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Full-Text Articles in Law
Catalytic Courts And Enforcement Of Constitutional Education Funding Provisions, Hugh D. Spitzer, Andy Omara
Catalytic Courts And Enforcement Of Constitutional Education Funding Provisions, Hugh D. Spitzer, Andy Omara
Articles
It is well-recognized that it is easier for judges to enforce constitutional “negative rights” provisions than positive social and economic rights. This article focuses on the challenges of enforcing one specific positive right: the constitutional right of children to attend adequately funded schools. Our article tests on-the-ground judicial implementation of education funding provisions against the general theoretical framework of judicial interaction with the political branches developed by Katharine Young. We analyze how, in multi-year, multi-decision litigation, constitutional court judges in the three jurisdictions we studied actively experimented with the challenging task of forcing, or enticing, reluctant legislative and executive branches …
Fifty More Constitutions, Mary Whisner
Fifty More Constitutions, Mary Whisner
Librarians' Articles
The U.S. Constitution may get all the attention, but as Ms. Whisner points out, state constitutional law is also important to legal researchers. Unfortunately, the sources for researching state constitutions are more limited and difficult to find. She describes a web site created by the Gallagher Law Library at the University of Washington School of Law that makes available sources of Washington State constitutional history.
Bearing Arms In Washington State, Hugh D. Spitzer
Bearing Arms In Washington State, Hugh D. Spitzer
Articles
Article I, Section 24 of the Washington State Constitution directly affects two "hot topics" today: first, the increase in the carrying of weapons by the citizenry (particularly concealed weapons, with or without permits) and, second, the increase in "citizen militias" in various parts of the state. Article I, Section 24 also presents interesting issues from a pure state-constitutional-law standpoint, because it represents one of the striking characteristics of state constitutions: these basic documents of civil society for each state represent centuries of buildup and accretion. State constitutional provisions can often be analyzed in terms of layering. In preparing a state …
An Analytical View Of Recent Lending Of Credit Decisions In Washington State, Hugh D. Spitzer
An Analytical View Of Recent Lending Of Credit Decisions In Washington State, Hugh D. Spitzer
Articles
Sections 5 and 7 of article VIII of the Washington State Constitution, concerning gifts or loans by the state and by local governments, have been a source of confusion to the courts and frustration to the sponsors of government programs. Although some have proposed a single formula for applying the provisions, attempts to create a single rule or set of coherent rules for interpreting these problematical provisions are apt to fail. The constitutional language is complex, involving numerous elements, each of which must be present for the prohibition to apply. Rather than a single formula governing the application of these …