Law Commons^™

The Constitutional Right Of The Indigent Facing Involuntary Civil Commitment To An Independent Psychiatric Examination, Scott F. Uhler

Akron Law Review

The recently established constitutional right to an independent psychiatric examination for a criminal defendant, when the defendant's sanity is at issue,' has not been extended to the involuntary civil commitment process However, for the following reasons, the right should be so extended.

First, the interpretation of due process in the involuntary commitment procedure, as construed by lower federal courts and state courts to require an exam, shows greater uniformity and logical cohesiveness than that defined by applicable Supreme Court decisions. Second, the area of juvenile adjudication presents great similarity of purpose to civil commitment, yet the due process protections deemed …

The Constitutional Politics Of Interpreting Section 5 Of The Fourteenth Amendment, Christopher P. Banks

Akron Law Review

This essay analyzes the Rehnquist Court’s Section 5 cases by first, in Section I, establishing how the Supreme Court has historically assumed the task of interpreting Congress’ power to act under the Fourteenth Amendment. Two periods, Reconstruction and then the mid- 1960s, are examined because they present contrasting views about the scope of what the Fourteenth Amendment and its enforcement section means. Section II then surveys Section 5 cases from the Rehnquist Court in order to illustrate how its jurisprudence mirrors the antifederalist rhetoric established in the post-reconstruction era while, not surprisingly, departing from the principles set forth in the …

Ratios, (Ir)Rationality & Civil Rights Punitive Awards, Caprice L. Roberts

Akron Law Review

This article will focus on the effect of the Court’s tightening of the ratio prong on federal civil rights cases. In particular, it addresses whether federal appellate courts feel constrained by State Farm’s stated preference for single-digit ratios, or instead, jettison the ratio strictures in favor of other prongs...The problems are two-fold in civil rights line of cases: (1) some federal circuit courts bar punitive damages if there are no compensatory damages; and (2) courts reviewing a punitive award where compensatory damages exist may feel compelled to apply rigidly a single-digit ratio to comport with State Farm. Barring or severely …

Rebuilding The Slaughter-House: The Cases' Support For Civil Rights, David S. Bogen

Akron Law Review

This Article sets forth the Slaughter-House Cases’ support for civil rights. Justice Miller used federalism in order to protect Reconstruction legislatures where significant numbers of African-Americans participated fully for the first time. His recital of the history and purpose of the Civil War Amendments centered on the Amendments’ design to protect African-Americans, and suggested sweeping federal power to accomplish that end. Gutting the Privileges and Immunities Clause compelled the Court to read the Equal Protection Clause broadly, and was indirectly responsible for the reapportionment decisions of the Warren Court. The Slaughter-House Court’s structural analysis and its view of federal protective …