Law Commons^™

Editorial, Succession Question Requires Amendment, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

No abstract provided.

Closet Case: Boy Scouts Of America V. Dale And The Reinforcement Of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, And Transgender Invisibility, Darren Hutchinson

Darren L Hutchinson

This Article argues that the Supreme Court's decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale misapplies and ignores controlling First Amendment precedent and incorrectly defines "sexual identity" as a clinical or biological imposition that exists apart from expression or speech. This article provides a doctrinal alternative to Dale that would protect vital interests in both equality and liberty and that would not condition, as does Dale, sexual "equality" upon the silencing of gay lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

Purveyance And Power Or Over-Priced Free Lunch: The Intellectual Property Clause As An Ally Of The Takings Clause In The Public’S Control Of Government, Malla Pollack

Malla Pollack

Government can bypass citizen control if it can use revenue not publicly scrutinized through the public taxing/spending system. One method of bypass is paying with non-monetary compensation such as (i) property, or (ii) the right to charge others for some necessary good or service, intangible property. The Takings/Just Compensation Clause of the Fifth Amendment is one authority controlling government's ability to bypass financial scrutiny. In this article, I argue that the Intellectual Property Clause also should be used to control some governmental bypass. I attempt to justify this suggestion both theoretically and historically. The historical material included focuses on English …

Licensing Speech: The Case Of Vanity Plates, Marybeth Herald

Marybeth Herald

Vanity license plates qualify as protected speech under the First Amendment, and denying plate requests because of their content contradicts traditional principles of free speech. State motor vehicle departments are almost as creative as applicants when it comes to ferreting out offensive license plate requests through the use of computer programs and linguists. Offensiveness, however, remains an elusive concept to capture and often lies in the eyes of a single viewer. When the government takes on the role of arbiter of good taste, it leads to arbitrary decision making and chaotic results.

Under traditional First Amendment doctrine, vanity license plates …

The Gfp (Green) Bunny: Reflections On The Intersection Of Art, Science And The First Amendment, Sheldon Nahmod

Sheldon Nahmod

No abstract provided.

Rights Of Inequality: Rawlsian Justice, Equal Opportunity, And The Status Of The Family, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Is the family subject to principles of justice? In A Theory of Justice, John Rawls includes the (monogamous) family along with the market and the government as among the "basic institutions of society" to which principles of justice apply. Justice, he famously insists, is primary in politics as truth is in science: the only excuse for tolerating injustice is that no lesser injustice is possible. The point of the present paper is that Rawls doesn't actually mean this. When it comes to the family, and in particular its impact on fair equal opportunity (the first part of the the Difference …

In The Wake Of Lee V. Weisman: The Future Of School Graduation Prayer Is Uncertain At Best, Stephen Durden

Stephen Durden

No abstract provided.

Nude Entertainment Zoning, Stephen Durden

Stephen Durden

Local government regulation, as opposed to prohibition, of nude entertainment began in earnest in the 1970's. These regulations generally fell into four categories: (1) zoning; (2) prohibiting nude entertainment in conjunction with the service of alcohol; (3) licensing; and (4) regulating conduct, e.g., hours of operation, distance from customers, prohibition of private booths. The proliferation of these many and varied approaches began soon after the Supreme Court in California v. LaRue held that nude dancing is, or at least might be, protected by the First Amendment. Prior to LaRue, states regularly prohibited nude entertainment via general prohibitions on lewd and …

James Madison And The Constitution's “Convention For Proposing Amendments", Robert G. Natelson

Robert G. Natelson

This article traces the progress of James Madison's thought on the Constitution's "convention for proposing amendments as a way for states to assert themselves against the federal government. Madison saw the convention as an important part of the Constitution, and a constitutional alternative to nullification.

Subjective States Of Mind And Custodial Arrest: Race Based Policing, Christopher C. Cooper

Christopher C. Cooper Dr.

No abstract provided.

Florida V. J.L.-Withdrawing Permission To “Lie With Impunity”: The Demise Of “Truly Anonymous” Informants And The Resurrection Of The Aguilar/Spinelli Test For Probable Cause, Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Revolutions: A New Look At Lower Appellate Review In American Constitutionalism, Robert Justin Lipkin

Robert Justin Lipkin

No abstract provided.

A Truism That Isn't True? The Tenth Amendment And Executive War Power, D. A. Jeremy Telman

D. A. Jeremy Telman

The Tenth Amendment is invoked whenever congressional powers threaten the independent law-making power of the several states. In that context, however, the Tenth Amendment does not tell us very much. After all, if powers are not delegated to the federal government, where else would they go but to the states? Accordingly, the Supreme Court has dismissed the Amendment as a truism.

Although the Amendment is only deployed as a rather ineffectual check on congressional authority, it clearly applies to all branches of the federal government. However, according to the theory of inherent executive authority, certain powers are unique to the …

Identity Crisis: Intersectionality, Multidimensionality, And The Development Of An Adequate Theory Of Subordination, Darren Hutchinson

Darren L Hutchinson

No abstract provided.

Federal Funding Conditions: Bursting Through The Dole Loopholes, Celestine Mcconville

Celestine Richards McConville

No abstract provided.

Making Laws Moral: A Defense Of Substantive Canons Of Construction, Andrew C. Spiropoulos

Andrew C. Spiropoulos

No abstract provided.

The Mischief Of Cohen V. Cowles Media Co., Alan E. Garfield

Alan E Garfield

For a short, sloppily reasoned 5-4 decision that textbook editors have largely consigned to note status, Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. has had a remarkably insidious influence on First Amendment law. The problem is not so much the decision’s holding. The Supreme Court’s conclusion that newspapers could be liable for breaching a promise of anonymity to a source might actually further speech interests. The problem instead is in Cohen’s reasoning. It is the way in which the Supreme Court so cavalierly dismissed the argument that the First Amendment precluded punishing media defendants for the publication of truthful information. The Court …

Laws As Treaties? The Constitutionality Of The Congressional-Executive Agreement, John C. Yoo

John C Yoo

This article develops a theory explaining the constitutionality of the congressional-executive agreement, an alternatve to treaties. The puzzle is that our nation continues to use treaties at all, since congressional-executive agreements need only recieve simple legislative majorities for their approval. This article argues that in order to maintain the Constitution's balance between executive and legislative powers, congressional-executive agreements have been used in areas of Congress's Article I, Section powers, and that treaties continue to be used in areas where cooperation between the executive and legislative branches is necessary, or where the subject lies outside of Congress's enumerated powers.

Yes, Virginia (Tech), Our Government Is One Of Limited Powers, Michael R. Dimino

Michael R Dimino

All The President’S Men? Executive Departments And Executive Privilege, Michael R. Dimino

Michael R. Dimino

No abstract provided.

"Merchants Of Discontent:" An Exploration Of The Psychology Of Advertising, Addiction And Its Implications For Commercial Speech, Tamara R. Piety

Tamara R. Piety

This article compares the psychology of addition and the psychology of advertising and argues that the parallels suggest that some regulation of advertising is in the public interest.