Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Law

Stare Decisis In The Inferior Courts Of The United States, Joseph Mead Jul 2012

Stare Decisis In The Inferior Courts Of The United States, Joseph Mead

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

While circuit courts are bound to fallow circuit precedent under "law of the circuit" the practice among federal district courts is more varied and uncertain, routinely involving little or no deference to their own precedent. I argue that the different hierarchical levels and institutional characteristics do not account for the differences in practices between circuit and district courts. Rather, district courts can and should adopt a "law of the district" similar to that of circuit courts. Through this narrow proposal, I explore the historical stare decisis practices in federal courts that are not Supreme.


After The Flood: The Legacy Of The “Surge” Of Federal Immigration Appeals, Stacy Caplow Jan 2012

After The Flood: The Legacy Of The “Surge” Of Federal Immigration Appeals, Stacy Caplow

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

For many years, the big news in the United States courts of appeal was the skyrocketing immigration caseload. For courts that traditionally had busy immigration dockets, the effect was tsunamic. One of those circuits, the Second, instituted a nonargument calendar that, over the past five years, has enabled the court to regain some control over its swollen docket. While this administrative strategy has rescued the court from drowning, the flow of cases continues, somewhat abated, but with enduring force. This so-called surge had unanticipated consequences extending far beyond court management changes. As a result of their increased exposure to immigration …


Case Management In The Circuit Courts, Marin K. Levy Jan 2012

Case Management In The Circuit Courts, Marin K. Levy

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


A Circuit Supreme: How The D.C. Circuit Court Is Using A Presumption Of Regularity In Latif V. Obama To Make New Law And Ensure No Detainees Are Released From Guantanamo Bay, Bonnie Lindemann Jan 2012

A Circuit Supreme: How The D.C. Circuit Court Is Using A Presumption Of Regularity In Latif V. Obama To Make New Law And Ensure No Detainees Are Released From Guantanamo Bay, Bonnie Lindemann

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.


Lower Court Constitutionalism: Circuit Court Discretion In A Complex Adaptive System, Doni Gewirtzman Jan 2012

Lower Court Constitutionalism: Circuit Court Discretion In A Complex Adaptive System, Doni Gewirtzman

Articles & Chapters

While federal circuit courts play an essential role in defining what the Constitution means, one would never know it from looking at most constitutional scholarship. The bulk of constitutional theory sees judge-made constitutional law through a distorted lens, one that focuses solely on the Supreme Court with virtually no attention paid to other parts of the judicial hierarchy. On the rare occasions when circuit courts appear on the radar screen, they are treated either as megaphones for communicating the Supreme Court’s directives or as tools for implementing the theorist’s own interpretive agenda. Both approaches would homogenize the way circuit courts …