Law Commons^™

The Politics Of Federalism: Self-Interest Or Safeguards? Evidence From Congressional Control Of State Taxation, Brian D. Galle

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

We present for the first time in the literature a quantitative analysis of the efficacy of the "political safeguards of federalism." We also test the popular theory that congressional control of state authority to tax maximizes national welfare. Both analyses rely on a hand-collected data set of every federal statute to date affecting state power to tax.

Overall, our data suggest that federal decisions to curtail state autonomy are strongly influenced by congressional self-interest. Conditional on enactment, statutes affecting state taxing power are more likely to reduce state authority when a concentrated special interest group stands to benefit, and also …

The Amt's Silver Lining, Brian D. Galle

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

The federal Alternative Minimum Tax has potentially salutary – and heretofore unrecognized – effects that counteract pathologies of state budgets over the business cycle. A taxpayer’s AMT liability increases with income, and acts to eliminate federal tax subsidies for state revenue-raising. Thus, as a state’s income grows and the AMT hits more state residents, state spending becomes more expensive in flush times as the federal tax subsidy for state and local taxes is reduced. Conversely, when state fiscal health deteriorates, the federal tax subsidy grows as fewer state residents fall under the AMT, boosting taxpayer support for state spending. This …

Laboratories Of Democracy? Policy Innovation In Decentralized Governments, Brian D. Galle, Joseph K. Leahy

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

Innovations in government produce positive externalities for other jurisdictions. Theory therefore predicts that local government will tend to produce a lower than optimal amount of innovation, as officials will prefer to free-ride on innovation by others. As Susan Rose-Ackerman observed in 1980, these two predictions, if true, tend to undermine arguments by proponents of federated government that decentralization will lead to many competing “laboratories of democracy.”

In this paper, which is aimed primarily at legal academics, we review and critically assess nearly three decades of responses to Rose-Ackerman’s arguments, none of which have been discussed in depth in the legal …

Administrative Law's Federalism: Preemption, Delegation, And Agencies At The Edge Of Federal Power, Brian D. Galle, Mark Seidenfeld

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

This Article critiques the practice of limiting federal agency authority in the name of federalism. Existing limits presently bind agencies even more tightly than Congress. For instance, although Congress can regulate to the limits of its commerce power with a sufficiently clear statement of its intent to do so, absent clear congressional authorization an agency cannot, no matter how clear the language of the agency’s regulation. Similarly, although Congress can preempt state law, albeit only when its intent to do so is clear, some commentators have read a line of Supreme Court decisions to hold that agencies cannot, except upon …

Counterrevolution? -- National Criminal Law After Raich, George D. Brown

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

This article provides an in-depth analysis of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Gonzales v. Raich. The Court rejected by a margin of 6-3 a Ninth Circuit holding that the federal Controlled Substances Act would probably be found unconstitutional as applied to intrastate users of marijuana who were in conformity with California’s Compassionate Use Act. Although the majority, and Justice Scalia concurring, found the case to present a relatively straightforward problem in the application of Commerce Clause doctrine, the three dissenters (Justice O’Connor, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist, and Justice Thomas) sounded sharp notes decrying a betrayal of New Federalism …

The Transatlantic Constitution: Colonial Legal Culture And The Empire (Excerpt), Mary Sarah Bilder

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

Departing from traditional approaches to colonial legal history, Mary Sarah Bilder argues that American law and legal culture developed within the framework of an evolving, unwritten transatlantic constitution that lawyers, legislators, and litigants on both sides of the Atlantic understood. The central tenet of this constitution--that colonial laws and customs could not be repugnant to the laws of England but could diverge for local circumstances--shaped the legal development of the colonial world. Focusing on practices rather than doctrines, Bilder describes how the pragmatic and flexible conversation about this constitution shaped colonial law: the development of the legal profession; the place …

Carte Blanche: Federal Prosecution Of State And Local Officials After Sabri, George D. Brown

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

Federal prosecutions of state and local officials for political corruption are a significant feature of the American political landscape. However, they raise serious federalism questions, especially the potential impact on state autonomy and sovereignty. Thus, these prosecutions would seem to run counter to the Supreme Court’s “New Federalism.” The Court has never explored the issue in depth. Last term it handed down a decision highly favorable to the federal role in the case of Sabri v. United States. This paper examines Sabri, and questions the rationale that the prosecution in that case was an example of justifiable protection of federal …

Can Federal Agencies Authorize Private Suits Under Section 1983? A Theoretical Approach, Brian D. Galle

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

Since 1980, private suits brought under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 have been a prime vehicle for enforcing federal statutory norms against state and local government. Federal regulations, however, affect a vast cross-section of state conduct not directly controlled by federal statutes. It is therefore surprising to discover that, notwithstanding some occasional acknowledgments of the considerable importance of the issue, there is almost no scholarly discussion concerning to what extent federal norms embodied in regulations can be enforced through private Section 1983 litigation. The federal Courts of Appeals are badly divided over the question, and no coherent rationale for one approach …

Should Federalism Shield Corruption?—Mail Fraud, State Law And Post-Lopez Analysis, George D. Brown

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

In this Article, Professor Brown examines the issues that federal prosecutions of state and local officials pose. The analysis focuses on prosecutions under the mail fraud statute and considers the general debate over the proper scope of federal criminal law. Professor Brodin addresses the question of whether a re-examination of mail fraud would focus on constitutional or statutory issues and by utilizing the Supreme Court case United States v. Lopez examines the question of internal limits on the mail fraud statute.

The Ideologies Of Forum Shopping - Why Doesn't A Conservative Court Protect Defendants?, George D. Brown

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

In this Article, Professor George Brown identifies a seeming inconsistency in the Supreme Court’s treatment of federal-state private law forum shopping and state-state private law forum shopping. Professor Brown notes that the Court has been explicit in its condemnation of federal-state forum shopping, but apparently accepts, and even encourages, state-state private law forum shopping. This is strange behavior from a conservative Court, since forum shopping threatens traditional conservative values such as the desire to curtail the proliferation of lawsuits and a general pro-defendant stance. Furthermore, Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins clearly rejected forum shopping. Professor Brown reconciles these seemingly contrary …

Federal Common Law And The Role Of The Federal Courts In Private Law Adjudication - A (New) Erie Problem?, George D. Brown

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Federal Funds And National Supremacy: The Role Of State Legislatures In Federal Grant Programs, George D. Brown

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Beyond The New Federalism: Revenue Sharing In Perspective, George D. Brown

Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

In 1972 Congress added General Revenue Sharing to the list of federal grant-in-aid programs for states and localities. President Nixon had recommended Revenue Sharing, as apart of his "New Federalism," because it would foster local autonomy by minimizing federal restrictions on the grants. When General Revenue Sharing was renewed in 1976, Congress made no changes in the formula, leading some commentators to minimize the significance of those changes which were made.

Professor Brown argues that the 1976 renewal amendments to the Revenue Sharing Act are an example of "interventionist federalism," a new form of federal influence over state and local …