Law Commons^™

Supreme Court Watch, Reginald Oh

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Discusses the Supreme Court cases at the end of the 2002-2003 term.

The Supreme Court's Labor And Employment Decisions: 2002-2003 Term, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

This article summarizes U.S. Supreme Court cases from the October 2002 term that related directly or indirectly to labor or employment law or have implications for labor and employment practitioners. Of particular interest are the University of Michigan affirmative action cases' and the Texas criminal sodomy case. ² Although not nominally "labor and employment" cases, these cases will profoundly affect labor and employment issues. Lawrence v. Texas has already altered the lenses through which society views homosexuality and altered public discourse related to homosexuality and same-sex relationships. ³ The reasoning of the Court shows how far issues of sexuality have …

So What If I'M Gonna Hurt Myself: The Ada's Direct Threat Defense, Tory L. Lucas

Faculty Publications and Presentations

A high-beam walking ironworker atop a skyscraper develops a severe case of vertigo. A power saw operator develops narcolepsy. Must the employers of these individuals with disabilities tolerate the risk that they pose to their own safety in fear of facing disability discrimination charges by removing the employees from their jobs? The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) clearly provides a defense to a discrimination claim by an individual with a disability when the employer takes action based on the individual’s posing a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the workplace. This is commonly …

Marshall V Madison: The Supreme Court And Original Intent, 1803-1835, Gordon Lloyd

School of Public Policy Working Papers

Should the justices of the Supreme Court rely on “original intent” as the foundation for constitutional interpretation? Or should they be free to interpret the Constitution in light of hermeneutical approaches created by current philosophies of law? This essay examines the Marshall Court to determine whether its opinions take their bearings from the American Founding or instead rely on a philosophy of jurisprudence that can be separated from the Founding. The purposes of this essay are fourfold: 1) to provide a comprehensive account of the use of the Framers by the Marshall Court, 2) address the normative question of the …

Reconcilable Differences: The Supreme Court Should Allow The Marriage Of Brady And Plea Bargaining, Andrew P. O'Brien

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Supreme Court Watch, Reginald Oh

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Describes the U.S. Supreme Court's 2002-2003 term.

Judicial Epochs In Supreme Court History: Sifting Through The Fossil Record For Stitches In Time And Switches In Nine, Jim Chen

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Stateless Corporation Finds A Home: Alienage Jurisdiction And Dependent Overseas Territories - J.P. Morgan Chase Bank V. Traffic Stream (Bvi) Infrastructure Limited, Michael Cornell Dypski

San Diego International Law Journal

The purpose of this Article is to discuss the evolution of the alienage jurisdiction statute and the status of overseas dependent territories in light of the recent Supreme Court decision. Part I of this Article will provide a brief historical background of 28 U.S.C. § 1332 and its purpose. Part II will discuss the concepts of the state and statelessness, as well as the role of dependent territories in international affairs. Part III will discuss and analyze the various federal decisions seemingly at loggerheads with each other on the issue of federal jurisdiction over dependent territories. Finally, Part IV will …

Gender Bias: Continuing Challenges And Opportunities, Rebecca Korzec

All Faculty Scholarship

In 1873 the U.S. Supreme Court denied Myra Bradwell the right to practice law, holding "the paramount destiny and mission of women are to fulfill the noble and benign office of wife and mother." Now, just slightly more a century later, two women sit on the Supreme Court, and almost half of all law students and law school faculty are women.

Drug Testing Those Crazy Chess Club Kids: The Supreme Court Turns Away From The One Clear Path In The Maze Of “Special Needs” Jurisprudence In Board Of Education V. Earls, Marcus Raymond

Saint Louis University Public Law Review

No abstract provided.

Miranda's Demise, Steven D. Clymer

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Miranda v. Arizona has been a prominent fixture of the American criminal justice system, as well as police television shows and movies, for more than a third of a century. And when, amid considerable fanfare, the Supreme Court in June 2000 announced its decision in Dickerson v. United States, it appeared that Miranda would retain that status for the foreseeable future. In Dickerson, a surprisingly large 7–2 majority settled a long-standing debate about the constitutional legitimacy of Miranda, holding that the Miranda rules are firmly grounded in the Fifth Amendment’s self-incrimination clause.

But now, a mere three …

Justice Scalia Reinvents Restitution, Tracy A. Thomas

Akron Law Faculty Publications

This essay criticizes the U.S. Supreme Court’s re-conceptualization of equitable restitution in the case of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co. v. Knudson, 534 U.S. 204 (2002). In Great-West, a divided Court in an opinion by Justice Scalia held that “equitable relief” authorized by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) does not include claims for specific performance or restitution seeking money for breach of contract. Instead, the Court held that with respect to restitution, the term “equitable relief” includes only those restitutionary remedies which were historically available in courts of equity.

