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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Founders On: "Does The Constitution Work?", Craig A. Stern
The Founders On: "Does The Constitution Work?", Craig A. Stern
ConLawNOW
Whether the Constitution works depends upon the purpose of its working. Discerning that purpose, however, has resisted consensus. Consequently, this article suggests a roundabout way to supply at least a tentative answer to the question whether the Constitution works. The Founders believed that the Constitution, like any republican form of government, would work only for a moral and religious people. They framed and adopted the Constitution in that belief. John Adams warned that without morality and religion, the passions of the people “would break the strongest cords of our Constitution.” A glance at how some cords have fared with a …
Originalism And Its Tools: A Few Caveats, David T. Hardy
Originalism And Its Tools: A Few Caveats, David T. Hardy
ConLawNOW
In District of Columbia v. Heller, the United States Supreme Court adopted original public understanding as an interpretative tool. While this approach has the virtue of establishing meaning independent of a court’s personal values and preferences, this article explores some hazards which courts should try to avoid. First, one must resist the temptation to see historians as invariably objective; some are apt to push a personal agenda, or get a reputation as a “debunker,” at the cost of distorting, overlooking, or even inventing the historical record. Historical studies of this type have misled the Ninth Circuit, and a dissent …
Reversing Time's Arrow: Law's Reordering Of Chronology, Causality, And History, Bruce G. Peabody
Reversing Time's Arrow: Law's Reordering Of Chronology, Causality, And History, Bruce G. Peabody
Akron Law Review
But this Article urges us to use the President’s unintended comments as a prompt for reconsidering how we ordinarily talk about and conceive time and causality ―especially in thinking about law. Through a series of brief case studies culled from politics, culture, and law, this piece begins mapping the frequency, range, and significance of circumstances in which we can claim that the hands of the present grasp and transform the past...Among other benefits, greater awareness of this underappreciated aspect of American legalism can assist scholars and citizens in shedding new light on enduring and important debates involving such areas as …
The Future Interpretation Of The Constitution, Wilson Huhn
The Future Interpretation Of The Constitution, Wilson Huhn
Akron Law Faculty Publications
On November 6, 2012, Barack Obama was reelected President of the United States. What effect will this have on the future interpretation of the Constitution? This article identifies 19 areas of constitutional law that would likely change if one more liberal justice is appointed to the Supreme Court.
The Future Interpretation Of The Constitution As A Result Of The Reelection Of President Barack Obama, Wilson Huhn
The Future Interpretation Of The Constitution As A Result Of The Reelection Of President Barack Obama, Wilson Huhn
Akron Law Faculty Publications
On November 6, 2012, Barack Obama was reelected President of the United States. What effect will this have on the future interpretation of the Constitution? This article identifies 19 areas of constitutional law that would likely change if one more liberal justice is appointed to the Supreme Court.