by judicial and legislative action. Section II discusses a short history of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause leading up to Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, and also includes an examination of both the real and possible harmful effects of RFRAs, current reactions to the application of these laws domestically, and interesting parallels internationally. Section III …

With God All Things Are Possible, Including Finding Ohio's State Motto Constitutional Under The Establishment Clause Of The First Amendment, Christopher Pierre

Cleveland State Law Review

The current battle over Ohio's state motto, "With God All Things Are Possible," has brought the debate over the meaning and application of the Establishment Clause to the Sixth Circuit and sparked deep feelings on both sides of the issue. Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This brief survey will reveal the continuing disagreements over the interpretation and application of the Establishment Clause while showing that history supports generalized references to God by the federal and state government. Part III will introduce the background and procedural history of the current case American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio v. Capitol Square …

The Politics Of Religion: Reasonable Accomodations And The Establishment Clause An Analysis Of The Workplace Religious Freedom Act, Gregory J. Gawlik

Cleveland State Law Review

The Workplace Religious Freedom Act is the focus of this note. The Workplace Religious Freedom Act represents another Congressional attempt to fortify the "reasonable accommodations" and "undue hardship" standards of Title VII with regard to religious discrimination in the workplace; the WRFA does go in the face of Supreme Court decisions which have narrowed the scope of those standards, eased burdens on employers, and valiantly guarded the citadel of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. Specifically, this note will analyze the potential constitutional infirmity of the Workplace Religious Freedom Act in light of Establishment Clause jurisprudence and the Court's rather murky …