Constitutional Law Commons^™

Constitutional Law -- Due Process Clause -- Third Circuit Holds That $50 Million Punitive Damages Award In Context Of A $48 Million Compensatory Award Is Unconstitutionally Excessive -- Inter Medical Supplies, Ltd. V. Ebi Medical Systems, Inc., 181 F.3d 446 (3d Cir. 1999)., A. Benjamin Spencer

Faculty Publications

In 1996, the Supreme Court, in BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, struck down a punitive damages award on the ground that it was "grossly excessive" in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment . Since BMW, many courts have faced the challenge of applying its principles to determine whether punitive damages awards surpass the constitutional limit. Last June, in Inter Medical Supplies, Ltd. v. EBI Medical Systems, Inc., the Third Circuit faced this difficulty when it considered whether a $50 million punitive damages award, granted in conjunction with a $48 million compensatory damages award, was …

Will, Judgment, And Economic Liberty: Mr. Justice Souter And The Mistranslation Of The Due Process Clause, Alan J. Meese

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fidelity, Basic Liberties, And The Specter Of Lochner, James E. Fleming

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Inevitable Infidelities Of Constitutional Translation: The Case Of The New Deal, John O. Mcginnis

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Fiscal Powers And The 1930s: Entrenchment, John Harrison

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Section 4: Federalism, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School

Supreme Court Preview

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Fourth Amendment Issues In Section 1983 Litigation, Kathryn R. Urbonya

Faculty Publications

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Putting The Law Of Impeachment In Perspective, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

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The Founders And The President's Authority Over Foreign Affairs, H. Jefferson Powell

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ackermania: The Quest For A Common Law Of Higher Lawmaking, Michael J. Gerhardt

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Technology And The Right To Privacy: The Convergence Of Surveillance And Information Privacy Concerns, Thomas B. Kearns

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

While the privacy concerns raised by advances in surveillance and information technologies are widely recognized, recent developments have led to a convergence of these technologies in many situations, presenting new challenges to the right to privacy. This Note examines this convergence of surveillance and information technologies and its potential impact on individual privacy interests.

The Note first discusses the right to privacy, personal information, and surveillance technology separately, noting ways that new technologies create privacy concerns. The Note then describes the merging of surveillance and information technologies and the resulting convergence of two formerly distinct privacy issues. Finally, the Note …

The Consent Of The Governed: Recall Of United States Senators, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Expressive Liberty, Moral Pluralism, Political Pluralism: Three Sources Of Liberal Theory, William A. Galston

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tench Coxe And The Right To Keep And Bear Arms, 1787-1823, Stephen P. Halbrook, David B. Kopel

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Tench Coxe, a member of the second rank of this nation's Founders and a leading proponent of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, wrote prolifically about the right to keep and bear arms. In this Article, the authors trace Coxe 's story, from his early writings in support of the Constitution, through his years of public service, to his political writings in opposition to the presidential campaigns of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. The authors note that Coxe described the Second Amendment as guaranteeing an individual right, and believed that an individual right to bear arms was necessary …

Can Congress Regulate Firearms?: Printz V. United States And The Intersection Of The Commerce Clause, The Tenth Amendment, And The Second Amendment, Kevin T. Streit

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Printz v. United States restricted congressional legislative authority by striking down the interim provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. The decision followed United States v. Lopez, in which the Court struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act. In both cases, the Court restricted the congressional Commerce Power and renewed the strength of the Tenth Amendment in protecting states' rights from federal intrusion.

Because both cases involved statutes regulating firearms, however, they also raised important questions regarding the Second Amendment. Following the Lopez decision, some commentators argued that both the Tenth and …

Getting From Here To There: The Rebirth Of Constitutional Constraints On The Special Interest State, Lynn A. Baker, Samuel H. Dinkin

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Brandeis Gambit: The Making Of America's "First Freedom," 1909-1931, Bradley C. Bobertz

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Constitutionality Of Censure, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

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The Privilege's Last Stand: The Privilege Against Self-Incrimination And The Right To Rebel Against The State, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Historical And Constitutional Significance Of The Impeachment And Trial Of President Clinton, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Lessons Of Impeachment History, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Congress, The Internet, And The Intractable Pornography Problem: The Child Online Protection Act Of 1998, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

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I Love You, Big Brother, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

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Bearing False Witness: The Clinton Impeachment And The Future Of Academic Freedom, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

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Law And Human Dignity: The Judicial Soul Of Justice Brennan, Stephen J. Wermiel

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The concept of human dignity has emerged in the United States in recent decades as an important theoretical and sometimes practical source of individual rights and liberties. Human dignity is cited in jurisprudential writings and discussed in some court opinions as a means of enhancing the broad phrases of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. This Essay examines the pivotal role that the late Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., played on the United States Supreme Court in making concepts of human dignity a valued and essential part of rights formulation. This essay explores Justice Brennan 's vision of …

Lincoln, Vallandingham, And Anti-War Speech In The Civil War, Michael Kent Curtis

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In the early morning hours of May 5, 1863, Union soldiers forcibly arrested Clement L. Vallandigham, a prominent Democratic politician and former congressman, for an anti-war speech which he had given a few days earlier in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Vallandigham's arrest ignited debate about freedom of speech in a democracy during a time of war and the First Amendment rights of critics of an administration. This Article is one in a series by Professor Curtis which examines episodes in the history of free speech before and during the Civil War. In this Article, Professor Curtis explores the First Amendment's guarantee …

Suspicionless Drug Testing And Chandler V. Miller: Is The Supreme Court Making The Right Decisions, Ross H. Parr

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

During the last decade, the United States Supreme Court has rendered four major decisions regarding the validity of suspicionless drug testing policies. Such drug testing policies have become a common way for employers and other interested parties-including the government-both to deter the use of drugs and to determine who is acting under the influence of illegal narcotics. Because government officials often randomly select individuals for drug testing, some of these individuals have charged that a governmental drug testing policy violates the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court found this argument unconvincing in three cases decided between 1989 and 1997, but in …

Physician-Assisted Suicide: State Legislation Teetering At The Pinnacle Of A Slippery Slope, Eunice Park

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Physician-assisted suicide has become the subject of a hotly contested legal and political debate, both in the United States and abroad. In 1997, the United States Supreme Court rendered two decisions concerning physician-assisted suicide, and two states recently enacted legislation on this issue: Oregon in 1997 and Virginia in 1998. Nevertheless, the legality of physician-assisted suicide remains unclear as doctors, pharmacists, legal commentators, and a growing segment of the general population continue to argue over the line between "letting die" and "killing." This Note analyzes both the constitutional and political aspects of the right-to-die debate, focusing primarily on the political …

Protecting The Fetus: The Criminalization Of Prenatal Drug Use, Kellam T. Parks

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Loss Of Control: Privilege Cases Diminish Presidential Power, Neal Devins

Popular Media

No abstract provided.