Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 17 of 17

Full-Text Articles in Law

The (Not So Dire) Future Of The Necessary And Proper Clause After National Federation Of Independent Business V. Sebelius, Celestine R. Mcconville Nov 2015

The (Not So Dire) Future Of The Necessary And Proper Clause After National Federation Of Independent Business V. Sebelius, Celestine R. Mcconville

Celestine Richards McConville

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (“NFIB”) has generated much discussion, but too little of it has focused deeply on whether, and the extent to which, the decision will limit the scope of the Necessary and Proper Clause.  Following NFIB, many observers doubtless found themselves asking the same questions they were asking in 1995 after the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Lopez drew a line in the sand after sixty years of imposing virtually no limits on the federal commerce power:  Was the Court really serious about imposing vigorous federalism limits on one of …


Preparing The Groundwork For A Responsible Debate On Stem Cell Research And Human Cloning, O. Carter Snead Oct 2015

Preparing The Groundwork For A Responsible Debate On Stem Cell Research And Human Cloning, O. Carter Snead

O. Carter Snead

The debate over both cloning and stem cell research has been intense and polarizing. It played a significant role in the recently completed presidential campaign, mentioned by both candidates on the stump, at both parties' conventions, and was even taken up directly during one of the presidential debates. The topic has been discussed and debated almost continuously by the members of the legal, scientific, medical, and public policy commentariat. I believe that it is a heartening tribute to our national polity that such a complex moral, ethical, and scientific issue has become a central focus of our political discourse. But, …


Discussion: Focus On Federalism, Erwin Chemerinsky, Jeffrey B. Morris, Martin A. Schwartz Oct 2015

Discussion: Focus On Federalism, Erwin Chemerinsky, Jeffrey B. Morris, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.


Federal Visions Of Private Family Support, Laura A. Rosenbury Oct 2015

Federal Visions Of Private Family Support, Laura A. Rosenbury

Laura A. Rosenbury

This Article offers a new perspective on the relationship between family and federalism by analyzing why the government — whether state or federal — recognizes family at all. The Article examines the current balance between state and federal authority over family by reviewing the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Astrue v. Capato, upholding the Social Security Administration’s deference to states’ intestacy laws when distributing benefits to posthumously conceived children, and United States v. Windsor, in which the Court struck down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Although each decision affirmed the states’ primary role in defining family …


Energy Policy: A Test For Federalism, Jon L. Mills, R. D. Woodson Aug 2015

Energy Policy: A Test For Federalism, Jon L. Mills, R. D. Woodson

Jon L. Mills

This Article will examine the bases of state and federal power, exploring areas of both potential and existing conflict within the energy field. Situations in which either the state or federal government appears to have exclusive authority also will be scrutinized. Possible answers to problems caused by the clashing of governmental interests will be suggested, with an eye toward aiding policymakers to reach agreements which may avert such conflicts. Finally, a prognosis of the future of federalism in regard to the energy issue will be offered.


Evolving Contours Of Immigration Federalism: The Case Of Migrant Children, Elizabeth Keyes Aug 2015

Evolving Contours Of Immigration Federalism: The Case Of Migrant Children, Elizabeth Keyes

Elizabeth Keyes

In a unique corner of immigration law, a significant reallocation of power over immigration has been occurring with little fanfare. States play a dramatic immigration gatekeeping role in the process for providing protection to immigrant youth, like many of the Central American children who sought entry to the United States in the 2014 border “surge.” This article closely examines the history of this Special Immigrant Juvenile Status provision, enacted in 1990, which authorized a vital state role in providing access to an immigration benefit. The article traces the series of shifts in allocation of power between the federal government and …


The Emergence Of Classical American Patent Law, Herbert Hovenkamp Aug 2015

The Emergence Of Classical American Patent Law, Herbert Hovenkamp

Herbert Hovenkamp

The Emergence of Classical Patent Law

Abstract

One enduring historical debate concerns whether the American Constitution was intended to be "classical" -- referring to a theory of statecraft that maximizes the role of private markets and minimizes the role of government in economic affairs. The most central and powerful proposition of classical constitutionalism is that the government's role in economic development should be minimal. First, private rights in property and contract exist prior to any community needs for development. Second, if a particular project is worthwhile the market itself will make it occur. Third, when the government attempts to induce …


The Inherent Flaws In The Inherent Authority Position: Why Inviting Local Enforcement Of Immigration Laws Violates The Constitution, Immigr. & Nat'lity L. Rev., Huyen Pham Jul 2015

The Inherent Flaws In The Inherent Authority Position: Why Inviting Local Enforcement Of Immigration Laws Violates The Constitution, Immigr. & Nat'lity L. Rev., Huyen Pham

Huyen T. Pham

After 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that state and local authorities have "inherent authority" as sovereigns to enforce federal immigration laws. This announcement, a reversal from previous legal positions taken by DOJ, sent shockwaves through the immigrant and law enforcement communities. Previously, immigration law had been treated, both by law and in practice, as the exclusive province of the federal government.

