Law Commons^™

Justice’S Suspension Is Dubious, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals

Step Down, Justice Melvin, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals

December 10, 2011: “But What If History Has No Logos?”, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ “But what if history has no logos?”“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

November 5, 2011: What Is The Origin Of The Separation Of Church And State?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “What is the Origin of the Separation of Church and State?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Virginia Should Abolish The Archaic Tort Defense Of Contributory Negligence And Adopt A Comparative Negligence Defense In Its Place, Peter Nash Swisher

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Encyclopedia Of The Supreme Court Of The United States, David Tanenhaus, Kay Kindred, Felice Batlan, Alfred Brophy, Mark Graber

Mark Graber

This 5-volume set focuses on the substance of American law, the processes that produce its legal principles, and the history of the Supreme Court, from its creation to the present. One of the encyclopedia's distinguishing themes is the examination of case law, the essential texts that form the backbone of legal and pre-legal study in the United States. Overview essays address the history of such topics as citizenship, due process, Native Americans, racism, and contraception, emphasizing the social context of each and the social and political pressures that shaped interpretation. This approach plays directly into the cutting-edge field known as …

September 25, 2011: Justice Scalia At Duquesne Law School, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Justice Scalia at Duquesne Law School“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Getting Away With Murder (Most Of The Time): A Sesquicentennial Analysis Of Civil War Era Homicide Cases In Boone County, Missouri, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Frank O. Bowman III

In the quarter century centered on the Civil War, 1850-1875, fifty-three homicide cases came before the courts of Boone County, Missouri, of which Columbia, home of the University of Missouri, is the county seat. To remarkable degree, the story of these killings, told in this article, is a chronicle of the place and period.

The article’s method might be described as “murder as social history.” Its narrative thread is an effort to explain the remarkable fact that only twelve of the fifty-three defendants charged with murder were ever convicted of any form of criminal homicide. The explanation requires an introduction …

One Hundred Years Of Harmful Error: The Historical Jurisprudence Of Medical Malpractice, Theodore Silver

Theodore Silver

In this Article, Professor Silver examines the origins of present-day malpractice law. He begins by noting that negligence and medical malpractice as the common law now knows them made their debut in the nineteenth century although their roots lie deep in the turf of trespass and assumpsit. He argues, however, that toward the turn of the century several episodes of linguistic laziness purported to produce a separation between negligence and medical malpractice so that the two fields are conventionally thought to rest on separate doctrinal foundations. According to Professor Silver, historically based scrutiny of medical malpractice and its ties to …

The Jurisprudence Of Action And Inaction In The Law Of Tort: Solving The Puzzle Of Nonfeasance And Misfeasance From The Fifteenth Through The Twentieth Centuries, Theodore Silver, Jean Elting Rowe

Theodore Silver

No abstract provided.

The Framers' Intent: John Adams, His Era, And The Fourth Amendment, Thomas K. Clancy

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Law Library Newsletter, Volume 3, Issue 2 - Biolchini Hall Dedication Issue 2011, Kresge Law Library

Law Library Newsletter

Biolchini Hall of Law Dedication October 8, 2010

Notre Dame Law School’s completely renovated Biolchini Hall of Law was dedicated on Friday October 8. Fr. John Jenkins blessed the building after a mass of celebration in the Basilica.

The Hall is named in honor of the Biolchini family. A $15 million gift from Robert and his wife Fran — and a number of additional gifts from other generous benefactors — made the renovation possible.

A private reception and dinner was held for all the benefactors after the ceremonies. Among the honored guests and speakers was Associate Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, …

May 30, 2011: Happy Memorial Day, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Happy Memorial Day“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Reflections On Responsibilities In The Public Square, Through A Perspective Of Jewish Tradition: A Brief Biblical Survey, Samuel J. Levine

Samuel J. Levine

In recent years, there has developed in the United States a substantial and growing interest in the role of religion in the public square. Within religious communities, the conversation has, at times, focused on the approach of specific religious traditions toward their own responsibilities to contribute to and influence the moral, ethical, and legal standards of American society. For Jewish communities living in the United States, these questions comprise yet another application of issues the Jewish people has confronted throughout its history. To the extent that the nature of American political and social structures differ significantly from those experienced by …

It’S Time To Reconsider Graduation Prayer In Public High Schools, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals.

