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University of Richmond Law Review

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Articles 181 - 210 of 266

Full-Text Articles in Constitutional Law

Judicial Restraining Orders And The Media: Does It Really Matter Who Is Gagged?, James M. Jennings Ii Jan 1982

Judicial Restraining Orders And The Media: Does It Really Matter Who Is Gagged?, James M. Jennings Ii

University of Richmond Law Review

Writing in Bridges v. California, Justice Hugo Black observed forty years ago that "free speech and fair trials are two of the most cherished policies of our civilization, and it would be a trying task to choose between them." And yet, these constitutionally guaranteed rights have been in conflict since at least 1807.


Search And Seizure Of Containers Found In Automobiles: The Supreme Court Struggles For A "Bright Line" Rule, James M. Mccauley Jan 1982

Search And Seizure Of Containers Found In Automobiles: The Supreme Court Struggles For A "Bright Line" Rule, James M. Mccauley

University of Richmond Law Review

Two recent decisions by the United States Supreme Court have added a new dimension to the law of search and seizure of automobiles and containers found within motor vehicles. The plurality opinion in Robbins v. California'held that a closed opaque container found in the luggage compartment of a station wagon during the course of a lawful vehicle search could not be seized without a warrant. However, in New York v. Belton, a majority held that a police officer, incident to a lawful custodial arrest of an occupant of an automobile, may search the passenger compartment of that automobile and examine …


Doe V. Doe: Destroying The Presumption That Homosexual Parents Are Unfit- The New Burden Of Proof, Gary L. Caldwell Jan 1982

Doe V. Doe: Destroying The Presumption That Homosexual Parents Are Unfit- The New Burden Of Proof, Gary L. Caldwell

University of Richmond Law Review

In a recent decision concerning adoption, the Virginia Supreme Court declined "to hold that every lesbian mother or homosexual father is per se an unfit parent." This finding was apparently at odds with Virginia statutes outlawing marriages between members of the same sex and making it a criminal offense to engage in a homosexual relationship. In rejecting the trial court's use of a conclusive legal presumption that homosexuality is tantamount to a parent's unfitness, the justices closely examined the effects of the appellant's lesbianism upon her son to "determine whether the consequences of harm to the child of allowing the …


Double Jeopardy And The Virginia Supreme Court: Three Approaches To Multiple Punishment, Jane S. Glenn Jan 1982

Double Jeopardy And The Virginia Supreme Court: Three Approaches To Multiple Punishment, Jane S. Glenn

University of Richmond Law Review

The double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution affords three primary protections. First, the clause protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal. Secondly, it protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction. Thirdly, the clause prohibits the imposition of multiple punishment for a single offense. Although the double jeopardy principle has roots in antiquity, it may be one of our least understood constitutional protections. This comment will focus on the third protection of double jeopardy as it has been developed by the United States Supreme Court and recently …


Constitutional And Statutory Challenges To Local At-Large Elections, Timothy G. O'Rourke Jan 1982

Constitutional And Statutory Challenges To Local At-Large Elections, Timothy G. O'Rourke

University of Richmond Law Review

On April 22, 1980, in City of Mobile v. Bolden the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of at-large elections for the three-member city commission in Mobile, Alabama. In so doing, the Court reversed the judgment of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that Mobile's at-large plan impermissibly diluted the electoral influence of black voters in violation of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution. The Supreme Court's decision in Bolden [I] emerged from a sharply divided court. A six-person majority in the case consisted of four justices-Stewart, Burger, Powell, and Rehnquist-who joined in a plurality opinion; Justice …


Transforming The Privately Owned Shopping Center Into A Public Forum: Pruneyard Shopping Center V. Robins, James M. Mccauley Jan 1981

Transforming The Privately Owned Shopping Center Into A Public Forum: Pruneyard Shopping Center V. Robins, James M. Mccauley

University of Richmond Law Review

A recent Supreme Court decision has affirmed a state's choice to provide its citizens access to privately owned shopping centers for the purpose of exercising free speech and petition rights. The United States Supreme Court in Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins held that state consitutional provisions permitting individuals to exercise free speech and petition rights on private shopping center property do not violate the shopping center owner's property rights under the fifth and fourteenth amendments or his free speech rights under the first and fourteenth amendments. There exists a delicate balance between the competing in- terests of the shopping center …


Non-Jury Trial Of Civil Litigation: Justifying A Complexity Exception To The Seventh Amendment, Barrett E. Pope Jan 1981

Non-Jury Trial Of Civil Litigation: Justifying A Complexity Exception To The Seventh Amendment, Barrett E. Pope

University of Richmond Law Review

The seventh amendment to the United States Constitution states that "[i]n Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved."' When Congress enacted the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the right to jury trial at common law remained undisturbed.


