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Full-Text Articles in Law

Recovering The Lost General Welfare Clause, David S. Schwartz Feb 2022

Recovering The Lost General Welfare Clause, David S. Schwartz

William & Mary Law Review

The General Welfare Clause of Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution enumerates a power to “provide for the common defense and general welfare.” A literal interpretation of this clause (“the general welfare interpretation”) would authorize Congress to legislate for any national purpose, and therefore to address all national problems— for example, the COVID-19 pandemic—in ways that would be precluded under the prevailing understanding of limited enumerated powers. But conventional doctrine rejects the general welfare interpretation and construes the General Welfare Clause to confer the so-called “Spending Power,” a power only to spend, but not to regulate, for …


Fiduciary Law And The Law Of Public Office, Ethan J. Leib, Andrew Kent Mar 2021

Fiduciary Law And The Law Of Public Office, Ethan J. Leib, Andrew Kent

William & Mary Law Review

A law of public office crystallized in Anglo-American law in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This body of law—defined and enforced through a mix of oaths, statutes, criminal and civil case law, impeachments, and legislative investigations—imposed core duties on holders of public executive offices: officials needed to serve the public good, not their own private interests; were barred from acting ultra vires; could often be required to account to the public for their conduct in office; and needed to act with impartiality, honesty, and diligence. Officeholding came to be viewed as conditional, with officers removable for misdeeds. These substantive duties …


Crisis? Whose Crisis?, Jack M. Beermann Mar 2020

Crisis? Whose Crisis?, Jack M. Beermann

William & Mary Law Review

Every moment in human history can be characterized by someone as “socially and politically charged.” For a large portion of the population of the United States, nearly the entire history of the country has been socially and politically charged, first because they were enslaved and then because they were subjected to discriminatory laws and unequal treatment under what became known as “Jim Crow.” The history of the United States has also been a period of social and political upheaval for American Indians, the people who occupied the territory that became the United States before European settlement. Although both African-Americans and …


A Brief History Of Judical Appointments From The Last 50 Years Through The Trump Administration, Donald F. Mcgahn Ii Feb 2020

A Brief History Of Judical Appointments From The Last 50 Years Through The Trump Administration, Donald F. Mcgahn Ii

William & Mary Law Review

Thank you so much for that kind introduction. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here today. I am going to talk about the confirmation process generally. There is no better place to talk about it than here. Let me begin with some numbers and statistics, before I turn to the main thrust of my talk, to give some context as to what recent Presidents have done with respect to judicial appointments. President Trump has appointed two Supreme Court Justices, Neil Gorsuch and Brett of Appeals; twenty-nine so far have been confirmed. The Senate Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, has already …


Being Seen Like A State: How Americans (And Britons) Built The Constitutional Infrastructure Of A Developing Nation, Daniel J. Hulsebosch Mar 2018

Being Seen Like A State: How Americans (And Britons) Built The Constitutional Infrastructure Of A Developing Nation, Daniel J. Hulsebosch

William & Mary Law Review

This Article develops the argument that the Federal Constitution of 1787 was conceptualized, drafted, and put into operation not only for American citizens but also for foreign audiences. In a world without supranational governing institutions, a constitution—at least, the Federal Constitution—might serve to promote peaceable international relations based on reciprocal trade and open credit. That at least was the Enlightenment-inflected hope.

Did it work? If early Americans engaged in constitution-making in large part to demonstrate their capacity for self-government, selfdiscipline, and commercial openness to foreign audiences, did anyone notice? Or was it all, regardless of diplomatic purposes and consistent with …


The Third Pillar Of Jurisprudence: Social Legal Theory, Brian Z. Tamanaha May 2015

The Third Pillar Of Jurisprudence: Social Legal Theory, Brian Z. Tamanaha

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Law Versus Ideology: The Supreme Court And The Use Of Legislative History, David S. Law, David Zaring Apr 2010

Law Versus Ideology: The Supreme Court And The Use Of Legislative History, David S. Law, David Zaring

William & Mary Law Review

Much of the social science literature on judicial behavior has focused on the impact of ideology on how judges vote. For the most part, however, legal scholars have been reluctant to embrace empirical scholarship that fails to address the impact of legal constraints and the means by which judges reason their way to particular outcomes. This Article attempts to integrate and address the concerns of both audiences by way of an empirical examination of the Supreme Court’s use of a particular interpretive technique— namely, the use of legislative history to determine the purpose and meaning of a statute. We analyzed …


St. George Tucker's Law Papers, Charles F. Hobson Feb 2006

St. George Tucker's Law Papers, Charles F. Hobson

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Foreword: The Legacy Of St. George Tucker, Davison M. Douglas Feb 2006

