Law Commons^™

Conflicts Originalism: The "Original Content" Of The Full Faith And Credit Clause And The Compulsory Choice Of Marriage Law, J. Sephen Clark

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The (Not So Dire) Future Of The Necessary And Proper Clause After National Federation Of Independent Business V. Sebelius, Celestine R. Mcconville

Celestine Richards McConville

Fundamental Unenumerated Rights Under The Ninth Amendment And The Privileges Or Immunities Clause, Adam Lamparello

Akron Law Review

The failure to link the Ninth Amendment and Privileges or Immunities Clause for the purpose of creating unenumerated fundamental rights has been a persistent but rarely discussed aspect of the Court’s jurisprudence. That should change. There need not be an ongoing tension between the Court’s counter-majoritarian role and the authority of states to govern through the democratic process. If the Constitution’s text gives the Court a solid foundation upon which to recognize new rights and thereby create a more just society, then the exercise of that power is fundamentally democratic. The Ninth Amendment and Privileges or Immunities Clause provides that …

The New Class Action Federalism, Mark Moller

Akron Law Review

Because separation of powers is “an aspect of federalism”10—a mechanism through which federalism is protected—this idea helps connect the Court’s “happenstantial” class action federalism with constitutional principle. This Article develops this idea in three parts. Part I briefly summarizes Richard Marcus’s account of CAFA’s potential to catalyze a kind of hyper-aggressive mass tort nationalism. Part II then reviews how the Roberts Court’s stinting approach to class actions is, to the contrary, throwing a lifeline to federalism. Part III ends by showing how Bayer points to a link, so far undeveloped in the case law, between that stinting approach and the …

Preparing The Groundwork For A Responsible Debate On Stem Cell Research And Human Cloning, O. Carter Snead

O. Carter Snead

The debate over both cloning and stem cell research has been intense and polarizing. It played a significant role in the recently completed presidential campaign, mentioned by both candidates on the stump, at both parties' conventions, and was even taken up directly during one of the presidential debates. The topic has been discussed and debated almost continuously by the members of the legal, scientific, medical, and public policy commentariat. I believe that it is a heartening tribute to our national polity that such a complex moral, ethical, and scientific issue has become a central focus of our political discourse. But, …

Discussion: Focus On Federalism, Erwin Chemerinsky, Jeffrey B. Morris, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Federal Visions Of Private Family Support, Laura A. Rosenbury

Laura A. Rosenbury

This Article offers a new perspective on the relationship between family and federalism by analyzing why the government — whether state or federal — recognizes family at all. The Article examines the current balance between state and federal authority over family by reviewing the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Astrue v. Capato, upholding the Social Security Administration’s deference to states’ intestacy laws when distributing benefits to posthumously conceived children, and United States v. Windsor, in which the Court struck down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Although each decision affirmed the states’ primary role in defining family …

Pinholster's Hostility To Victims Of Ineffective State Habeas Counsel, Jennifer Utrecht

Michigan Law Review

Cullen v. Pinholster foreclosed federal courts from considering new evidence when reviewing 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) petitions for claims previously adjudicated on the merits in state court. This decision has a particularly adverse effect on petitioners whose state habeas counsel left an incomplete or undeveloped record. This Note discusses strategies for victims of ineffective state habeas counsel to avoid the hostile mandate of Pinholster. It argues that, in light of Martinez v. Ryan’s recognition of the importance of counsel in initialreview collateral proceedings, courts should be wary of dismissing claims left un- or underdeveloped by ineffective state habeas counsel. It …

Federalism, Federal Courts, And Victims' Rights, Michael E. Solimine, Kathryn Elvey

Catholic University Law Review

One of the most striking developments in American criminal law and procedure in the past four decades has been the widespread establishment of victims’ rights at both the federal and state levels. A conspicuous exception to the success of the victims’ rights movement has been the failure of Congress to pass a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would uniformly establish such rights in all federal and state courts. Advanced by both private organizations and state officials, and with bipartisan support in Congress, bills establishing a Victims’ Rights Amendment (VRA) have been introduced several times in the past three …