Godfrey V. Georgia: Possible Effects On Virginia's Death Penalty Law, S. Vernon Priddy Iii Jan 1981

Godfrey V. Georgia: Possible Effects On Virginia's Death Penalty Law, S. Vernon Priddy Iii

University of Richmond Law Review

Virginia permits imposition of the death penalty for capital murder only after a bifurcated trial in which the jury has found the defendant guilty of the crime and, in a separate proceeding, determined death to be the appropriate penalty. In the second half of this process, the jury must find at least one of the two aggravating circumstances set out by statute' before a death sentence is imposed.


Broadening Access To The Courts And Clarifying Judicial Standards: Sex Discrimination Cases In The 1978-1979 Supreme Court Term, Janice M. Hamilton, Janine S. Hiller, Joyce Ann Naumann, Barbara H. Vann Jan 1980

Broadening Access To The Courts And Clarifying Judicial Standards: Sex Discrimination Cases In The 1978-1979 Supreme Court Term, Janice M. Hamilton, Janine S. Hiller, Joyce Ann Naumann, Barbara H. Vann

University of Richmond Law Review

During the 1978-79 Term of the Supreme Court, sex discrimination continued to be an area of active judicial concern, with the Court deciding eight cases alleging unlawful sex discrimination. The purpose of this note is to present the Court's holdings and its rationale in these decisions, to analyze the significance of the decisions in view of the Court's past rulings, and to suggest possible implications for future sex discrimination cases.


Public Figures And Malice: Recent Supreme Court Decisions Restricting The Constitutional Privilege, Ann M. Annase, Scott A. Milburn Jan 1980

Public Figures And Malice: Recent Supreme Court Decisions Restricting The Constitutional Privilege, Ann M. Annase, Scott A. Milburn

University of Richmond Law Review

Historically, Americans have placed great importance on both their good name and their right to free speech. "As ingrained as both of these ideals are in the very fabric of our society, they sometimes run counter to each other." The Supreme Court has tried to balance these conflicting ideals in libel cases involving the first amendment's protection of freedom of the press. In the 1964 case of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Court held that the first amendment's constitutional privilege extends to those publishing defamatory statements concerning official conduct, and that a plaintiff in such a case could …


Constitutional Torts And The Federal Torts Claims Act, Michael W. Dolan Jan 1980

Constitutional Torts And The Federal Torts Claims Act, Michael W. Dolan

University of Richmond Law Review

The relatively recent expansion of the liability of federal employees for so-called constitutional torts and the accompanying contraction of the immunity of those employees against suits for such torts have resulted in significant problems for the federal government, its employees, and even for victims of official misconduct. After briefly describing the law of constitutional torts and official immunity, this article will examine a proposal to amend the Federal Tort Claims Act to make the Government the exclusive defendant in constitutional tort suits.


Professional Ethics And Trial Publicity: Another Constitutional Attack On Dr7-107- Hirschkop V. Snead, Stephen E. Baril Jan 1979

Professional Ethics And Trial Publicity: Another Constitutional Attack On Dr7-107- Hirschkop V. Snead, Stephen E. Baril

University of Richmond Law Review

Philip J. Hirschkop brought an action seeking a declaratory judgment that Disciplinary Rule 7-107 of the Virginia Code of Professional Responsibility, was unconstitutionally vague and over broad. DR 7-107, generally referred to as the "no-comment" rule, prohibits extrajudicial statements by attorneys regarding pending litigation in which they are involved, "if there is a reasonable likelihood that such dissemination will interfere with a fair trial or otherwise prejudice the due administration of justice."


