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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Daryl Atkins Story, Mark E. Olive Dec 2014

The Daryl Atkins Story, Mark E. Olive

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


The True Legacy Of Atkins And Roper: The Unreliability Principle, Mentally Ill Defendants, And The Death Penalty’S Unraveling, Scott E. Sundby Dec 2014

The True Legacy Of Atkins And Roper: The Unreliability Principle, Mentally Ill Defendants, And The Death Penalty’S Unraveling, Scott E. Sundby

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In striking down the death penalty for intellectually disabled and juvenile defendants, Atkins v. Virginia and Roper v. Simmons have been understandably heralded as important holdings under the Court’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence that has found the death penalty “disproportional” for certain types of defendants and crimes. This Article argues, however, that the cases have a far more revolutionary reach than their conventional understanding. In both cases the Court went one step beyond its usual two-step analysis of assessing whether imposing the death penalty violated “evolving standards of decency.” This extra step looked at why even though intellectual disability and youth …


A Tale Of Two (And Possibly Three) Atkins: Intellectual Disability And Capital Punishment Twelve Years After The Supreme Court’S Creation Of A Categorical Bar, John H. Blume, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Paul Marcus, Emily Paavola Dec 2014

A Tale Of Two (And Possibly Three) Atkins: Intellectual Disability And Capital Punishment Twelve Years After The Supreme Court’S Creation Of A Categorical Bar, John H. Blume, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Paul Marcus, Emily Paavola

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Scientizing Culpability: The Implications Of Hall V. Florida And The Possibility Of A “Scientific Stare Decisis”, Christopher Slobogin Dec 2014

Scientizing Culpability: The Implications Of Hall V. Florida And The Possibility Of A “Scientific Stare Decisis”, Christopher Slobogin

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The Supreme Court’s decision in Hall v. Florida held that “clinical definitions” control the meaning of intellectual disability in the death penalty context. In other words, Hall “scientized” the definition of a legal concept. This Article discusses the implications of this unprecedented move. It also introduces the idea of scientific stare decisis—a requirement that groups that are scientifically alike be treated similarly for culpability purposes—as a means of implementing the scientization process.


Challenges Of Conveying Intellectual Disabilities To Judge And Jury, Caroline Everington Dec 2014

Challenges Of Conveying Intellectual Disabilities To Judge And Jury, Caroline Everington

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Sentencing Roulette: How Virginia’S Criminal Sentencing System Is Imposing An Unconstitutional Trial Penalty That Suppresses The Rights Of Criminal Defendants To A Jury Trial, Caleb R. Stone Dec 2014

Sentencing Roulette: How Virginia’S Criminal Sentencing System Is Imposing An Unconstitutional Trial Penalty That Suppresses The Rights Of Criminal Defendants To A Jury Trial, Caleb R. Stone

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Does Atkins Make A Difference In Non-Capital Cases? Should It?, Paul Marcus Dec 2014

Does Atkins Make A Difference In Non-Capital Cases? Should It?, Paul Marcus

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Hall V. Florida: The Supreme Court’S Guidance In Implementing Atkins, James W. Ellis Dec 2014

Hall V. Florida: The Supreme Court’S Guidance In Implementing Atkins, James W. Ellis

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Everyone Forgets About The Third Amendment: Exploring The Implications On Third Amendment Case Law Of Extending Its Prohibitions To Include Actions By State Police Officers, Samantha A. Lovin Dec 2014

Everyone Forgets About The Third Amendment: Exploring The Implications On Third Amendment Case Law Of Extending Its Prohibitions To Include Actions By State Police Officers, Samantha A. Lovin

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Death, Desuetude, And Original Meaning, John F. Stinneford Nov 2014

Death, Desuetude, And Original Meaning, John F. Stinneford

William & Mary Law Review

One of the most common objections to originalism is that it cannot cope with cultural change. One of the most commonly invoked examples of this claimed weakness is the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause, whose original meaning would (it is argued) authorize barbaric punishment practices like flogging and branding, and disproportionate punishments like the death penalty for relatively minor offenses. This Article shows that this objection to originalism is inapt, at least with respect to the Cruel and Unusual punishments Clause. As I have shown in prior articles, the original meaning of “cruel and unusual” is “cruel and contrary to …


