Law Commons^™

Government Election Advocacy: Implications Of Recent Supreme Court Analysis, Steven J. Andre

Steven J. Andre

The constitutional issue presented by government partisanship in elections is becoming increasingly significant for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high Court’s decisions in Arizona Free Enterprise Club, Citizens United v. FEC and Pleasant Grove City v. Summum shed significant light on how the high Court would handle the government campaigning question if it should ever accept review on the issue. This article reviews lower court treatment of the problem and describes the U.S. Supreme Court’s analysis of election and First Amendment concerns and applies that analysis to the question of partisan government expenditures during election contests.

Such Gaming Causes Trouble: Constitutional And Statutory Confusion With The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Jacob Berman

Jacob Berman

This paper argues that two circuits’ interpretations of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act violate the Tenth Amendment by forcing a Hobson’s choice on state legislators. Since California v. Cabazon Band, Indian tribes have been able to operate commercial gaming establishments with the blessing of the federal judiciary. Immediately after Cabazon, Indian tribes could only offer the same types of gambling that was legal under state law— usually, bingo, lotteries, certain card games, and race tracks. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, intended to codify the Cabazon test, was poorly drafted, and instead upset the applecart. The Second Circuit and …

Dred Scott, John San(D)Ford, And The Case For Collusion, David T. Hardy

David T. Hardy

Dred Scott v. John F. A. Sandford was one of the most critical cases in Supreme Court history, “an astonisher,” as Lincoln phrased it. In the “Opinion of the Court,” which was not actually the opinion of the Court (parts of it mustered only three votes), Chief Justice Taney stretched to insulate slavery in every way manageable. The ruling became instead an application of the “law of unintended consequences.” It led to the rise of Abraham Lincoln (who devoted much of his “House Undivided” speech to it), the destruction of Stephen Douglas’ presidential campaign (since it held his core position …

Penn Central After 35 Years: A Three-Part Balancing Test Or A One-Strike Rule?, R. S. Radford

R. S. Radford

Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York has been called the “polestar” of regulatory taking jurisprudence. Yet after 35 years, there is still no consensus on whether Penn Central sets forth a three-part balancing test, or a "one strike, you're out" checklist. This article presents an empirical analysis of how Penn Central is actually applied in the federal courts, finding distinct differences in the application of the test across jurisdictions.

Trends In Gun Legislation: The Metamorphosis Of Our Second Amendment Rights, Matthew W. Loeser

Matthew W Loeser

The United States Constitution, and more specifically the amendments to the Constitution, are often erroneously considered to be archaic relics of an earlier time of our country; rules that, despite instilling fundamental rights, are static documents that are frozen in time. This ideology, however, is far from reality. Much like our country, the amendments are in a constant state of flux, ever-changing and evolving to fit the advancements and changing needs of society. Although the wording of these amendments does not change, the way in which they are interpreted does, sometimes quite far from what the framers’ intent may have …

A Submission To The New Zealand Government On The Plain Packaging Of Tobacco Products, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis submission draws upon a number of pieces of research and policy papers on the plain packaging of tobacco products including:1. Becky Freeman, Simon Chapman, and Matthew Rimmer, 'The Case for the Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products' (2008) 103 (4) Addiction 580-590.2. Matthew Rimmer, 'A Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee on the Trade Marks Amendment (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Bill (Cth)', September 2011, https://senate.aph.gov.au/submissions/comittees/viewdocument.aspx?id=dabfcd75-9807-493f-bc99-4a7506bf493b3A. Matthew Rimmer, 'Tobacco's Mad Men Threaten Public Health', The Conversation, 23 September 2011, http://theconversation.edu.au/tobaccos-mad-men-threaten-public-health-34503B. Matthew Rimmer, 'Big Tobacco's Box Fetish: Plain Packaging at the High Court', The Conversation, 20 April 2012, https://theconversation.edu.au/big-tobaccos-box-fetish-plain-packaging-at-the-high-court-65183C. Matthew …

The 2011-2012 Supreme Court Term: Decisions In Constitutional Law, Wilson Huhn

Wilson R. Huhn

This presentation reviews the principal decisions of the Supreme Court in the field of Constitutional Law during the 2011-2012 Term of Court. The presentation primarily focuses on the Court's decisions involving the Arizona immigration law (SB 1070), the federal Stolen Valor Act, the "ministerial exception" to the anti-discrimination laws, and above all the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Property And Republicanism In The Northwest Ordinance, Matthew J. Festa