Taking Care Of Federal Law, Leah Litman

Articles

Article II of the Constitution vests the “executive power” in the President and directs the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” But do these provisions mean that only the President may execute federal law? Two lines of Supreme Court precedent suggest conflicting answers to that question. In several prominent separation-of-powers cases, the Court has suggested that only the President may execute federal law: “The Constitution requires that a President chosen by the entire Nation oversee the execution of the laws.” Therefore, the Court has reasoned, Congress may not create private rights of action that allow nonexecutive …

Clean Energy Federalism, Felix Mormann

Faculty Scholarship

Legal scholarship tends to approach the law and policy of clean energy from an environmental law perspective. As hydraulic fracturing, renewable energy integration, nuclear reactor (re)licensing, transport biofuel mandates, and other energy issues have pushed to the forefront of the environmental law debate, clean energy law has begun to emancipate itself. The emerging literature on clean energy federalism is a symptom of this emancipation. This Article adds to that literature by offering two case studies, a novel model for policy integration, and theoretical insights to elucidate the relationship between environmental federalism and clean energy federalism.

Renewable portfolio standards and feed-in …

Energy Policy: A Test For Federalism, Jon L. Mills, R. D. Woodson

Jon L. Mills

This Article will examine the bases of state and federal power, exploring areas of both potential and existing conflict within the energy field. Situations in which either the state or federal government appears to have exclusive authority also will be scrutinized. Possible answers to problems caused by the clashing of governmental interests will be suggested, with an eye toward aiding policymakers to reach agreements which may avert such conflicts. Finally, a prognosis of the future of federalism in regard to the energy issue will be offered.

Federalism As A Constitutional Principle, Ernest Young

University of Cincinnati Law Review

Justice O’Connor rightly called federalism “our oldest question of constitutional law.”1 But the constitutional balance between the nation and the states is hardly what the cool kids are talking about these days. My first-year con law students show up each Fall expecting to learn about same-sex marriage, flag burning, and abortion; they’re plainly disappointed when they pick up the syllabus and see how much of the course is going to be about government structure.

The first part of my talk resists that intuition. The notion that federalism is passé is so tragically wrongheaded that I can’t bear to leave it …

Toward A Judicial Bulwark Against Constitutional Extravagance - A Proposed Constitutional Amendment For State Consent Over Judicial Appointments, Steven T. Voigt

ConLawNOW

Imagine a championship football game where one team is allowed to pick all of the referees.

Since the beginning of our nation, the line dividing federal and state power has been debated. But it has been decided in the federal courts, where judges were originally chosen by the President with the consent of a Senate that was chosen by the legislatures of the States. Federal judges are still chosen by the President with the consent of the Senate, but the Senate is no longer chosen by the States. With this constitutional change that proponents wrongly argued would not affect state …

The Reaffirmation Of Federalism As A Viable Limitation Upon The Commerce Power, Randy R. Koenders

Akron Law Review

"Throughout its history, the constitutional basis of the FLSA has remained anchored in the Commerce Clause. However, despite the legitimacy of that purpose, the FLSA has been the subject of constant attacks since its inception, the most fervent of which has been the challenge to its constitutionality on state sovereignty grounds.

"Two recent United States Supreme Court cases construing the constitutionality of the FLSA and its amendments reflect not only the changing judicial posture toward extension of the Act to matters of state concern, but also the differing attitudes toward extension of the Commerce Clause itself."

