Law Commons^™

Speak Up: Issue Advocacy In Increasingly Politicized Times, Sally Wagenmaker

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

This article first provides a brief primer on current constraints affecting Section 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations' communications within the context of what has become known as “issue advocacy.” It then sets forth the problem of increasing politicization of nonprofits' issue advocacy activities. The article next evaluates related constitutional tensions for politically tinged issue advocacy, through the lens of the Supreme Court's free speech decisions. It concludes by addressing how the IRS's different content-based standards for issue advocacy are susceptible to abuse, are otherwise constitutionally suspect, and therefore warrant reform.

Financing Elections And "Appearance Of Corruption": Citizen Attitudes And Behavior In 2012, Molly J. Walker Wilson

Catholic University Law Review

As political spending reaches new highs in the 2012 election cycle, and as the controversy surrounding wealthy donors and interest groups grows, polls demonstrate a surge of cynicism among Americans who profess a belief that the American political system is corrupt. The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United made possible the most recent expansion of political spending. In this case, the question was whether allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertising would result in corruption or the appearance of corruption. The majority on the Court determined that it would not. Many observers have …

Is Congress Now The Broken Branch?, Barbara Sinclair

Utah Law Review

The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track by Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein was published in 2006. To be sure, criticism of Congress is a staple of American political discourse—the content varies, but the criticism is ubiquitous. Nevertheless, the volume of criticism has ramped up in the past decade or so, and the fact that two highly respected congressional scholars, Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein—who are also Washington insiders and known to be sympathetic to Congress—have joined in the criticism needs to be taken seriously.

Bruce Ledewitz, American Religious Democracy: Coming To Terms With The End Of Secular Politics, Thomas A. Schweitzer

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Perfect Timing: The Rise Of Women’S Political Leadership During Cultural Shifts, Christie E. Pearce

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

America has fallen behind in women's leadership, especially in politics. In the approaching era, there will be more viable female political candidates than ever in the past, but will the public be prepared to elect a woman to high office? Studies suggest that mentalities toward female leadership have taken a shift in a positive direction. The idea of what an 'ideal' politician must offer is more feminine in the modern era than ever before. In the age of social media, female politicians have opportunities to reach more constituents through social media in a more effective way than has been offered …

The Partisanship Spectrum, Justin Levitt

William & Mary Law Review

In a polarized political environment, allegations of excessive partisanship by public actors are ubiquitous. Commentators, courts, and activists levy these allegations daily. But with remarkable consistency, they do so as if “partisanship” described a single phenomenon. This Article recognizes that the default mode of understanding partisanship is a descriptive and diagnostic failure with meaningful consequences. We mean different things when we discuss partisanship, but we do not have the vocabulary to understand that we are talking past each other.

Without a robust conceptualization of partisanship, it is difficult to treat pathologies of partisan governance. Indeed, an undifferentiated approach to partisanship …

Jury Ignorance And Political Ignorance, Ilya Somin

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Performance And Accountability Of Regulators, Colin Scott

Seattle University Law Review

The global financial crisis came in the wake of significant reforms to the structures, processes, powers, and rules of the regulatory regimes for financial markets in many of the countries adversely affected by the crash. The global financial crisis came in the wake of significant reforms to the structures, processes, powers, and rules of the regulatory regimes for financial markets in many of the countries adversely affected by the crash. In this Article, I follow the logic of an argument that regulation necessarily has political dimensions, even where it may appear technical. I am asking questions about how we might …

Response To Sanford Levinson: Who Counts?—The Politics Of Racial Membership And Excommunication, Randall Kennedy

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

House To House: Mergers, Annexations & The Racial Implications Of City-County Politics In St. Louis, Anders Walker

Saint Louis University Public Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Decade's Legacy: Dashed Hopes For Gender Equality And The Status Of Afghan Women In Light Of The Ensuing Drawdown., Meredith B. English

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

This Comment addresses the legal structures which need to be supported in order to ensure substantial gender equality after allied forces withdraw from Afghanistan. After 2013, justice for abused women in Afghanistan stalled. Research suggests women’s rights and peace in Afghanistan are directly related. The presence of the Taliban and their restrictive rules has many Afghan women fearing for their lives and for the loss of decades of progress in the women’s rights movement. Leaders in Afghanistan must acquire a more liberal interpretation of Sharia law, while staying within the boundaries of the religious and ethnic traditions of the culture. …