This article considers the constitutional barriers to local enforcement. Although the fascinating interplay among immigration law, national security and anti-terrorism, and federalism has been highlighted in some of the debate up to now, the federalism-related issues go beyond …


Globalization And Structure, Julian Ku, John Yoo May 2015

Globalization And Structure, Julian Ku, John Yoo

John C Yoo

No abstract provided.


Whose Ox Is Being Gored? When Attitudinalism Meets Federalism, Michael C. Dorf Feb 2015

Whose Ox Is Being Gored? When Attitudinalism Meets Federalism, Michael C. Dorf

Michael C. Dorf

Empirical research indicates that factors such as an individual Justice's general political ideology play a substantial role in the decision of Supreme Court cases. Although this pattern holds in federalism cases, views about the proper allocation of authority between the state and federal governments - independent of whether the particular outcome in any given case is "liberal" or "conservative" - can sometimes be decisive, as demonstrated by the 2005 decision in Gonzales v. Raich, in which "conservative" Justices voted to invalidate a strict federal drug provision in light of California's legalization of medical marijuana, and "liberal" Justices voted to uphold …


Instrumental And Non-Instrumental Federalism, Michael C. Dorf Feb 2015

Instrumental And Non-Instrumental Federalism, Michael C. Dorf

Michael C. Dorf

No abstract provided.


The Relevance Of Federal Norms For State Separation Of Powers, Michael C. Dorf Feb 2015

The Relevance Of Federal Norms For State Separation Of Powers, Michael C. Dorf

Michael C. Dorf

No abstract provided.


No Federalists Here: Anti-Federalism And Nationalism On The Rehnquist Court, Michael C. Dorf Feb 2015

No Federalists Here: Anti-Federalism And Nationalism On The Rehnquist Court, Michael C. Dorf

Michael C. Dorf

No abstract provided.


The 2006 Winthrop And Frances Lane Lecture: The Unintended Legal And Policy Consequences Of The No Child Left Behind Act, Michael Heise Feb 2015

The 2006 Winthrop And Frances Lane Lecture: The Unintended Legal And Policy Consequences Of The No Child Left Behind Act, Michael Heise

Michael Heise

No abstract provided.


Federalism, First Amendment & Patents: The Fraud Fallacy, Robin C. Feldman Dec 2014

Federalism, First Amendment & Patents: The Fraud Fallacy, Robin C. Feldman

Robin C Feldman

Few arguments echo as strongly throughout United States constitutional history as those related to the role of the states in the federal union. Shifting across time, the role of the states in general has moved from a model of dualism — characterized by a strict separation of federal and state dominion — to a model of overlapping and concurrent powers. In the modern context of overlapping powers, the preemption doctrine manages the intricate areas of overlap, with topics ranging from antitrust to immigration.

Yet the concept of federalism, as applied by the circuit courts in relation to patents, has traveled …


Decentralizing The Amendment Power, Jonathan L. Marshfield Dec 2014

Decentralizing The Amendment Power, Jonathan L. Marshfield

Jonathan Marshfield

The United States Constitution could soon be re-written by the states. Article V of the Constitution authorizes two-thirds of the state legislatures to bypass Congress and demand a convention to initiate federal constitutional amendments addressing any number of issues. States have adopted resolutions calling for a convention to consider amendments that would, among other things, require a balanced federal budget, eliminate life tenure for Supreme Court Justices, constitutionalize universal healthcare, and even invalidate bulwark rulings such as Roe v. Wade. In April 2014, Michigan arguably became the thirty-fourth state to adopt such a resolution, and convention supporters believe that a …


Federal And State Authority For Broadband Regulation, Tejas N. Narechania Dec 2014

Federal And State Authority For Broadband Regulation, Tejas N. Narechania

Tejas N. Narechania

Verizon’s challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s 2010 Open Internet Order voided the substance of those rules. But even as the Commission lost the authority to enforce those rules, it gained substantial new regulatory powers. The D.C. Circuit expressly affirmed the Commission’s interpretation of section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, granting it general regulatory authority to promote the deployment of broadband infrastructure. The significance of this power can hardly be understated. The Commission has relied on this authority to preempt state statutes, to subsidize broadband deployment, and even to support, together with Title II of the Communications Act, …