Constitutional Law Commons^™

The Dormant Commerce Clause, The Twenty-First Amendment, And A Freer Wine Market: Why Kentucky Must Wine-Down Its Protectionist Laws Restricting The Direct Shipment Of Wine From Out-Of-State Wineries, Aubrey K. Vaughan

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

The Right To Vote Under State Constitutions, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article provides the first comprehensive look at state constitutional provisions explicitly granting the right to vote. We hear that the right to vote is "fundamental," the "essence of a democratic society," and "preservative of all rights." But courts and scholars are still searching for a solution to the puzzle of how best to protect voting rights, especially because the U.S. Supreme Court has underenforced the right to vote. The answer, however, is right in front of us: state constitutions. Virtually every state constitution includes direct, explicit language granting the right to vote, as contrasted with the U.S. Constitution, which …

"Hobby-Lobby"-Ing For Religious Freedom: Crafting The Religious Employer Exemption To The Ppaca, Emily Pitt Mattingly

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Kentucky Religious Freedom Act: Neither A Savior For The Free Exercise Of Religion Nor A Monstrous Threat To Civil Rights, Jennifer A. Pekman

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Finding A Positive Right To Healthcare, Nicole Huberfeld

Law Faculty Popular Media

In this blog post, Professor Nicole Huberfeld provides a review of Edward Rubin's article The Affordable Care Act, The Constitutional Meaning of Statutes, and the Emerging Doctrine of Positive Constitutional Rights, 53 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1639 (2012).

A Constitutional "Inquiry" Into The Texas Racing Act: The Physical Presence Requirement For Wagering & The Dormant Commerce Clause, Amanda Stubblefield

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

State Treason: The History And Validity Of Treason Against Individual States, J. Taylor Mcconkie

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

American School Finance Litigation And The Right To Education In South Africa, Scott R. Bauries

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This paper addresses the South African Constitution's invitation to the Constitutional Court to 'consider foreign law' when interpreting its provisions. Focusing on the education provisions found in section 29 of the Constitution, I make two claims. Firstly, contrary to the developing consensus, American state supreme court jurisprudence in school funding cases makes a poor resource to aid the interpretation of the basic South African right to education, regardless of the quantum of education that the Constitutional Court decides is encompassed by the word 'basic'. Secondly, however, certain aspects of these same American decisions, particularly the space they provide for a …

The Dialectic Of Obscenity, Brian L. Frye

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Until the 1960s, pornography was obscene, and obscenity prosecutions were relatively common. And until the 1970s, obscenity prosecutions targeted art, as well as pornography. But today, obscenity prosecutions are rare and limited to the most extreme forms of pornography.

So why did obscenity largely disappear? The conventional history of obscenity is doctrinal, holding that the Supreme Court’s redefinition of obscenity in order to protect art inevitably required the protection of pornography as well. In other words, art and literature were the vanguard of pornography.

But the conventional history of obscenity is incomplete. While it accounts for the development of obscenity …

The Education Duty, Scott R. Bauries

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

A constitution is an instrument of entrustment. By adopting a democratic constitution, a polity places in the hands of its elected representatives its trust that those representatives will act to pursue the ends of the polity, rather than their own ends, and that they will do so with an eye toward the effects of adopted policies. In effect, the polity entrusts lawmaking power to its legislature with the expectation that such power will be exercised with loyalty to the public and with due care for its interests. Simply put, legislatures are fiduciaries.

In this Article, I examine the nature of …

Cell Phone Searches Incident To Arrest: A New Standard Based On Arizona V. Gant, Ben E. Stewart

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Material Witness Detentions After Al-Kidd, Wesley Macneil Oliver

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Snyder V. Phelps: A Hard Case That Did Not Make Bad Law, Paul E. Salamanca

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In Snyder v. Phelps, the Court stood by the First Amendment in hard times. A religious group conducted a protest some 1,000 feet from a fallen marine's funeral, holding such pickets as “God Hates the USA,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” and “You're Going to Hell.” Despite the empathy that virtually anyone would feel for the marine's grieving father, the Court held by a vote of eight to one that his action for intentional infliction of emotional distress and intrusion upon seclusion could not survive, owing largely to the public nature of the issues the protesters had raised. “Hard …

State Constitutional Design And Education Reform: Process Specification In Louisiana, Scott R. Bauries

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

As to education, the Louisiana Constitution contains the familiar general mandate for the establishment of a public school system, now ubiquitous among state constitutions. But unlike the founding documents of any of the other states, Louisiana's constitution also provides for a very specific process-based allocation of the responsibilities for determining appropriations levels in education from year to year.

