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Full-Text Articles in Law
Delegating Supremacy?, David S. Rubenstein
Delegating Supremacy?, David S. Rubenstein
Vanderbilt Law Review
The Supreme Court has long held that federal agencies may preempt state law in much the same way as Congress: either by issuing binding administrative rules that conflict with state law or by asserting exclusive federal control over a regulatory domain. Under this sweeping conception of the Supremacy Clause, agencies wield an extraordinary power in our federalist system. Specifically, agencies may displace the laws of all fifty states without the political and procedural safeguards inhering in the legislative process. The administrative-preemption power rests on the undertheorized doctrinal assumption that Congress may, in effect, "delegate supremacy" to agencies.
This Article challenges …
Reinventing Sovereignty?: Federalsim As A Constraint On The Voting Rights Act, Franita Tolson
Reinventing Sovereignty?: Federalsim As A Constraint On The Voting Rights Act, Franita Tolson
Vanderbilt Law Review
The legal landscape has changed significantly since Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ("VRA" or "the Act"). Even though Congress amended the Act in 2006, these amendments have done little to address the new obstacles faced by minority communities who seek to expand their electoral opportunities.' Some of these obstacles are political, as partisan forces have often manipulated the Act for electoral gain, but the greatest obstructions have been judicial. The Supreme Court has strongly implied that Congress might violate principles of federalism by requiring states to preclear their redistricting plans with the Department of Justice; has held …
Can The States Keep Secrets From The Federal Government?, Robert A. Mikos
Can The States Keep Secrets From The Federal Government?, Robert A. Mikos
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
States amass troves of information detailing the regulated activities of their citizens, including activities that violate federal law. Not surprisingly, the federal government is keenly interested in this information. It has ordered reluctant state officials to turn over their confidential files concerning medical marijuana, juvenile criminal history, immigration status, tax payments, and employment discrimination, among many other matters, to help enforce federal laws against private citizens. Many states have objected to these demands, citing opposition to federal policies and concerns about the costs of breaching confidences, but the lower courts have uniformly upheld the federal government’s power to commandeer information …
Medical Marijuana And The Political Safeguards Of Federalism, Robert A. Mikos
Medical Marijuana And The Political Safeguards Of Federalism, Robert A. Mikos
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
Medical marijuana has emerged as one of the key federalism battlegrounds of the last two decades. Since 1996, sixteen states have passed new laws legalizing the drug for certain medical purposes.' All the while, the federal government has remained committed to zero-tolerance, prohibiting the possession, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana for any purpose.2 The federal government's uncompromising stance against medical marijuana seemingly exposes the states' vulnerability to the whims of the national political process, and it has inspired calls for the courts to step in and protect state experimentation from this and other instances of arguable congressional over-reaching.