Law Commons^™

Editorial, Succession Question Requires Amendment, Randy Lee

Randy Lee

No abstract provided.

Closet Case: Boy Scouts Of America V. Dale And The Reinforcement Of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, And Transgender Invisibility, Darren Hutchinson

Darren L Hutchinson

This Article argues that the Supreme Court's decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale misapplies and ignores controlling First Amendment precedent and incorrectly defines "sexual identity" as a clinical or biological imposition that exists apart from expression or speech. This article provides a doctrinal alternative to Dale that would protect vital interests in both equality and liberty and that would not condition, as does Dale, sexual "equality" upon the silencing of gay lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

Licensing Speech: The Case Of Vanity Plates, Marybeth Herald

Marybeth Herald

Vanity license plates qualify as protected speech under the First Amendment, and denying plate requests because of their content contradicts traditional principles of free speech. State motor vehicle departments are almost as creative as applicants when it comes to ferreting out offensive license plate requests through the use of computer programs and linguists. Offensiveness, however, remains an elusive concept to capture and often lies in the eyes of a single viewer. When the government takes on the role of arbiter of good taste, it leads to arbitrary decision making and chaotic results.

Under traditional First Amendment doctrine, vanity license plates …

Foreword: Symposium Re-Examining First Principles: Deterrence And Corrective Justice In Constitutional Torts, Thomas A. Eaton

Scholarly Works

This Symposium provides a forum for a careful and thoughtful consideration of whether constitutional tort law can deter wrongdoing and is consistent with principles of corrective justice.

Corrective Justice And Constitutional Torts, Bernard P. Dauenhauer, Michael L. Wells

Scholarly Works

Tort liability in the private realm may be understood as "an instrument aimed...at deterrence...[and] a way of achieving corrective justice between the parties." Following the common law model, the Supreme Court has borrowed this normative framework for constitutional torts, ruling that the aims of liability for damages are to vindicate constitutional rights and to deter constitutional violations. A recent article by Daryl Levinson takes issue with this approach. Levinson argues that the superficial similarities between public torts and private torts conceal real differences, to which neither the Court nor scholars have paid adequate attention. The main point of his article, …

Section 1983, The First Amendment, And Public Employee Speech: Shaping The Right To Fit The Remedy (And Vice Versa), Michael Wells

Scholarly Works

This Article is not about theories of free speech and how they bear on the public employment context, nor does it contribute to the academic debate over what the aims of public employee speech law ought to be. I take the Court at its word when it says that its aim is to give substantial weight to both the value of speech and the government's interest as an employer. Unlike Massaro and Ingber, I take it as a given that the government may insist on hierarchy and obedience to authority in the workplace. Unlike Rosenthal, I begin from the Court's …

The Gfp (Green) Bunny: Reflections On The Intersection Of Art, Science And The First Amendment, Sheldon Nahmod

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

United States Supreme Court: 2001 Term, Paul C. Giannelli

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

In The Wake Of Lee V. Weisman: The Future Of School Graduation Prayer Is Uncertain At Best, Stephen Durden

Stephen Durden

No abstract provided.

Nude Entertainment Zoning, Stephen Durden

Stephen Durden

Local government regulation, as opposed to prohibition, of nude entertainment began in earnest in the 1970's. These regulations generally fell into four categories: (1) zoning; (2) prohibiting nude entertainment in conjunction with the service of alcohol; (3) licensing; and (4) regulating conduct, e.g., hours of operation, distance from customers, prohibition of private booths. The proliferation of these many and varied approaches began soon after the Supreme Court in California v. LaRue held that nude dancing is, or at least might be, protected by the First Amendment. Prior to LaRue, states regularly prohibited nude entertainment via general prohibitions on lewd and …

James Madison And The Constitution's “Convention For Proposing Amendments", Robert G. Natelson

Robert G. Natelson

This article traces the progress of James Madison's thought on the Constitution's "convention for proposing amendments as a way for states to assert themselves against the federal government. Madison saw the convention as an important part of the Constitution, and a constitutional alternative to nullification.