"Indecent" Language: A New Class Of Prohibitable Speech? F.C.C. V. Pacifica Foundation, Robert T. Billingsley Jan 1979

"Indecent" Language: A New Class Of Prohibitable Speech? F.C.C. V. Pacifica Foundation, Robert T. Billingsley

University of Richmond Law Review

Courts in this country have long recognized that the first amendment guarantee of freedom of speech, while written in absolute terms, is not an unyielding bar to all government regulation. The basic question left unresolved, however, is under what circumstances the government may intervene on behalf of itself or its citizens to place restrictions upon the great protected right of communication. Mr. Justice Holmes, speaking for the Supreme Court in Schenck v. United States, indicated that the question was whether the words used would create a "clear and present danger" of bringing about "substantive evils that Congress has a right …


State Environmental Protection Versus The Commerce Power, K. Dennis Sisk Jan 1979

State Environmental Protection Versus The Commerce Power, K. Dennis Sisk

University of Richmond Law Review

As commerce and industry have invaded once virgin lands and waters in an era of heightened environmental consciousness, increasing numbers of state legislatures have responded with strict environmental protection measures. Environmental protection is unquestionably a legitimate state interest, but such measures often impede the flow of interstate commerce. This article addresses the tension between state environmental protection statutes and the federal constitution's commerce clause. The essential thesis is that traditional commerce clause analysis has not been applied with sufficient sensitivity to adequately reconcile state environmental interests with federal commercial interests.


Constitutional Implications Of Parental Support Laws, Martin R. Levy, Sara W. Gross Jan 1979

Constitutional Implications Of Parental Support Laws, Martin R. Levy, Sara W. Gross

University of Richmond Law Review

This article addresses the constitutionality of those statutes known as "parental support laws" or "relative support statutes" in light of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. These statutes impose upon a person the duty to support an indigent parent or other impoverished relatives. This article focuses only on the statutory duty of children-under threat of punishment-to support indigent parents. In order to pass Constitutional muster under the requirements of the equal protection clause, there must be established at least a rational relationship between the class designated by the statute and the objective of …


Privacy Revisited: The Downfall Of Griswald, Martin R. Levy, C. Thomas Hectus Jan 1978

Privacy Revisited: The Downfall Of Griswald, Martin R. Levy, C. Thomas Hectus

University of Richmond Law Review

This article presents a review of the Supreme Court's privacy decisions since Griswold v. Connecticut, and concentrates on Doe v. Commonwealth's Attorney for City of Richmond as a vehicle to review the Burger Court's trends in the privacy area. Doe is a good vehicle because, though decided without opinion, the summary affirmance of a lower court decision denying homosexuals constitutional protection resolved the tension developing between Douglas' penumbra theory of privacy, which was the opinion of the Court in Griswold, and the more modern substantive due process analysis. The authors conclude that the opinions in Griswold are dead as far …


Federal Habeas Corpus After Stone V. Powell: A Remedy Only For The Arguably Innocent?, Sam Boyte Jan 1977

Federal Habeas Corpus After Stone V. Powell: A Remedy Only For The Arguably Innocent?, Sam Boyte

University of Richmond Law Review

State prisoners lost several grounds for seeking federal habeas corpus relief during the Supreme Court's 1975 term. In each case, the Court was prepared to admit, at least for the purposes of argument, that there were constitutional infirmities in the state criminal process which resulted in the confinement of the prisoner; nonetheless, the Court held that the prisoner would not be permitted to attack his conviction collaterally in federal court. Because the prisoner in Francis v. Henderson had not complied with a state procedural rule requiring such challenges to be brought before trial, the Supreme Court held that he could …


Constitutional Law-Due Process-Prosecution's Use Of Accused's Silence For Impeachment Purposes Violates Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Claus, Calvin W. Colyer Jan 1977

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Prosecution's Use Of Accused's Silence For Impeachment Purposes Violates Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Claus, Calvin W. Colyer

University of Richmond Law Review

Fundamental to our adversary system ofjustice is the right to impeach the testimony of an opposition witness. This right extends to a criminal defendant who chooses to take the stand, for his veracity and credibility are in issue. Admission of prior silence as a means of impeaching the testimony of a witness was favored by a broad rule of evidence at common law. However, the existence of an inconsistency between the silence and later testimony was a necessary condition for the admission of the defendant's prior silence. While the courts have not defined the degree of inconsistency required to allow …