The Reaffirmation Of Federalism As A Viable Limitation Upon The Commerce Power, Randy R. Koenders

Akron Law Review

AS THE Constitution was being formulated, Article I, Section 8, clause 3, giving Congress the power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian Tribes," was added because of the Framers' grave concern with the erection of trade barriers between the states, a problem which had inhibited interstate trade under the old Articles of Confederation. The federal government's regulation of commerce was meant to provide substantial equality of access to a free national market, avoiding what has been unhappily referred to as "the intolerable experience of the economic Balkanization of America

The Emergence Of Classical American Patent Law, Herbert Hovenkamp

Herbert Hovenkamp

The Emergence of Classical Patent Law

Abstract

One enduring historical debate concerns whether the American Constitution was intended to be "classical" -- referring to a theory of statecraft that maximizes the role of private markets and minimizes the role of government in economic affairs. The most central and powerful proposition of classical constitutionalism is that the government's role in economic development should be minimal. First, private rights in property and contract exist prior to any community needs for development. Second, if a particular project is worthwhile the market itself will make it occur. Third, when the government attempts to induce …

Federalism To An Advantage: The Demise Of State Blue Sky Laws Under The Uniform Securities Act, Marianne M. Jennings, Bruce K. Childers, Ronald J. Kudla

Akron Law Review

They come at an opportune time. "They" are the changes to the Uniform Securities Act. Although some of the changes are perfunctory, the significant changes have a fascinating common thread running through them. That fascinating thread is federalism. Changes in the Act could move regulation away from the hands of the states and make federal registration, more or less, a ticket for sales without state approval. The changes are not without opposition. This article will discuss the changes, the reactions of particular concerned groups and the perceived effects of such changes.

Constitutional Federalism Revisited: Garcia V. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, Leslie Ann Iams

Akron Law Review

Constitutional federalism is the basis on which the United States government was created. However, the concept of constitutional federalism has not yet been clearly defined, and as a consequence, conflicting viewpoints on federalism have arisen. These conflicting viewpoints are best illustrated by the law concerning the commerce clause.

With the recent expansion of the commerce clause, the United States Supreme Court was faced with defining constitutional federalism, in order to evaluate the legitimacy of commerce clause legislation. The task of defining constitutional federalism, however, only served to create a dispute over federalism among the Supreme Court Justices. In 1985, the …

The Inherent Flaws In The Inherent Authority Position: Why Inviting Local Enforcement Of Immigration Laws Violates The Constitution, Immigr. & Nat'lity L. Rev., Huyen Pham

Huyen T. Pham

After 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that state and local authorities have "inherent authority" as sovereigns to enforce federal immigration laws. This announcement, a reversal from previous legal positions taken by DOJ, sent shockwaves through the immigrant and law enforcement communities. Previously, immigration law had been treated, both by law and in practice, as the exclusive province of the federal government.

This article considers the constitutional barriers to local enforcement. Although the fascinating interplay among immigration law, national security and anti-terrorism, and federalism has been highlighted in some of the debate up to now, the federalism-related issues go beyond …

The Use Of The Fourteenth Amendment By Salmon P. Chase In The Trial Of Jefferson Davis, C. Ellen Connally

Akron Law Review

The resulting decision in The Slaughterhouse Cases is one that is still debated and stands as a primary example of an unintended consequence of a constitutional amendment. Although historians and legal scholars have considered a number of the unintended consequences of the Fourteenth Amendment, one result, unforeseen by its proponents, has been totally overlooked... In the legal proceedings that came to be known as United States v. Jefferson Davis, a legal determination was required to determine whether or not Section 3 imposed a simple disqualification or an actual punishment...Could those who pushed for the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment, those …

Response To Heather Gerken's Federalism And Nationalism: Time For A Détente?, Erin Ryan

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Maintaining The Balance Of Power: A Typology Of Primacy Clauses In Federal Systems, Brady Harman

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Constitutional design has become a novel and globalized legal profession. As such, practitioners in this new field-advisers and consultants of constitutional formation and reformation processesrequire practical and comparative tools to ply their trade. This Note attempts to fill a gap in constitutional design literature and provide such a tool by methodically examining "primacy clauses." By determining whether national or provincial law prevails when the two are in conflict, primacy clauses play an important role in maintaining federal balances of power. Three primacy approaches are found among the world's federal constitutions: national primacy, provincial primacy, and conditional primacy. This Note explores …