The Supreme Court 2000 Term--Leading Cases, Good News Club V. Milford Central School, 121 S. Ct. 2093 (2001), Emily Gold Waldman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

After the Supreme Court held in Widmar v. Vincent that state universities could not constitutionally deny religious groups access to facilities generally available to student groups, a number of school districts authored access policies that were designed to create “limited public forums.” These policies delineated the categories of activities for which school property could be used, and indicated that religious activities were not among them. In Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District, however, the Supreme Court struck a blow to the notion that school districts could employ the limited public forum approach to exclude religious activities from …

A Claim For Third Party Standing In America's Prisons, N. Jeremi Duru

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Federal Preemption Of State Tort Claims, Marin Roger Scordato

Scholarly Articles

This article explores a continuing disagreement among Justices of the United States Supreme Court regarding the proper doctrinal framework for federal preemption jurisprudence. This important difference in views became apparent in the four federal preemption cases that the Supreme Court decided during its 1999-2000 term. The article describes this critical disagreement among the Justices, places it in the larger context of preemption doctrine, and then carefully analyzes a number of possible resolutions.

Federal preemption is an area of enormous practical and theoretical importance. It is a subject that has earned a regular place on the Supreme Court's docket for many …

Takings Clause, Tara Leigh Grove

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The American Prosecutor: Independence, Power, And The Threat Of Tyranny, Angela J. Davis

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This Article compares the power, practices, and policies of the Independent Counsel with those of ordinary state and federal prosecutors and suggests that the purported distinctions turn out to be illusory. Part I charts the principal structural characteristics of the Independent Counsel and regular prosecutors, with particular focus on prosecutorial discretion and the charging power. This section notes the public outrage over former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and argues that the American prosecutor deserves similar scrutiny. Using illustrations from the author’s former experience as a public defender, this Part explains how regular prosecutors engage in the same acts of misconduct …

The Correction Of Wrongful Convictions: A Comparative Perspective, Lissa Griffin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article analyzes the different modes in which two facially similar adversarial systems remedy wrongful convictions. Part I briefly examines the origins of wrongful convictions in both England and the United States. Part II describes the appellate processes in the two countries for correcting wrongful convictions. Part III addresses the processes for correcting wrongful convictions after the appellate processes have been completed. Part IV critiques the English process and examines whether aspects of that process may be carried over to the United States.

The South Won't Rise Again But It's Time To Study The Defunct Confederacy's Constitution, Ralph Michael Stein

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The premise of this essay is not to espouse that the Southern ideological and constitutional theorists were correct. I propose, however, that an understanding of the historical basis of constitutional law, and a recognition of evolving doctrinal issues of Federalism, will enhance law school curriculum. Presentation of these topics dictates the introduction of the Confederate Constitution into the curriculum of required courses and electives. This effort, I propose, would be a prudent step, to be amply repaid in terms of higher understanding and scholarly benefit.

The Commercial Activity Exception Under The Fsia, Personhood Under The Fifth Amendment And Jurisdiction Over Foreign States: A Partial Roadmap For The Supreme Court In The New Millennium, Stephen J. Leacock

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law: State Campaign Contribution Limits: Nixon V. Shrink Missouri Government Pac: An Abridgment Of Freedom In The Name Of Democracy, Richard J. Baker

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

What's So Special About American Law?, William Ewald

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The 2000-2001 Supreme Court Term: Section 1983 Cases, Martin A. Schwartz

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Lochner, Liquor, And Longshoremen: A Puzzle In Progressive Era Federalism, Barry Cushman

Journal Articles

In 1890, the Supreme Court shocked and thrilled the civilized world with the announcement that dry states could not prohibit the sale of liquor shipped in from outside the state. So long as the out-of-state goods remained in their "original packages," the Court held they retained their character as interstate commerce subject only to federal regulation. The consequences for the cause of local sobriety were, predictably, catastrophic. The proliferation in temperance territory of "original package saloons," at which one could purchase liquor free from the superintendence of local liquor authorities, was appalling to dry eyes. Members of Congress immediately proposed …

Identity Crisis: Intersectionality, Multidimensionality, And The Development Of An Adequate Theory Of Subordination, Darren Hutchinson

Darren L Hutchinson

No abstract provided.

Yes, Virginia (Tech), Our Government Is One Of Limited Powers, Michael R. Dimino

Michael R Dimino

All The President’S Men? Executive Departments And Executive Privilege, Michael R. Dimino

Michael R. Dimino

No abstract provided.