Balanced Justice: Mr. Justice Powell And The Constitution, Randolph C. Duvall, John E. Ely, Mark S. Gardner, William C. Goodwin, H. P. Williams Jan 1977

Balanced Justice: Mr. Justice Powell And The Constitution, Randolph C. Duvall, John E. Ely, Mark S. Gardner, William C. Goodwin, H. P. Williams

University of Richmond Law Review

In his first five years on the United States Supreme Court, Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. has become and will most likely continue to be a leading force in shaping the direction of the Court. In many areas, Justice Powell's desire for judicial flexibility as well as judicial restraint has made him a leader in turning the Burger Court away from the bright-line tests enunciated by the Warren Court. However, where the Warren Court had been flexible, Justice Powell has usually preserved this flexibility and expanded it if possible. The tool consistently utilized to achieve this flexibility has been a …


The Fifth Amendment And The Production Of Documents: A New Rationale, Lucretia C. Irby Jan 1977

The Fifth Amendment And The Production Of Documents: A New Rationale, Lucretia C. Irby

University of Richmond Law Review

During its last term, the Supreme Court decided two cases involving the production of documents and papers; one involved the use of a search warrant, the other a subpoena duces tecum. Both cases raised the fifth amendment issues. In both instances, the Supreme Court found no violation of the privilege against self-incrimination.


Commentaries On The Constitution Of Virginia- By A.E. Dick Howard, William B. Spong Jr. Jan 1976

Commentaries On The Constitution Of Virginia- By A.E. Dick Howard, William B. Spong Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

Virginians are aware of the significant contributions made by their forebears to the drafting of the Federal Constitution. They are less mindful of the early history and development of the Virginia constitution. Yet, more than a decade prior to final adoption of our federal charter, a Virginia convention, meeting in Williamsburg in May of 1776, authorized preparation of a Declaration of Rights for Virginia concurrently with enactment of a resolution of independence from Great Britain. This document of self- government, drafted primarily by George Mason and rooted in Magna Carta and the Virginia Charter of 1606, was Virginia's constitution for …


The Suspect And The Grand Jury: A Need For Constitutional Protection, Marshall F. Newman Jan 1976

The Suspect And The Grand Jury: A Need For Constitutional Protection, Marshall F. Newman

University of Richmond Law Review

In United States v. Mandujano,I the Supreme Court, while ostensibly reaffirming the proposition that the fifth amendment does not insulate a person charged with perjury from the prosecution's introduction of his false statements, has sanctioned the use of the grand jury as a subterfuge for circumventing the constitutional proscription against compulsory self-incrimination.


Capital Punishment: Constitutional Parameters For The Ultimate Penalty, James F. Stutts Jan 1976

Capital Punishment: Constitutional Parameters For The Ultimate Penalty, James F. Stutts

University of Richmond Law Review

Four years after Furmanv. Georgia, the Supreme Court has resolved the major question left unanswered by that decision - does capital punishment per se constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the eighth amendment? The Court also announced the statutory standards which satisfy Furman's requirement that the death penalty not be imposed arbitrarily or capriciously. By a 7-2 vote, the Court held that the imposition of the death penalty for murder did not per se constitute cruel and unusual punishment. By the same vote, the Court upheld the capital sentencing statutes of Georgia, Florida and Texas, noting that arbitrary …


Constitutional Law- Confinement Of Nondangerous Mentally Ill Capable Of Surviving Safely In Freedom Held To Violate Patient's Right To "Liberty" Jan 1976

Constitutional Law- Confinement Of Nondangerous Mentally Ill Capable Of Surviving Safely In Freedom Held To Violate Patient's Right To "Liberty"

University of Richmond Law Review

The states have traditionally exercised broad power to commit the mentally ill. Civil commitment of such persons has generally been justified under two premises. First is the concept of parenspatriaewhich justifies the involuntary commitment of the mentally ill for their care and treatment or protection from harm. Second is the state's police power under which it may safeguard the public health, safety, welfare and morals. The substantive and procedural limitations upon this power may vary drastically from state to state. Despite the activity of the states in this area, no constitutional mandate exists requiring a state to provide for the …


