Law Commons^™

Democracy, Deference, And Compromise: Understanding And Reforming Campaign Finance Jurisprudence, Scott P. Bloomberg

Faculty Publications

In Citizens United, the Supreme Court interpreted the government’s interest in preventing corruption as being limited to preventing quid pro quo—cash-for-votes—corruption. This narrow interpretation drastically circumscribed legislatures’ abilities to regulate the financing of elections, in turn prompting scholars to propose a number of reforms for broadening the government interest in campaign finance cases. These reforms include urging the Court to recognize a new government interest such as political equality, to adopt a broader understanding of corruption, and to be more deferential to legislatures in defining corruption. Building upon that body of scholarship, this Article begins with a descriptive account of …

Combatendo A Corrupção Nos Estados Unidos, Paul Marcus

Faculty Publications

The article discusses the problematic of the fight against the corruption by the criminal justice system of the United States, mainly the white-collar crimes. It is emphasized, first, that in most of the cases does not result in trial, but in plea bargains, and, second, in many cases the encouragement from an undercover agent has served as an effective defense instrument. Finally, it is discussed the problematic of the use of information obtained from the technological devices and its probable violation to the right privacy.

This article is in Portuguese.

Responding To Political Corruption: Some Institutional Considerations, Jonathan L. Entin

Faculty Publications

This article, written for a conference on "The Scandal of Political Corruption and the Law’s Response," examines some institutional mechanisms (such as open-meetings laws and term limits) that are intended to prevent corruption and others (such as independent counsels, special prosecutors, and ethics commissions) that seek to punish corruption after the fact. The article assesses some of the legal and practical constraints of these devices and, relying on the insights of Durkheim and other social scientists, asks whether some minimum level of corruption might serve the function of helping to define and reinforce social norms and values.

Security Vs. Privacy: Reframing The Debate, Shaun B. Spencer

Faculty Publications

This essay explores several dimensions of the debate between security and privacy that accompanies many anti-terrorism and law enforcement proposals.