This Article levels two criticisms at …

Standing For Nothing: The Paradox Of Demanding Concrete Context For Formalist Adjudication, David M. Driesen

College of Law - Faculty Scholarship

This article examines a paradox found in public law cases. While justiciability doctrines aim to provide concrete context for adjudication of public law questions by insisting upon individual injury, often the Supreme Court ignores the litigants' injuries when it turns to the merits of cases. Examination of this paradox leads to a fuller appreciation of the structure and nature of public law. In particular, it sheds light on a recent debate in leading law reviews about whether constitutional litigation should be seen as about individual rights or the validity of legal rules. It also raises serious questions about the modern …

Smolla Argues Before The Highest Court: Cross-Burning Case Explores Free-Speech Controversy, John G. Douglass

Law Faculty Publications

A First Amendment advocate's greatest burden can be his own client. Those clients range from the offbeat to the dangerous, from pornographers to neo-Nazis. Yet in standing up for the disreputable client, the free speech advocate stands for one of more cherished freedoms: "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable." Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, 414 (1989). As one of the nation's leading First Amendment advocates, Allen Professor Rodney Smolla understands that burden …

Federalism And The Public Good: The True Story Behind The Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act, Marci A. Hamilton

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Congressional Power in the Shadow of the Rehnquist Court: Strategies for the Future held at Indiana University Law School, February 1-2, 2002.

Environmental Law, Congress, And The Court's New Federalism Doctrine, Christopher H. Schroeder

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Congressional Power in the Shadow of the Rehnquist Court: Strategies for the Future held at Indiana University Law School, February 1-2, 2002.

Getting Off The Dole: Why The Court Should Abandon Its Spending Doctrine, And How A Too-Clever Congress Could Provoke It To Do So, Lynn A. Baker, Mitchell N. Berman

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Congressional Power in the Shadow of the Rehnquist Court: Strategies for the Future held at Indiana University Law School, February 1-2, 2002.

Jon O. Newman And The Abortion Decisions: A Remarkable First Year, Andrew D. Hurwitz

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Justice Scalia Reinvents Restitution, Tracy A. Thomas

Tracy A. Thomas

This essay criticizes the U.S. Supreme Court’s re-conceptualization of equitable restitution in the case of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co. v. Knudson, 534 U.S. 204 (2002). In Great-West, a divided Court in an opinion by Justice Scalia held that “equitable relief” authorized by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) does not include claims for specific performance or restitution seeking money for breach of contract. Instead, the Court held that with respect to restitution, the term “equitable relief” includes only those restitutionary remedies which were historically available in courts of equity. This Article levels two criticisms at …

Sovereignty And Democracy: The States' Obligations To Their Citizens Under Federal Statutory Law, Lauren K. Robel

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Congressional Power in the Shadow of the Rehnquist Court: Strategies for the Future held at Indiana University Law School, February 1-2, 2002.

The Death Penalty: Where Are We Now?, Robert Blecker

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Thayerian Deference To Congress And Supreme Court Supermajority Rule: Lessons From The Past, Evan H. Caminker

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Congressional Power in the Shadow of the Rehnquist Court: Strategies for the Future held at Indiana University Law School, February 1-2, 2002.

Electing The Supreme Court, Barry Friedman, Anna Harvey

Indiana Law Journal

Symposium: Congressional Power in the Shadow of the Rehnquist Court: Strategies for the Future held at Indiana University Law School, February 1-2, 2002.

Judicial Supremacy And Its Discontents, Dale Carpenter

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This essay examines judicial supremacy and some of its discontents, old and new. Part I surveys the curiously quiet posture of the public and their representatives today on the issue of judicial supremacy. Part II contrasts this quiet with other eras when neither the people nor their representatives willingly accepted judicial supremacy. Part III considers the views of two important contemporary critics of judicial supremacy who write from very different constitutional and political perspectives.

Michael Paulsen argues that the President, as head of the coordinate and equal executive branch of the national government, has the power to interpret the Constitution …

Rethinking Fairness: Principled Legal Realism And Federal Jurisdiction, Aviam Soifer

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Interpreting U.S. Treaties In Light Of Human Rights Values, Lori Fisler Damrosch

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Jon Newman’S Theory Of Disparagement And The First Amendment In The Administrative State, Edward L. Rubin

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Thermal Imaging And The Fourth Amendment: The Role Of The Katz Test In The Aftermath Of Kyllo V. United States, Gregory Gomez

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Lame Ducks Of Marbury, John C. Nagle

Journal Articles

The election of 1800 was one of the most contested - and important - in American history. After it became clear that neither President John Adams nor a Federalist majority in Congress had been reelected, they acted during the lame-duck period to preserve their influences far into the future. They did so by appointing John Marshall as Chief Justice, ratifying the Treaty with France, creating numerous new federal judicial positions, and filling many of those positions with friends, family, and Federalists (including William Marbury). Not surprisingly, Jefferson and his supporters protested these actions as contrary to the will of the …

The Dimension Of The Supreme Court, Paul H. Edelman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Lawrence Sirovich introduced two novel mathematical techniques to study patterns in recent Supreme Court decisions. One of these methods, information theory, has never been applied previously. The other method, singular value decomposition, is closely related to other methods that have previously been employed.

In this paper I give an explication of these two methods and evaluate their use in the context of understanding the Supreme Court. I conclude that information theory holds some promise for furthering our understanding but singular value decomposition, as applied by Sirovich, is …