Law Commons^™

Sprawl, Growth Boundaries And The Rehnquist Court , Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

This article addresses the constitutionality and wisdom of Oregon's urban growth boundary (UGB) program. The article concludes that the program is constitutional under current precedent, and that (contrary to claims made by UGB critics) there is little evidence that the UGB has caused Oregon's runup in housing prices. On the other hand, UGB supporters may have exaggerated the UGB's positive environmental results.

The Metes And Bounds Of State Sovereign Immunity, Scott Dodson

Scott Dodson

What are the parameters of state sovereign immunity? The Court has made clear that certain provisions of Article I contain no authority for overriding state sovereign immunity, while at least one other provision, the Fourteenth Amendment, permits Congress to abrogate the states' sovereign immunity. How is this constitutional line drawn? It is temporally bound? In other words, are only certain Amendments enacted after the Eleventh Amendment free from absolute subservience to state sovereign immunity? Or, does it divide the original Constitution and its Amendments, meaning that state sovereign immunity permeates the original Constitution but does not infiltrate certain Amendments, even …

Until Life Support Do Us Part: A Spouse's Limited Ability To Terminate Life Support For An Incompetent Spouse With No Hope Of Recovery, Marybeth Herald

Marybeth Herald

This paper deals with a MCS patient in California - a case that highlights our uncertain steps into state regulation of the end of life. After a 1993 automobile accident, 42-year-old Robert Wendland fell into the classification of a MCS with no hope of recovery. He had made no advance directives as to his health care. His wife of 20 years sought to withhold artificial feeding and hydration after three surgeries to replace Robert's feeding tube. The 20-member ethics committee at the hospital, Robert and Rose's three children (two were of college age), and Robert's brother, all supported her decision. …

Progressive Race Blindness: Individual Identity, Group Politics, And Reform, Darren Hutchinson

Darren L Hutchinson

Critical Race Theorists advance race consciousness as a positive instrument for political and legal reform. A growing body of works by left-identified scholars, however, challenges this traditional progressive stance toward race consciousness.

After summarizing the contours of this budding literature, this Article criticizes the "progressive race blindness" scholarship on several grounds and offers an alternative approach to race consciousness that balances skepticism towards the naturalness of race with a healthy appreciation of the realities of racial subjugation and identity.

"Illiberal" Societal Cultures, Liberalism, And American Constitutionalism, Mark Rosen

Mark D. Rosen

No abstract provided.

The Radical Possibility Of Limited Community-Based Interpretation Of The Constitution, Mark D. Rosen

Mark D. Rosen

This Article explores a radical method under the U.S. Constitution for devolving extraordinary political power to select communities. The United States Constitution places limitations on the exercise of public power by sub-federal polities. When insular groups seek to exercise public power to govern themselves, however, there may be special constitutional limitations that are operative - doctrines that afford their local governments more options in the exercise of power than ordinary state and local governments enjoy. The Article shows that Congress may grant the communities the authority to construe designated provisions of the United States Constitution insofar as the provisions apply …

Spheres Of Autonomy: Reforming The Content Neutrality Doctrine In First Amendment Jurisprudence, Steven J. Heyman

Steven J. Heyman

In recent decades, the doctrine of content neutrality has become the cornerstone of First Amendment jurisprudence. In the leading case of Police Department v. Mosley (1972), the Supreme Court declared that speech may "never" be regulated because of its content, for that would be "the essence of . . . censorship." If this view were taken literally, however, it would disable government from regulating speech even when necessary to prevent serious injury to individuals or society. In response to this concern, the Court has carved out several exceptions to the neutrality doctrine. Yet the Justices have never succeeded in explaining …

New Complexity Theories: From Theoretical Innovation To Doctrinal Reform, Darren Hutchinson

Darren L Hutchinson

No abstract provided.

New Dimensions Of The Section 5 Enforcement Power, David Day

David Day

No abstract provided.

A Study In Judicial Sleight Of Hand: Did Geier V. American Honda Motor Co. Eradicate The Presumption Against Preemption?, Susan Raeker-Jordan

Susan Raeker-Jordan

No abstract provided.

Deshaney’S Legacy In Foster Care And Public School Settings, Mary Kate Kearney

Mary Kate Kearney

No abstract provided.

Magistrate Judges, Article Iii, And The Power To Preside Over Federal Prisoner Section 2255 Proceedings, Ira P. Robbins

Ira P. Robbins

Zoning, Taking, & Dealing: The Problems And Promise Of Bargaining In Land Use Planning, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

Municipal land use bargaining may imply as many problems as it heralds promise, but it is widely acknowleged as the universal language of land use planning. Planners and scholars agree that public-private negotiation plays a central role in the vast majority of local land use decision-making. At least in part, this is a result of the peculiar attributes of the resource at issue. Land is, perhaps, the ultimate nonfungible. Each parcel of land possesses unique characteristics not only in its physical attributes, but also by virtue of its location, and its proximity to other unique parcels. Moreover, land uses implicate …