Matthew J. Festa

This Article shows that individual property rights held a central place in the republican ideology of the founding era by examining the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Between the two predominant strains of founding-era political ideology—liberalism and republicanism—the conventional view holds that individual property rights were central to Lockean liberalism, but not to the republican political tradition, where property is thought to have played more of a communitarian role as part of promoting civic virtue and the common good. Republicanism has been invoked in modern debates, and its emphases are present in current ideas such as the important new theory of …

Same-Sex Marriage Litigation Update - September 17, 2012, Wilson Huhn

Wilson R. Huhn

Same-sex marriage cases are reaching the federal circuit courts and may be heard by the Supreme Court in the near future. This presentation summarizes the status of same-sex marriage litigation.

Thomas Jefferson’S Establishment Clause Federalism, David E. Steinberg

David E. Steinberg

Thomas Jefferson’s Establishment Clause Federalism by David E. Steinberg

Abstract

According to mainstream legal analysis, Thomas Jefferson read the Establishment Clause as mandating a wall of separation between church and state. The Supreme Court has used this purported Jeffersonian interpretation as a basis for federal intervention into state religious regulation.

This view of Jefferson as an Establishment Clause separationist is not supported by the historical record. A belief in state's rights and limited federal government were Jefferson's most important tenets. Jefferson endorsed a Bill of Rights, which Jefferson and the anti-federalists viewed as a means of constraining federal power. After …

Proposed Amendment Xxviii, Dean A. Cantalupo Esq.

Dean A Cantalupo Esq.

We the People must demand change, Please consider the substantial structural change provided within the following proposed Amendment to the Constitution: Proposed Article of Amendment XXVIII. Section 1. We the People, do recognize and declare that the advances in communications and technology have progressed and have been successfully implemented, so that a separate national legislature of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives of the national government is no longer required and no longer desired by the People, who desire to have ever more accessible and more accountable legislators and representatives of this Federal Republic located within their own …

The Full Faith And Credit Clause: Do Factual Executive Documents Require Equivalent Treatment Between States?, Darren Prum

Darren A. Prum

Largely a development of the last half-century of government expansion, many of the health, safety, and welfare protections required by the federal government now fall upon the states. With the states picking up the load, many of the jurisdictions elect to administrate these duties through agencies. These agencies promulgate numerous regulations and enforce them as well. In making these laws and regulations, the government may require the public to submit documents that convey factual information in order to achieve the overall policy goal.

During these interactions with the public, the statute or regulations provide the guidance as to what qualifies …

In Dedication To Chief Justice Christine M. Durham, Jess M. Krannich

Jess M. Krannich

No abstract provided.

The Ministerial Exception And The Limits Of Religious Sovereignty, Ian C. Bartrum

Ian C Bartrum

This paper explores the scope of independent religious sovereignty in the context of the ministerial exception.

Obamacare And Federalism's Tug Of War Within, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

This month, the Supreme Court will decide what some believe will be among the most important cases in the history of the institution. In the “Obamacare” cases, the Court considers whether the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) exceeds the boundaries of federal authority under the various provisions of the Constitution that establish the relationship between local and national governance. Its response will determine the fate of Congress’s efforts to grapple with the nation’s health care crisis, and perhaps other legislative responses to wicked regulatory problems like climate governance or education policy. Whichever way the gavel falls, the decisions will likely impact …

Are Same-Sex Marriages Really A Threat To Religious Liberty?, Eric Alan Isaacson

Eric Alan Isaacson

Some have contended that same-sex couples' marriages pose a grave danger to the religious liberty of social conservatives whose faith traditions do not bless same-sex unions. Those who oppose recognizing same-sex couples' right to marry have even contended that their clergy and churches might be subject to hate-crime prosecutions and loss of tax-exempt status if same-sex couples may lawfully marriage. This article seeks to answer those objections, pointing out that many limitations on religious marriages -- such as Roman Catholic doctrine barring remarriage by those who are civilly divorced -- parallel religious rules similarly limiting or withholding recognition from same-sex …