A Brief History Of Fruit And Vegetable Juice Regulation In The United States, Ryan A. Ward

Ryan A Ward

This Paper chronicles the interesting history behind fruit and vegetable juice regulation in the United States. Part I discusses the use of tariffs and standards of identity to regulate juice from the early 1900s until the 1970s. Part II traces the history of labeling regulations for both 100 percent juices and diluted juice beverages — focusing on the 1974 diluted-juice proposal that was stalled for nearly fifteen years. Part III briefly describes the current label-focused approach adopted by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Part IV concludes.

May 3, 2011: The Military Killed The Man Responsible For The Sneak Attack On America, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Military Killed the Man Responsible for the Sneak Attack on America“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The History Of Zoological Gardens And The State, Federal And International Laws That Govern Them, Morgan Maxwell

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The history of zoos in North America can be traced back through 18th century Europe to ancient civilizations such as the Romans. The menageries of ancient Rome were far different from modern zoos that stress conservation, education, and research as primary objectives. Zoos are still evolving and changing to become more suitable for captive animals and to ensure their animals’ health and well-being. An examination of state wildlife laws reveals that there are more laws that pertain to wildlife at the state and local level than at any other level of government. Federal wildlife laws are few in number and …

Reflections On Fair Housing Law, Tim Iglesias

Tim Iglesias

This presentation offered reflections on the state of fair housing law in light of numerous studies evaluating its effectiveness. It argues that while enforcement needs to be improved, fair housing advocates must also employ complementary strategies to reform social norms.

Transplant Candidates And Substance Use: Adopting Rational Health Policy For Resource Allocation, Erin Minelli, Bryan A. Liang

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Organ transplant candidates are often denied life saving organs on account of their medical marijuana drug use. Individuals who smoke medicinal marijuana are typically classified as substance abusers, and ultimately deemed ineligible for transplantation, despite their receipt of the drug under a physician's supervision and prescription. However, patients who smoke cigarettes or engage in excessive alcohol consumption are routinely considered for placement on the national organ transplant waiting list. Transplant facilities have the freedom to regulate patient selection criteria with minimal oversight. As a result, the current organ allocation system in the United States is rife with inconsistencies and results …

Adverse Possession, Private-Zoning Waiver & Desuetude: Abandonment & Recapture Of Property And Liberty Interests, Scott Andrew Shepard

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Adverse-possession doctrine labors under a pair of disabilities: a hesitancy by theorists to embrace the abandonment-and-recapture principle that informs the doctrine, and a substantial unwillingness of governments to abandon an antiquated and outmoded maxim shielding them from the doctrine's important work. Removing these disabilities will allow a series of positive outcomes. First, it will demonstrate that all would-be adverse possessors, not just those acting "in good faith" or with possessory intent, should enjoy the fruits of the doctrine. Second, it will provide valuable additional means by which the public may monitor the performance of government employees, and additional discipline to …

Internet History, Raphael Cohen-Almagor

raphael cohen-almagor

This paper outlines and analyzes milestones in the history of the Internet. As technology advances, it presents new societal and ethical challenges. The early Internet was devised and implemented in American research units, universities, and telecommunication companies that had vision and interest in cutting-edge research. The Internet then entered into the commercial phase (1984-1989). It was facilitated by the upgrading of backbone links, the writing of new software programs, and the growing number of interconnected international networks. The author examines the massive expansion of the Internet into a global network during the 1990s when business and personal computers with different …

Administrative Law In The 1930s: The Supreme Court’S Accommodation Of Progressive Legal Theory, Mark Tushnet