Fragmented Oversight Of Nonprofits In The United States: Does It Work? Can It Work?, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The United States is well known for its distinctive, although not unique, division of political authority between the federal government and the various states. This division is particularly evident when it comes to oversight of nonprofit organizations. The historical focus of federal government oversight has been limited primarily to qualification for tax exemption and other tax benefits, with more plenary power resting with state authorities. Over time, however, the federal government’s role has come to overlap significantly with that of the states, and many nonprofits have become subject to regulation by multiple states as their operations and donor bases expand …

Why "Privileges Or Immunities"? An Explanation Of The Framers' Intent, William J. Rich

Akron Law Review

In the Slaughter-House Cases, Justice Field accused the majority of turning the Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause into a “vain and idle enactment which accomplished nothing,” and Justice Swayne argued that the majority “turn[ed] . . . what was meant for bread into a stone.” Most contemporary commentators appear to agree... Did the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment make a colossal mistake? Or were Justices Field and Swayne correct when they blamed Justice Miller’s majority opinion in Slaughter-House for leading the nation astray? Answers to these questions, in the pages that follow, are “no” to the first, and a …

The Fourteenth Amendment And The Unconstitutionality Of Secession, Daniel A. Farber

Akron Law Review

To understand fully the relevance of the first two clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to secession, we need to examine the antebellum disputes about citizenship and sovereignty, the subject of Part II below. Issues about citizenship arose in the context of specific disputes about naturalization, expatriation, and the rights of freedmen, but they implicated conflicts over the seat of allegiance and the nature of the Union. Part III turns to the Reconstruction debates and shows how they reflect a fundamentally nationalistic view of citizenship. The Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution were connected with a powerful vision of national citizenship and …

House Of Cards: How Rediscovering Republicanism Brings It Crashing Down, Jonathan E. Maddison

Catholic University Law Review

Using Frank Underwood’s maniacal political journey in the Netflix series House of Cards as an example of what is wrong with American politics, this article argues that the Supreme Court’s misapplication of First Amendment principles in Citizens United and other key campaign finance cases plays a large and problematic role. Providing an extensive historical overview of republicanism and First Amendment jurisprudence, this article suggests that a return to republican ideals, while not perfect, is both the solution and proper tool of analysis to be used by the Supreme Court for campaign finance cases and beyond.

Demand Response And Market Power, Bruce R. Huber

Journal Articles

In her article, Bypassing Federalism and the Administrative Law of Negawatts, Sharon Jacobs educates her readers about the concept of demand response, and then describes its propagation in recent years while making the broader argument that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) — the federal government’s principal energy regulator — has engaged in a strategy of “bypassing federalism” that may entail more costs than benefits. Professor Jacobs is right to call attention to demand response and to FERC’s approach to matters of jurisdictional doubt. While I share many of her concerns about boundary lines in a federal system, I argue …

Globalization And Structure, Julian Ku, John Yoo

John C Yoo

No abstract provided.

The Civil Rights Act Of 1964 And 'Legislating Morality': On Conscience, Prejudice, And Whether 'Stateways' Can Change 'Folkways', Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

Influential studies, from the 1940s and 1950s, of the problem of prejudice and how to remedy it challenged the famous assertion of nineteenth-century sociologist William Graham Sumner that “stateways don’t change folkways,” and its modern counterparts, “you cannot legislate against prejudice” or “you cannot legislate morality.” Social scientists countered that, although people might initially protest, they would welcome a federal antidiscrimination law that aligned with conscience and closed the gap between American ideals and prejudice, creating new “folkways.” Using examples from the contexts of public accommodations, education, and employment, this Article examines similar arguments made about conscience and “legislating morality” …