The Marshall Doctrine, The Taney Doctrine And Calhounian Federalism, Arthur Lang

Arthur Lang

The unity of authority vested in Congress over interstate commerce created a single continental economy. While the states of Europe endured centuries of conflict, this centralization of authority contributed to peace and prosperity in the American states. Congress has appropriated its interstate power to confront issues diverse as economic and racial discrimination, and regulatory and criminal law, expanding the rule of the federal government at the expense of the states. This paper will compare the power of the Court to invalidate state law found inconsistent with federal legislative policy under the commerce clause with the power of the Court to …

The Meaning Of The Seventeenth Amendment And A Century Of State Defiance, Steven E. Art, Zachary D. Clopton

Steven E Art

Nearly a century ago, the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution worked a substantial change in American government, dictating that the people should elect their Senators by popular vote. Despite its significance, there has been little written about what the Amendment means or how it works. This Article provides for the first time a comprehensive interpretation of the Seventeenth Amendment based on a detailed textual analysis and a variety of other sources: historical and textual antecedents; relevant Supreme Court decisions; the complete debates in Congress; and the social and political factors that led to this new constitutional provision. Among other …

Equality Qua Equality: A Comparative Critique Of The Tiers Of U.S. Equal Protection Doctrine, Lorenzo Di Silvio

Lorenzo Di Silvio

On February 23, 2011, the Obama Administration announced that it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Of great significance in this announcement was the Administration’s position that classifications on the basis of sexual orientation warrant heightened judicial scrutiny. Notwithstanding this announcement, the level of review applied to sexual-orientation classifications—and the manner in which a court determines whether a particular type of classification deserves more searching review—is an open question, the answer to which typically dictates the outcome of challenges to government classifications. Apart from this outcome determinativeness, affording heightened scrutiny to some classifications but …

The Meaning Of The Seventeenth Amendment And A Century Of State Defiance, Steven E. Art, Zachary D. Clopton

Steven E Art

Nearly a century ago, the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution worked a substantial change in American government, dictating that the people should elect their Senators by popular vote. Despite its significance, there has been little written about what the Amendment means or how it works. This Article provides for the first time a comprehensive interpretation of the Seventeenth Amendment based on a detailed textual analysis and a variety of other sources: historical and textual antecedents; relevant Supreme Court decisions; the complete debates in Congress; and the social and political factors that led to this new constitutional provision. Among other …

The Meaning Of The Seventeenth Amendment And A Century Of State Defiance, Steven E. Art, Zachary D. Clopton

Steven E Art

Nearly a century ago, the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution worked a substantial change in American government, dictating that the people should elect their Senators by popular vote. Despite its significance, there has been little written about what the Amendment means or how it works. This Article provides for the first time a comprehensive interpretation of the Seventeenth Amendment based on a detailed textual analysis and a variety of other sources: historical and textual antecedents; relevant Supreme Court decisions; the complete debates in Congress; and the social and political factors that led to this new constitutional provision. Among other …

Informing And Reforming The Marketplace Of Ideas; The Public-Private Model For Data Production And The First Amendment, Shubha Ghosh

Shubha Ghosh

In 2011, the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment applied to the commercialization data in Sorrell v. IMS. While the case at issue dealt with state regulation of pharmacy data, the Court’s holding extends to regulation of data in many contexts from government created databases to search engines and social media sites. This Article contains a critique of the decision, emphasizing that the majority and dissent take polar opposite positions without adequately addressing the normative foundations for data regulation and the institutional arrangements within which such regulation occurs. The critique provides a normative framework for the free flow of …

Hysteria Over Sexting: A Plea For A Common Sense Approach, John O. Hayward

John O. Hayward

Teenagers have enthusiastically embraced digital technology and its myriad assortment of electronic devices and gadgets. But unfortunately they often find themselves the target of numerous laws criminalizing their use. Sending sexy photos of themselves in various stages of undress to their favorite boyfriend or girlfriend earns them unwanted attention from school administrators as well as criminal complaints from the local district attorney accusing them of trafficking in child pornography! This article deals with “sexting,” the practice of “sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photos, or images via cell phone, computer, or other digital device.” (The term is a combination …

