Law Commons^™

Constitutional Crisis And Constitutional Rot, Jack M. Balkin

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Fragility Of Constitutional Democracy, Yasmin Dawood

Maryland Law Review

Is the survival of constitutional democracy in America at serious risk? Given the actions of the Trump administration, and given the decline of democracy and concomitant rise of authoritarianism the world over, there is genuine cause for alarm. In light of these fears, it is worth remembering that the authors of The Federalist Papers were notably pessimistic about the survival chances of republican government. To what extent have their constitutional design innovations contributed to present woes, and conversely, to what extent will the Constitution ensure the survival of democracy? This Essay argues that while the design of the Constitution is …

Alternatives To Liberal Constitutional Democracy, David S. Law

Maryland Law Review

The global appeal of liberal constitutional democracy—defined as a competitive multiparty system combined with governance within constitutional limits—cannot be taken for granted due to the existence of competing forms of government that appear successful along a number of practical dimensions and consequently enjoy high levels of public acceptance. Proponents of liberal constitutional democracy must be prepared to proactively explain and defend its capacity to satisfy first-order political needs. A system of government is unlikely to command popular acceptance unless it can plausibly claim to address the problems of oppression, tribalism, and physical and economic security.

Along these dimensions, the advantages …

A Jewish And (Declining) Democratic State? Constitutional Retrogression In Israel, Nadiv Mordechay, Yaniv Roznai

Maryland Law Review

This Article describes and analyzes an increasing trend of contemporary democratic hybridization and constitutional retrogression in Israel. We seek to reconstruct the Israeli case as a state of affairs where a strong leadership, coupled with rising political elites, are leading to a wide-ranging political risk to the constitutional liberal-democracy, to an erosion of its democratic institutions, and to an incremental democratic backslide.

This Article contributes to the evolving recent literature in comparative constitutional law on the constitutional implications of democratic retrogression by characterizing the Israeli case as one that might be categorized as constitutional retrogression. This, as we argue, carries …

Why Donald Trump Is Not Andrew Jackson (And Why That Matters For American Constitutional Democracy), Eric Lomazoff

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Threats To Democratic Stability: Comparing The Elections Of 2016 And 1860, Stuart Chinn

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reflections On The Aftermath Of Election 2016, Maxwell L. Stearns

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Collapse Of The New Deal Conceptual Universe: The Schmooze Project, Mark A. Graber

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trump, Trust, And The Future Of The Constitutional Order, Stephen M. Griffin

Maryland Law Review

Sometimes constitutions fail. The unprecedented election of Donald Trump, a populist insurgent who lacks the prior political experience or military service of all presidents before him, is such a sharp break in American historical experience that it raises questions as to whether something is deeply amiss with the constitutional order.

Constitutional failure is not uncommon. A path-breaking global study of national constitutions shows that on average, they last only nineteen years. The U.S. Constitution is an uncommon outlier and, as such, is accounted by many a long-running success story. But could a bell be tolling for American constitutionalism?

In this …

How A Court Becomes Supreme: Defending The Constitution From Unconstitutional Amendments, Richard Albert

Maryland Law Review

High courts around the world have increasingly invalidated constitutional amendments in defense of their view of democracy, answering in the affirmative what was once a paradoxical question with no obvious answer: can a constitutional amendment be unconstitutional? In the United States, however, the Supreme Court has yet to articulate a theory or doctrine of unconstitutional constitutional amendment. Faced with a constitutional amendment that would challenge the liberal democratic values of American constitutionalism—for instance an amendment restricting political speech or establishing a national religion—the Court would be left without a strategy or vocabulary to protect the foundations of constitutional democracy. In …

G.G. Ex Rel. Grimm V. Gloucester County School Board: Broadening Title Ix’S Protections For Transgender Students, Sam Williamson

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Privacy, Security, And The Connected Hairbrush, Travis Leblanc

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Incorporation: A Consideration Of The Judicial Function In State And Federal Constitutional Interpretation, Richard Boldt, Dan Friedman

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Kolbe V. Hogan: Hewing To Heller And Taking Aim At A Standard Of Strict Scrutiny For Comprehensive Firearms Legislation, Brett S. Turlington

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Obergefell, Fisher, And The Inversion Of Tiers, Maxwell Stearns

Faculty Scholarship

In striking the ban on same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court avoided tiers of scrutiny, thus declining to apply rational basis in a non-deferential manner as it had in other cases involving sexual orientation. In oral argument in Fisher v. University of Texas, the Court signaled its growing discomfort with the Grutter v. Bollinger strict scrutiny doctrine, which affords a level of institutional deference in tension with narrow tailoring and least restrictive means. And although the Court claims to apply intermediate scrutiny in gender-based equal protection cases, the cases devolve de facto applications of strict …

From Parliamentary To Judicial Supremacy: Reflections In Honour Of The Constitutionalism Of Justice Moseneke, Peter G. Danchin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.