Duke Law Journal

In the first decades of the twentieth century, Progressive politicians and legal theorists advocated the creation and then the expansion of administrative agencies. These agencies, they argued, could address rapidly changing social circumstances more expeditiously than could courts and legislatures, and could deploy scientific expertise, rather than mere political preference, in solving the problems social change produced. The proliferation of administrative agencies in the New Deal-the SEC, the NLRB, and others-meant that defending administrative agencies from close judicial oversight became intertwined with defending the New Deal itself In a series of contentious cases decided by the Hughes Court, Progressives believed …

The Real Formalists, The Real Realists, And What They Tell Us About Judicial Decision And Legal Education, Edward Rubin

Michigan Law Review

The periodization of history, like chocolate cake, can have some bad effects on us, but it is hard to resist. We realize, of course, that Julius Caesar didn’t think of himself as “Classical” and Richard the Lionhearted didn’t regard the time in which he lived as the Middle Ages. Placing historical figures in subsequently defined periods separates us from them and impairs our ability to understand them on their own terms. But it is difficult to understand anything about them at all if we try to envision history as continuous and undifferentiated. We need periodization to organize events that are …

But How Will The People Know? Public Opinion As A Meager Influence In Shaping Contemporary Supreme Court Decision Making, Tom Goldstein, Amy Howe

Michigan Law Review

Chief Justice John Roberts famously described the ideal Supreme Court Justice as analogous to a baseball umpire, who simply "applies" the rules, rather than making them. Roberts promised to "remember that it's my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat." At her own recent confirmation hearings, Elena Kagan demurred, opining that Roberts's metaphor might erroneously suggest that "everything is clear-cut, and that there's no judgment in the process." Based on his 2009 book, The Will of the People: How Public Opinion Has Influenced the Supreme Court and Shaped the Meaning of the Constitution, Barry Friedman …

Framing The Fourth, Tracey Maclin, Julia Mirabella

Michigan Law Review

Our knowledge of the Fourth Amendment's history was fundamentally transformed when William Cuddihy completed his Ph.D. dissertation in 1990. Cuddihy's study was the most comprehensive and detailed examination of the history of search and seizure law and essential reading for anyone interested in the amendment's history. At first, Cuddihy's work was little known: only a few people noticed when the highly regarded constitutional historian Leonard W. Levy stated that "Cuddihy is the best authority on the origins of the Fourth Amendment." Cuddihy finished his dissertation in 1990 and it remained unedited, unpublished, and largely unknown for several years-until Justice O'Connor …

Assessing The State Of The State Constitutionalism, Jim Rossi

Michigan Law Review

Robert Williams's The Law of American State Constitutions is an impressive career accomplishment for one of the leading academic lawyers writing on state constitutions. Given the need for a comprehensive, treatise-like treatment of state constitutions that transcends individual jurisdictions, Williams's book will almost certainly become the go-to treatise for the next generation of state constitutional law practitioners and scholars. The U.S. Constitution has a grip on how the American legal mind approaches issues in American constitutionalism, but an important recurring theme in Williams's work (as well as that of others) is how state constitutions present unique interpretive challenges. More than …

The Changing Face Of Liberalism In Workplace Democracy: The Shift From Collective To Individual Rights, Emily Eschenbach Barker

Emily Eschenbach Barker

The 1960s and 1970s saw a drastic change in the liberal conception of workplace equality. Post-war liberals defined equality in terms of collective rights, with labor law and unions epitomizing this conception. The civil rights generation, on the other hand, thought equality to be based in the rights of the individual. As new laws upholding individual civil rights proliferated, employers found themselves increasingly bound by incompatible legal duties under the two parallel systems governing labor rights.

Through their union agreements, employers were bound to treat all employees identically; administering vacations, bonuses, and promotions according to seniority as outlined in the …

Islam, Judaism And The Murders At Itamar, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals.

What About The Morality Of Torture, Results Aside?, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals