Law Commons^™

Democratizing Interpretation, Anya Bernstein

Journal Articles

Judges interpreting statutes sometimes seem eager to outsource the work. They quote ordinary speakers to define a statutory term, point to how an audience understands it, or pin it down with interpretive canons. But sometimes conduct that appears to diminish someone’s power instead sneakily enhances it. So it is, I argue, with these forms of interpretive outsourcing. Each seems to constrain judges’ authority by handing the reins to someone else, giving interpretation a democratized veneer. But in fact each funnels power right back to the judge.

The outsourcing approaches I describe show a disconnect between the questions judges pose and …

Active Judicial Governance, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

Evidence marshaled in a new article by Jonathan Marshfield suggests strongly that unlike judges of U.S. federal courts, judges of American state supreme courts both recognize and embrace their role as active participants in the process of indirect popular self-rule. Consequently, they much more willingly serve as active and self-conscious vectors of governance. This is not to say that state judges lack appropriate judicial humility; it is to say merely that they possess a different and more nuanced understanding of the role of courts in American government than some of their federal counterparts.

Derecho Constitucional [2016-2017 Puerto Rico Supreme Court Term Analysis: Constitutional Law], Jorge M. Farinacci Fernós

Journal Articles

El profesor Jorge Farinacci Fernós analiza las decisiones del Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico en materia de Derecho Constitucional emitidas entre octubre de 2016 y julio de 2017. En particular, el artículo discute (1) el límite a los donativos a candidatos en las primarias y la elección general; (2) el voto adelantado de las personas encamadas y los requisitos aplicables; (3) la aplicación de la veda electoral a los procesos plebiscitarios; (4) la representación de las minorías en la Asamblea Legislativa; (5) la sustitución de un alcalde electo que renuncia antes de tomar posesión; (6) la doctrina de campo ocupado …

Opting Out Of Discovery, Jay Tidmarsh

Journal Articles

This Article proposes a system in which both parties are provided an opportunity to opt out of discovery. A party who opts out is immunized from dispositive motions, including a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim or a motion for summary judgment. If neither party opts out of discovery, the parties waive jury-trial rights, thus giving judges the ability to use stronger case-management powers to focus the issues and narrow discovery. If one party opts out of discovery but an opponent does not, the cost of discovery shifts to the opponent. This Article justifies this proposal in …