Law Commons^™

Environmental Racism, American Exceptionalism, And Cold War Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

Environmental Racism, American Exceptionalism, And Cold War Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

Environmental Racism, American Exceptionalism, And Cold War Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

A Supreme Stretch: The Supremacy Clause In The Wake Of Irca And Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Kati Griffith

Kati Griffith

[Excerpt] Recently, the issues of immigration and immigration policy have garnered intense debate in the United States. Much of what Americans have discussed relates to border security, sanctions against employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, and temporary and permanent paths to legalization for undocumented workers. This debate often overshadows a meaningful discussion about the future of workplace rights for undocumented workers who, despite their undocumented status, currently work in the United States and at times suffer labor and employment law violations in their workplaces. Unfortunately, the national immigration debate has not incorporated this discussion. Moreover, the current proposed federal immigration …

The Federal Common Law Of Nations, Anthony J. Bellia, Bradford R. Clark

Anthony J. Bellia

Courts and scholars have vigorously debated the proper role of customary international law in American courts: To what extent should it be considered federal common law, state law, or general law? The debate has reached something of an impasse, in part because various positions rely on, but also are in tension with, historical practice and constitutional structure. This Article describes the role that the law of nations actually has played throughout American history. In keeping with the original constitutional design, federal courts for much of that history enforced certain rules respecting other nations' perfect rights (or close analogues) under the …

State Courts And The Making Of Federal Common Law, Anthony J. Bellia

Anthony J. Bellia

The authority of federal courts to make federal common law has been a controversial question for courts and scholars. Several scholars have propounded theories addressing primarily whether and when federal courts are justified in making federal common law. It is a little-noticed phenomenon that state courts, too, make federal common law. This Article brings to light the fact that state courts routinely make federal common law in as real a sense as federal courts make it. It further explains that theories that focus on whether the making of federal common law by federal courts is justified are inadequate to explain …

Accounting For Federalism In State Courts - Exclusion Of Evidence Obtained Lawfully By Federal Agents, Robert M. Bloom, Hillary J. Massey

Robert Bloom

After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Congress greatly enhanced federal law enforcement powers through enactment of the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The Supreme Court also has provided more leeway to federal officers in the past few decades, for example by limiting the scope of the exclusionary rule. At the same time, many states have interpreted their constitutions to provide greater individual protections to their citizens than provided by the federal constitution. This phenomenon has sometimes created a wide disparity between the investigatory techniques available to federal versus state law enforcement officers. As a result, state courts sometimes must decide whether …

Teaching The U.S. V. Arizona Immigration Law Case, Corey A. Ciocchetti

Corey A Ciocchetti

Arizona v. U.S. was one of the most anticipated decisions of the Supreme Court's October 2011 term. The case pits the state of Arizona and its immigration policy of "attrition through enforcement" against a much less aggressive federal immigration policy under President Obama.

These slides help tell the story and can be used to teach the case as well as important constitutional law issues such as: (1) enumerated powers, (2) preemption, (3) federalism, (4) state sovereignty and more.

2nd Amendment: The Right To Keep & Bear Arms -- Teaching D.C. V. Heller, Corey A. Ciocchetti

Corey A Ciocchetti

The D.C. v. Heller case is an incredible vehicle to teach about the United States Constitution. The case revolves around the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and shines a spotlight on Originalism as a theory of Constitutional interpretation. These slides show how the case evolved from the District Court to the Supreme Court. They also teach the facts of the case and the different opinions on both sides of the debate. In the end, readers will learn a great deal about the Second Amendment and its application to federal and state/local gun control laws as well as …

Accounting For Federalism In State Courts - Exclusion Of Evidence Obtained Lawfully By Federal Agents, Robert M. Bloom, Hillary J. Massey

Robert M. Bloom

After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Congress greatly enhanced federal law enforcement powers through enactment of the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The Supreme Court also has provided more leeway to federal officers in the past few decades, for example by limiting the scope of the exclusionary rule. At the same time, many states have interpreted their constitutions to provide greater individual protections to their citizens than provided by the federal constitution. This phenomenon has sometimes created a wide disparity between the investigatory techniques available to federal versus state law enforcement officers. As a result, state courts sometimes must decide whether …

Discrimination And Business Regulation (The Supreme Court And Local Government Law: The 1999-2000 Term), Eileen Kaufman

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.

Concerted Action And The Preemption Of State Fair Trade Provisions After Leegin, Christopher J. Heck

Christopher J. Heck

ABSTRACT The issue of whether a state fair trade statue or regulation designed to protect domestic retailers or wholesalers should be preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and the Sherman Antitrust Act has vexed states, courts and litigants ever since the Supreme Court first recognized the doctrine of state action immunity in Parker v. Brown more than 65 years ago. Decisions in this area are often ambiguous and contradictory. Currently, litigants who challenge a state fair trade act or regulation must prove first that the statute in question creates inadequately regulated “concerted action” or a “meeting …

Concerted Action And The Preemption Of State Fair Trade Provisions After Leegin, Christopher J. Heck

Christopher J. Heck

ABSTRACT The issue of whether a state fair trade statue or regulation designed to protect domestic retailers or wholesalers should be preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and the Sherman Antitrust Act has vexed states, courts and litigants ever since the Supreme Court first recognized the doctrine of state action immunity in Parker v. Brown more than 65 years ago. Decisions in this area are often ambiguous and contradictory. Currently, litigants who challenge a state fair trade act or regulation must prove first that the statute in question creates inadequately regulated “concerted action” or a “meeting …

Concerted Action And The Preemption Of State Fair Trade Provisions After Leegin, Christopher J. Heck

Christopher J. Heck

ABSTRACT The issue of whether a state fair trade statue or regulation designed to protect domestic retailers or wholesalers should be preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and the Sherman Antitrust Act has vexed states, courts and litigants ever since the Supreme Court first recognized the doctrine of state action immunity in Parker v. Brown more than 65 years ago. Decisions in this area are often ambiguous and contradictory. Currently, litigants who challenge a state fair trade act or regulation must prove first that the statute in question creates inadequately regulated “concerted action” or a “meeting …

Concerted Action And The Preemption Of State Fair Trade Provisions After Leegin, Christopher J. Heck

Christopher J. Heck

ABSTRACT The issue of whether a state fair trade statue or regulation designed to protect domestic retailers or wholesalers should be preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and the Sherman Antitrust Act has vexed states, courts and litigants ever since the Supreme Court first recognized the doctrine of state action immunity in Parker v. Brown more than 65 years ago. Decisions in this area are often ambiguous and contradictory. Currently, litigants who challenge a state fair trade act or regulation must prove first that the statute in question creates inadequately regulated “concerted action” or a “meeting …

Concerted Action And The Preemption Of State Fair Trade Provisions After Leegin, Christopher J. Heck

Christopher J. Heck

ABSTRACT The issue of whether a state fair trade statue or regulation designed to protect domestic retailers or wholesalers should be preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution and the Sherman Antitrust Act has vexed states, courts and litigants ever since the Supreme Court first recognized the doctrine of state action immunity in Parker v. Brown more than 65 years ago. Decisions in this area are often ambiguous and contradictory. Currently, litigants who challenge a state fair trade act or regulation must prove first that the statute in question creates inadequately regulated “concerted action” or a “meeting …