University Of Baltimore Symposium Report: Debut Of “The Matthew Fogg Symposia On The Vitality Of Stare Decisis In America”, Zena D. Crenshaw-Logal

Zena Denise Crenshaw-Logal

On the first of each two day symposium of the Fogg symposia, lawyers representing NGOs in the civil rights, judicial reform, and whistleblower advocacy fields are to share relevant work of featured legal scholars in lay terms; relate the underlying principles to real life cases; and propose appropriate reform efforts. Four (4) of the scholars spend the next day relating their featured articles to views on the vitality of stare decisis. Specifically, the combined panels of public interest attorneys and law professors consider whether compliance with the doctrine is reasonably assured in America given the: 1. considerable discretion vested in …

Bleeeep! The Regulation Of Indecency, Isolated Nudity, And Fleeting Expletives In Broadcast Media - An Uncertain Future For Pacifica V. Fcc, Terri R. Day, Danielle Weatherby

Terri R. Day

This article discusses the controversy over the current FCC indecency enforcement regime, an issue the Supreme Court will hear this term. In 2004, the FCC abandoned a thirty year policy of excluding “fleeting expletives” and isolated images of nudity from its indecency enforcement regime. This change, coupled with a 10-fold increase in the statutory maximum fines and a change in assessing penalties on a per-program to a per-broadcast basis, threatens broadcasters with crushing fines for airing one isolated expletive. Since these changes, the FCC has enhanced its enforcement efforts creating a chilling effect on First Amendment protected speech in broadcast …

Bleeeeep! The Regulation Of Indecency, Isolated Nudity, And Fleeting Expletives In Broadcast Media - An Uncertain Future For Pacifica V. Fcc, Terri R. Day, Danielle Weatherby

Terri R. Day

This article discusses the controversy over the current FCC indecency enforcement regime, an issue the Supreme Court will hear this term. In 2004, the FCC abandoned a thirty year policy of excluding “fleeting expletives” and isolated images of nudity from its indecency enforcement regime. This change, coupled with a 10-fold increase in the statutory maximum fines and a change in assessing penalties on a per-program to a per-broadcast basis, threatens broadcasters with crushing fines for airing one isolated expletive. Since these changes, the FCC has enhanced its enforcement efforts creating a chilling effect on First Amendment protected speech in broadcast …

Preserving Reasonable Suspicion: Why Montana Should Not Follow Florence V. Burlington, Anna Conley

Anna Conley

No abstract provided.

Willful [Color-] Blindness: The Supreme Court's Equal Protection Of Ascription, Aaron J. Shuler

Aaron J Shuler

Rogers Smith in his "Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal and Hartz: The Multiple Traditions in America," warns of novel legal systems reconstituting ascriptive American inequality. The post-Warren Courts' approach to Equal Protection, specifically their unwillingness to consider disparate impact and the difference between invidious and benign practices, betrays an "ironic innocence" as described by James Baldwin to a history of racial discrimination and domination, and a disavowal of a hiearchy that the Court perpetuates.

Judicial Retention Elections, The Rule Of Law, And The Rhetorical Weaknesses Of Consequentialism, Todd E. Pettys

Todd E. Pettys

From Alaska to Florida, the 2010 election season brought the nation an unprecedented number of organized campaigns aimed at denying retention to judges who had ruled in ways that some voters found objectionable. Judges in those and other retention-election states can no longer rest comfortably on the assumption that voters will routinely exempt them from meaningful scrutiny. Anxious judges, state bar officials, and others have responded with a set of deontological and consequentialist arguments aimed at persuading voters not to use retention elections as an opportunity to oust judges who have issued controversial rulings. The deontological arguments posit that ousting …

Cascading Constitutional Deprivation: The Right To Appointed Counsel For Mandatorily Detained Immigrants Pending Removal Proceedings, Mark Noferi

Mark L Noferi

When a Department of Homeland Security officer mandatorily detains a green card holder without bail pending his removal proceedings, for a minor crime committed perhaps long ago, the immigrant’s life takes a drastic turn. If he contests his case, he likely will remain incarcerated in substandard conditions for months or years, often longer than for his original crime, and be unable to acquire a lawyer, access family whom might assist, or access key evidence or witnesses. In these circumstances, it is all but certain he will lose his deportation case, sometimes wrongfully, and be banished abroad from work, family, and …