A Process Failure Theory Of Statutory Interpretation, Mark Seidenfeld Nov 2014

A Process Failure Theory Of Statutory Interpretation, Mark Seidenfeld

William & Mary Law Review

Despite all that has been written about the choice between purposivist, intentionalist, and textualist approaches to statutory interpretation, to date the literature has not provided a justification for the common judicial practice of relying on intent-based inquiries in some cases and disavowing those approaches for textualism in others. This Article fills that void and, in doing so, lays out a new “legislative process failure” theory of statutory interpretation that has the potential to move the debate beyond a simple choice between textual and intent-based interpretation. This Article argues that Congress and the courts comprise different linguistic communities when they interpret …


The Right To Vote: Is The Amendment Game Worth The Candle?, Heather K. Gerken Oct 2014

The Right To Vote: Is The Amendment Game Worth The Candle?, Heather K. Gerken

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Theories Of Representation: For The District Of Columbia, Only Statehood Will Do, Mary M. Cheh Oct 2014

Theories Of Representation: For The District Of Columbia, Only Statehood Will Do, Mary M. Cheh

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Three Questions For The "Right To Vote" Amendment, Richard Briffault Oct 2014

Three Questions For The "Right To Vote" Amendment, Richard Briffault

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


How To Make Sense Of Supreme Court Standing Cases— – A Plea For The Right Kind Of Realism, Richard H. Fallon Jr. Oct 2014

How To Make Sense Of Supreme Court Standing Cases— – A Plea For The Right Kind Of Realism, Richard H. Fallon Jr.

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Unstable Footing: Shelby County’S Misapplication Of The Equal Footing Doctrine, Austin Graham Oct 2014

Unstable Footing: Shelby County’S Misapplication Of The Equal Footing Doctrine, Austin Graham

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Welcome To New Columbia: The Fiscal, Economic And Political Consequences Of Statehood For D.C., David Schleicher Oct 2014

Welcome To New Columbia: The Fiscal, Economic And Political Consequences Of Statehood For D.C., David Schleicher

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


"…Chosen By The People Of The Several States…": Statehood For The District Of Columbia, Larry Mirel, Joe Sternlieb Oct 2014

"…Chosen By The People Of The Several States…": Statehood For The District Of Columbia, Larry Mirel, Joe Sternlieb

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Democratic Capital: A Voting Rights Surge In Washington Could Strengthen The Constitution For Everyone, Jamin Raskin Oct 2014

Democratic Capital: A Voting Rights Surge In Washington Could Strengthen The Constitution For Everyone, Jamin Raskin

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Retained By The People: Federalism, The Ultimate Sovereign, And Natural Limits On Government Power, Stephanie Hall Barclay Oct 2014

Retained By The People: Federalism, The Ultimate Sovereign, And Natural Limits On Government Power, Stephanie Hall Barclay

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Brewing tensions between state governments and the federal government have reached a boiling point unmatched since the civil rights debates of the 1960s. In light of the rapid expansion of federal power combined with colliding views on various policies, the call for states’ rights has increasingly become a rallying cry for lawmakers that has gained traction with groups on varying points along the political spectrum, as well as a frequent theory employed by the Supreme Court. While the system of federalism created by the Constitution certainly has its unique benefits, and while it is true that the federal government was …


Does The Supreme Court Ignore Standing Problems To Reach The Merits? Evidence (Or Lack Thereof) From The Roberts Court, Heather Elliott Oct 2014

Does The Supreme Court Ignore Standing Problems To Reach The Merits? Evidence (Or Lack Thereof) From The Roberts Court, Heather Elliott

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Standing And The Role Of Federal Courts: Triple Error Decisions In Clapper V. Amnesty International Usa And City Of Los Angeles V. Lyons, Vicki C. Jackson Oct 2014

Standing And The Role Of Federal Courts: Triple Error Decisions In Clapper V. Amnesty International Usa And City Of Los Angeles V. Lyons, Vicki C. Jackson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Governmental Sovereignty Actions, Ann Woolhandler Oct 2014

Governmental Sovereignty Actions, Ann Woolhandler

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


The Quiet Army: Felon Firearm Rights Restoration In The Fourth Circuit, Robert Luther Iii Oct 2014