It is well-known that state constitutions often treat numerous—sometimes trivial—subjects, or contain provisions that seem hyper-specific and statutory, rather than foundational and constitutional, and state constitutions have been roundly criticized (and sometimes defended) for these features. In this Article, I argue that …

State Constitutions And Individual Rights: Conceptual Convergence In School Finance Litigation, Scott R. Bauries

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article begins by reviewing Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld's “fundamental conceptions” and expanding his theory to the arena of state constitutional rights, building on recent work by other scholars. From this foundation, it moves to a discussion of the sources of rights to education. The Article then examines the text of relevant state constitutional provisions, as well as the ever-changing landscape of school finance litigation, the principal vehicle through which litigants assert constitutional claims based on ostensible education rights. Next, it systematically analyzes the population of reported cases from the highest state courts to identify Hohfeldian conceptions of education rights held …

Brief Of Amicus Curiae Id Software Llc In Support Of Respondents, Paul E. Salamanca, James T. Drakeley, D. Wade Cloud Jr., Kevin J. Keith, J. Griffin Lesher, Amy Yeung

Law Faculty Advocacy

No abstract provided.

The “New” Presumption Against Preemption, Mary J. Davis

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Is there or isn't there a “presumption against preemption”? The Supreme Court continues to mention it, but then does, or does not, apply it in a way that helps us understand what it is. This Article explores the Court's preemption opinions in the last several decades, particularly its most recent pronouncements, and concludes that, indeed, there is a presumption against preemption. It is a "new" presumption in the sense that it is born of the Court's active preemption docket in the last two decades, which has more narrowly defined both express and implied preemption analysis. The "new" presumption is stronger …

Originalism And Original Exclusions, Mark S. Stein

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Status Of Morals Legislation, John Lawrence Hill

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Voting Rights Act Through The Justices' Eyes: Namudno And Beyond, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The most surprising action from the Supreme Court's latest term may be what it did not do: strike down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) as unconstitutional. After the oral argument in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder (NAMUDNO), most Court observers expected the Court to issue a strongly divided opinion invalidating Congress's reauthorization of the provision that requires certain "covered jurisdictions" to seek preapproval, or preclearance, before enacting any change that affects voting. Instead, the Court issued an 8-1 opinion that avoided the constitutional question and decided the case on a narrower statutory …

Strader V. Graham: Kentucky's Contribution To National Slavery Litigation And The Dredscott Decision, Robert G. Schwemm

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

What The Doctor Ordered: Balancing Religion And Patient Rights In U.S. Pharmacies, Rachel T. Caudel

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Undiscovered Country: Execution Competency & Comprehending Death, Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Silence At The Schoolhouse Gate: The Diminishing First Amendment Rights Of Public School Employees, Neal H. Hutchens

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Huber Winery V. Wilcher: The Commerce Clause, State Regulations And The Free Trade Of Wine, William H. Brammell Jr.

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Grounding Cyberspeech: Public Schools' Authority To Discipline Students For Internet Activity, Sarah O. Cronan

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Vote For Clarity: Updating The Supreme Court's Severe Burden Test For State Election Regulations That Adversely Impact An Individual's Right To Vote, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The presidential election on November 2, 2004, was perhaps one of the most watched and contentious elections in recent memory. Both major parties knew that the race would come down to several battleground states, including Ohio. The real battle in Ohio, however, began a day or two before Election Day, when several federal judges clashed over whether to allow partisan challengers at the polls.

On October 31, 2004 and November 1, 2004, two separate district court judges ruled that an Ohio election statute allowing political parties and groups of five or more candidates to place challengers at election precincts to …

Civil Rights For Whom?: Gay Rights Versus Religious Freedom, George W. Dent Jr.

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Home Sweet Home?! Maybe Not For Parolees And Probationers When It Comes To Fourth Amendment Protection, David M. Stout

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Case For Kentucky Sex Offenders: Residency Restrictions And Their Constitutional Validity, Alicia A. Sterrett

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.