Constitutional Law-Criminal Defendant Guaranteed Right To Self-Representation In State Or Federal Courts Jan 1976

Constitutional Law-Criminal Defendant Guaranteed Right To Self-Representation In State Or Federal Courts

University of Richmond Law Review

Sixteenth and early seventeenth century England did not recognize the right to counsel in criminal cases. In fact, ultimate recognition of this right in 1695 was considered a special privilege bestowed at the discretion of the Crown, rather than a logical development of the common law. Under modern English law, the defendant has an absolute right to counsel, but he must also be allowed to conduct his own case as to matters of fact, leaving issues of law to counsel. It remains unclear, however, whether this concept of self-representation was a right at common law or a corollary of the …


Subdivision Exactions: Virginia Constitutional Restrictions, Benjamin J. Trichelo Jan 1976

Subdivision Exactions: Virginia Constitutional Restrictions, Benjamin J. Trichelo

University of Richmond Law Review

New directions in zoning law have recently been established by the Supreme Court of Virginia. The court has declared unconstitutional an ordinance imposing a temporary building moratorium, another establishing minimum building lot sizes, and one compelling individual developers to first dedicate property in fee to the local government, and to then construct and maintain designated public facilities upon the dedicated land.


Problems In Defining The Institutional Status Of The Press, Andrew A. Jaxa-Debicki Jan 1976

Problems In Defining The Institutional Status Of The Press, Andrew A. Jaxa-Debicki

University of Richmond Law Review

This comment will deal with the concept of freedom of the press within the context of recent Supreme Court rulings which have directly or indirectly involved definitions of the role of the organized press in the governmental framework established by the Constitution. Specifically, the focus will be in the areas of the law dealing with defamation, testimonial privilege and the fair trial-free press controversy. The purpose will be to discern whether the Supreme Court is developing a concept of freedom of the press which is distinguishable from the general guarantee of freedom of speech and which derives its rationale from …


Constitutional Law- Civil Rights- Representative Party Need Only Show Sufficient Nexus With Class For Title Vii Class Action To Continue Jan 1976

Constitutional Law- Civil Rights- Representative Party Need Only Show Sufficient Nexus With Class For Title Vii Class Action To Continue

University of Richmond Law Review

For many years the brunt of racial discrimination was sorely felt in the area of employment. Today, however, an employee or job applicant who desires to redress an alleged racially discriminatory employment practice has two statutory remedies: 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under section 1981, all citizens "have the same right .. . to make and enforce contracts," which necessarily includes the right to contract for employment. It has been established that an action under this section may be brought alleging racial discrimination in employment without demonstrating state action. Title VII …


Constitutional Law-First Amendment-Newspaper Advertisement Of Abortion Referral Service Entitled To First Amendment Protection Jan 1976

Constitutional Law-First Amendment-Newspaper Advertisement Of Abortion Referral Service Entitled To First Amendment Protection

University of Richmond Law Review

Controversies involving the first amendment rights of freedom of press and speech are not confined to reporters vowing to protect the identities of their sources against government prosecutors or committees attempting to identify them. An area of conflict of equal import is the degree of protection, if any, afforded commercial speech by the Constitution. In 1942, the Supreme Court in Valentine v. Chrestensen enunciated the commercial speech doctrine which has been used, despite subsequent criticism and attempts to limit the holding, to remove commercial adver- tisement from the ambit of constitutional protection.


Constitutional Law-Durational Residency Requirement For Divorce Held Not To Violate Fourteenth Amendment Jan 1976

Constitutional Law-Durational Residency Requirement For Divorce Held Not To Violate Fourteenth Amendment

University of Richmond Law Review

One of the legacies of the Warren era was the development of a strict standard of judicial review in certain cases brought under the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. Once the Court determined that a fundamental interest had been infringed or denied, the new equal protection analysis required that the challenged statute pass a "compelling interest" test, or be found in violation of the fourteenth amendment. Various interests have been recognized as fundamental and afforded special protection by the Court.