Foreword: The Legacy Of St. George Tucker, Davison M. Douglas

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Discourse Of Law In Time Of War: Politics And Professionalism During The Civil War And Reconstruction, Norman W. Spaulding Apr 2005

The Discourse Of Law In Time Of War: Politics And Professionalism During The Civil War And Reconstruction, Norman W. Spaulding

William & Mary Law Review

This Article assesses the role of law and lawyering in time of war by examining how lawyers responded to and were affected by the Civil War and Reconstruction. Although the modern legal profession has its roots in the same time period (legal formalism, education in law schools rather than apprenticeships, Socratic instruction, bar associations, large firm practice, and a distinct brand of constitutional conservatism all emerge in the 1870s), historians of the legal profession have largely ignored the relationship between professional organization and lawyers' experience of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Before the war period, many elite lawyers were committed …


Legal Realism As Theory Of Law, Michael S. Green Apr 2005

Legal Realism As Theory Of Law, Michael S. Green

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Use That The Future Makes Of The Past: John Marshall's Greatness And Its Lessons For Today's Supreme Court Justices, Jack M. Balkin Mar 2002

The Use That The Future Makes Of The Past: John Marshall's Greatness And Its Lessons For Today's Supreme Court Justices, Jack M. Balkin

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Judge For All Seasons, R. Kent Newmyer Mar 2002

A Judge For All Seasons, R. Kent Newmyer

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Some Alarming Aspects Of The Legacies Of Judicial Review And Of John Marshall, Stephen B. Presser Mar 2002

Some Alarming Aspects Of The Legacies Of Judicial Review And Of John Marshall, Stephen B. Presser

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Judicial Power In The Constitutional Theory Of James Madison, Jack N. Rakove Mar 2002

Judicial Power In The Constitutional Theory Of James Madison, Jack N. Rakove

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


John Marshall: Remarks Of October 6, 2000, William H. Rehnquist Mar 2002

John Marshall: Remarks Of October 6, 2000, William H. Rehnquist

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


John Marshall Through The Eyes Of An Admirer: John Quincy Adams, Michael Daly Hawkins Mar 2002

John Marshall Through The Eyes Of An Admirer: John Quincy Adams, Michael Daly Hawkins

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


John Marshall, Mcculloch V. Maryland, And "We The People": Revisions In Need Of Revising, Martin S. Flaherty Mar 2002

John Marshall, Mcculloch V. Maryland, And "We The People": Revisions In Need Of Revising, Martin S. Flaherty

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Lives Of John Marshall, Michael J. Gerhardt Mar 2002

The Lives Of John Marshall, Michael J. Gerhardt

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Sixties Shift To Formal Equality And The Courts: An Argument For Pragmatism And Politics, Mary Becker Oct 1998

The Sixties Shift To Formal Equality And The Courts: An Argument For Pragmatism And Politics, Mary Becker

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Trial Of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Rodney A. Smolla Oct 1994

The Trial Of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Rodney A. Smolla

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Mirror Crack'd? The Rule Of Law In American History, Christopher L. Tomlins Feb 1991

A Mirror Crack'd? The Rule Of Law In American History, Christopher L. Tomlins

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Revolutionary Idea Of University Legal Education, Paul D. Carrington Apr 1990

The Revolutionary Idea Of University Legal Education, Paul D. Carrington

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Chief Justice Marshall, Justice Holmes, And The Discourse Of Constitutional Adjudication, G. Edward White Oct 1988

Chief Justice Marshall, Justice Holmes, And The Discourse Of Constitutional Adjudication, G. Edward White

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Philosophy, History, And Judging, Donald P. Boyle Jr. Oct 1988

Philosophy, History, And Judging, Donald P. Boyle Jr.

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Introduction To Legal History Symposium, John Bernard Corr May 1982

Introduction To Legal History Symposium, John Bernard Corr

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Morton Horwitz And The Transformation Af American Legal History, Wythe Holt May 1982

Morton Horwitz And The Transformation Af American Legal History, Wythe Holt

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Book Review Of Legislative Journals Of The Council Of Colonial Virginia And Minutes Of The Council And General Court Of Colonial Virginia, William F. Swindler Dec 1980

Book Review Of Legislative Journals Of The Council Of Colonial Virginia And Minutes Of The Council And General Court Of Colonial Virginia, William F. Swindler

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


Law As The Engine Of State: The Trial Of Anne Boleyn, Margery S. Schauer, Frederick Schauer Oct 1980

Law As The Engine Of State: The Trial Of Anne Boleyn, Margery S. Schauer, Frederick Schauer

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.


William And Mary Bicentennial Commemoraiton: New Light On The General Court Of Colonial Virginia, Frank L. Dewey Oct 1979

William And Mary Bicentennial Commemoraiton: New Light On The General Court Of Colonial Virginia, Frank L. Dewey

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.