Law Commons^™

On Political Boundary Lines, Multiculturalism, And The Liberal State, Sanford Levinson

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Law and Civil Society

The Draw And Drawbacks Of Religious Enclaves In A Constitutional Democracy: Hasidic Public Schools In Kiryas Joel, Judith Lynn Failer

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Law and Civil Society

Still Lost In The Political Thicket (Or Why I Don't Understand The Concept Of Vote Dilution), Larry Alexander

Vanderbilt Law Review

I still don't get it. I can see why as partisans of this or that set of policies we will still care about how district lines are drawn, even if each district has an equal number of voters. We might wish to maximize black representation. We might wish to elect Democrats, or liberals, or incumbents. What I cannot see, however, is why the Constitution, or a supposedly nonpartisan measure like the Voting Rights Act,I should be enlisted in these partisan battles.

Professor Karlan does an admirable job of exploring whether and to what extent blacks benefit politically from being concentrated …

The Dynamics Of Democracy: Travel, Premature Predation, And The Components Of Political Identity, Nicholas S. Zeppos

Vanderbilt Law Review

Democracy is indeed an elusive concept and any effort to develop the constituent elements of so important a political idea ought to be encouraged. From any number of perspectives it is clear that democracy must include more than simply ratifying the outcomes of either citizen or representative voting., And when a court is asked to set aside the results of a process some describe as democratic, the challenge to enrich the concept becomes even more pressing, particularly when the judicial power is invoked in the name of enhancing democracy. The Supreme Court's decision in Romer v. Evan dramatically poses the …

Democracy, Kulturkampf, And The Apartheid Of The Closet, William N. Eskridge, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the generation after World War 2 (1945-69), homosexual intimacy was a serious crime in Colorado and other states, as was any kind of "lewdness" or homosexual solicitation; people suspected of being homosexual were routinely dismissed from federal, state, and private employment.' In the generation after Stonewall (1969-97), Colorado's legislature repealed the state's consensual sodomy law, and the governor by executive order prohibited state employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The cities of Aspen, Boulder, and Denver enacted ordinances prohibiting private sexual orientation discrimination in housing, employment, education, public accommodations, and health and welfare services. In 1992, the …

Democracy, Majoritarianism, And Racial Equality: A Response To Professor Karlan, Christopher L. Eisgruber

Vanderbilt Law Review

Only with great trepidation do I undertake to comment upon Professor Karlan's fine Article.1 Much of what I know about voting rights law I have learned from her work, and her contribution to this Symposium is characteristically erudite, detailed, and cogent. I will therefore limit myself to offering four modest observations about her argument. My central point is simple: While Professor Karlan successfully identifies several empirical questions that critics of majority- black voting districts must answer, those same questions also raise problems for defenders of majority-black districts (including Professor Karlan herself).

Professor Karlan's argument is directed against what I shall …

Introduction: The Democratic Judge, Michael J. Gerhardt

Vanderbilt Law Review

It is a special privilege for me to return to this great law school to honor one of its greatest graduates. Each time I return to Nashville, it feels like a homecoming. Each time I return, I also feel that as I am getting older, Judge Merritt is getting younger. The last time I was here, he got married; and the time before that, we squared off for the umpteenth time on a tennis court. He also Writes more opinions, gives more speeches, and has taken more of a leadership role in protecting the interests of the federal judiciary than …

Cultivating A Seedling Charter: South Africa's Court Grows Its Constitution, Margaret A. Burnham

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

As South Africa emerges from the vestiges of apartheid, its Constitutional Court struggles to develop a jurisprudence that reflects the lasting ideals of a constitutional democracy. This Article examines the Court's use of international and foreign law in developing a unique form of constitutional jurisprudence. It argues that the Constitutional Court is in the process of developing an innovative form of decision-making that effectively combines domestically derived principles of justice with those developed in the international forum. This Article concludes that reliable methods of adjudication are firmly entrenched in the South African legal system and that its constitutional jurisprudence should …

Neither Free Nor Fair: The 1996 Bosnian Elections And The Failure Of The U.N. Election-Monitoring Mission, Christopher A. Riley

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The international community faced a difficult challenge after the Dayton Peace Accords ended the civil war in Bosnia. Free and fair elections became an essential component to establishing a democratic government in the war-torn country. The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe responded by carrying out Annex 3 of the Peace Accords, which called for such elections. The resultant election-monitoring mission in Bosnia, however, was unsuccessful The elections were held under improper conditions. Therefore, the Bosnian people lack confidence in the democratic process, which is necessary for long-term democracy.