The Quiet Army: Felon Firearm Rights Restoration In The Fourth Circuit, Robert Luther Iii

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Most states afford felons the opportunity to have their political disabilities removed or “rights restored” after they are released from incarceration. In every state within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, save Virginia, a felon’s rights are partially restored automatically upon the completion of his sentence, parole, and probation. Absent a pardon, Virginia requires the felon to petition the Governor in writing through the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth in order to obtain a partial restoration of rights. One such right that may or may not be restored upon a state-convicted felon’s …


The Real Constitutional Problem With State Judicial Selection: Due Process, Judicial Retention, And The Dangers Of Popular Constitutionalism, Martin H. Redish, Jennifer Aronoff Oct 2014

The Real Constitutional Problem With State Judicial Selection: Due Process, Judicial Retention, And The Dangers Of Popular Constitutionalism, Martin H. Redish, Jennifer Aronoff

William & Mary Law Review

In Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., decided in 2009, the Supreme Court held for the first time that conduct related to a judicial election campaign violated a litigant’s right to procedural due process because the opposing litigant had contributed an inordinate amount of money to the campaign of one of the justices ruling on the case. The due process danger recognized in Caperton rests on a fear of retrospective gratitude—that is, the fear that the Justice would decide his contributor’s case differently because he was grateful for the litigant’s generous support. The Court’s focus on retrospective gratitude is …


Congress's Treaty-Implementing Power In Historical Practice, Jean Galbraith Oct 2014

Congress's Treaty-Implementing Power In Historical Practice, Jean Galbraith

William & Mary Law Review

Historical practice strongly influences constitutional interpretation in foreign relations law, including most questions relating to the treaty power. Yet it is strikingly absent from the present debate over whether Congress can pass legislation implementing U.S. treaties under the Necessary and Proper Clause. Drawing on previously unexplored sources, this Article considers the historical roots of Congress’s power to implement U.S. treaties between the Founding Era and the seminal case of Missouri v. Holland in 1920. It shows that time after time, members of Congress understood the Necessary and Proper Clause to provide a constitutional basis for a congressional power to implement …


The Mechanics Of First Amendment Audience Analysis, David S. Han May 2014

The Mechanics Of First Amendment Audience Analysis, David S. Han

William & Mary Law Review

When the government seeks to regulate speech based on its content, it generally assumes that listeners will process the speech in a manner that produces social harm. Because the chain of causation for such speech-based harm runs through the filter of an audience, courts must constantly make judgments regarding the audience’s reception of such speech. How will the speech be interpreted by the audience? To what extent will the speech cause the audience either to suffer direct emotional harm or to react physically to the speech in a harmful manner? Although this sort of inquiry—which I refer to as “audience …


Parental Exclusion From The Education Governance Kaleidoscope: Providing A Political Voice For Marginalized Students In Our Time Of Disruption, Tiffani N. Darden May 2014

Parental Exclusion From The Education Governance Kaleidoscope: Providing A Political Voice For Marginalized Students In Our Time Of Disruption, Tiffani N. Darden

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article develops how the judiciary should play an instrumental part in amplifying the parent’s voice as a citizenship broker for their child. The Supreme Court scrutinizes school-board actions with little consideration of parents’ substantive due process right to control their child’s education through the political process. Through representative school boards, effective participation models, and an enforcement framework, parents could hold the power to affect education policies. Parents deserve full citizenship recognition in the tiered processes controlling public education policy. In addition to recognizing “quality” education as a government interest, the Supreme Court should also take into account the political …


Specificity Or Dismissal: The Improper Extension Of Rule 9(B) To Negligent Misrepresentation As A Deprivation Of Plaintiffs’ Procedural Due Process Rights, Julie A. Cook May 2014

Specificity Or Dismissal: The Improper Extension Of Rule 9(B) To Negligent Misrepresentation As A Deprivation Of Plaintiffs’ Procedural Due Process Rights, Julie A. Cook

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.


Forgetting Furman: Arbitrary Death Penalty Sentencing Schemes Across The Nation, Sarah A. Mourer May 2014

Forgetting Furman: Arbitrary Death Penalty Sentencing Schemes Across The Nation, Sarah A. Mourer

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.