Constitutional Law Commons^™

Terrorism And The Bill Of Rights, Rodney A. Smolla

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This year is the Tenth Anniversary of the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, and the Journal is very fortunate and honored to have Professor Rodney Smolla publish an article in this year's volume. Professor Smolla played an integral role in the founding and organizing of not only the Journal, but also the Institute of Bill of Rights Law at William & Mary Law School. The Journal extends its most appreciative thanks to Professor Smolla for all his help.

In this Article, Professor Smolla examines the right to free speech in the context of Black v. Commonwealth, a case …

Spheres Of Autonomy: Reforming The Content Neutrality Doctrine In First Amendment Jurisprudence, Steven J. Heyman

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Modern First Amendment jurisprudence almost exclusively prohibits laws restricting freedom of speech based on the content of the speech. In this Article, Professor Steven Heyman takes exception to the content neutrality doctrine, arguing that its strict application both minimizes other interests competing with speech and fails to elevate the premises on which the First Amendment stands.

Antebellum Perspectives On Free Speech, Mark A. Graber

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In his book, Free Speech, "The People's Darling Privilege": Struggles for Freedom of Expression in American History, Professor Michael Kent Curtis documents the political struggles over free speech rights that took place between the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791 and the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. Professor Curtis looks to these early free speech fights to help define the contours of contemporary speech rights. In this review, Professor Mark A. Graber discusses Professor Curtis's contribution to constitutional history, and the implications of The People's Darling Privilege for constitutional theorists

Speech, Press, And Democracy, Paul Finkelman

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Professor Michael Kent Curtis's latest book, Free Speech, "The People's Darling Privilege": Struggles for Freedom of Expression in American History, chronicles the efforts of ordinary Americans to protect their right to freedom of expression from 1791-1865. Professor Paul Finkelman reviews this book, focusing primarily on Curtis's discussions of suppression of speech prior to and during the Civil War period and additionally providing some thoughts concerning the appropriateness of revoking free speech rights during times of war.

Bits And Bytes: The Carnivore Initiative And The Search And Seizure Of Electronic Mail, Sandy D. Hellums

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Note examines the application of Fourth Amendment search and seizure doctrines to the interception of electronic mail within the context of the FBI Carnivore initiative. The author argues that the traditional law of electronic surveillance's understanding of communication is outdated and never contemplated new technologies like Carnivore and their far reaching implications. Consequently, the author argues, that to protect our long-understood expectations of privacy, the search and seizure of electronic documents should be analyzed under the traditional papers analysis. To do so, the Supreme Court would afford the interception electronic documents the highest form of constitutional protect available under …

Rehnquist's Renunciation - The Chief Justice's Constitutional Duty To Preside Over Impeachment Trials, Michael F. Williams

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Idea Of Public Reason Resuscitated, James P. Madigan

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In this Article, James Madigan examines the role of public reason in a democratic government, including what views should play a role in determining public reason. Madigan criticizes John Rawls for including comprehensive views in constitutional debates, and argues that only reasons grounded in political values should be used when debating constitutional issues and fundamental rights.

Self-Definition In The Constitution Of Faith And Family, David D. Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Constitutional And Criminal Law—Eighth Amendment—Now You Can't Do That: Disproportionate Prison Sentences As Cruel And Unusual Punishment. Henderson V. Norris, 258 F.3d 706 (8th Cir. 2001)., Ray S. Pierce

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Attacks On The Warren Court By State Officials: A Case Study Of Why Court-Curbing Movements Fail, William G. Ross

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

“Certain Fundamental Truths”: A Dialectic On Negative And Positive Liberty In Hate-Speech Cases, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Procedural Justice: Tempering The State's Response To Domestic Violence, Deborah Epstein

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Yet Another Constitutional Crisis?, Keith E. Whittington

William & Mary Law Review

The recent presidential impeachment and the postelection controversy each led many to fear that the United States had either already entered or was about to enter a constitutional crisis. Such concerns seem overwrought. This Article will use those events as a foil for examining the nature of constitutional crises. The Article will distinguish two types of constitutional crises and consider several potential crises in American history, clarifying how crises occur and how they can be averted. Constitutional crises in the United States are rare in large part because of the robustness of the country's informal constitutional practices, reasonably good constitutional …

Using The Charter To Stop Racial Profiling: The Development Of An Equality-Based Conception Of Arbitrary Detention, David M. Tanovich

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Do the police use race as a proxy for criminality, particularly, in drug cases? If so, is this a rational discriminatory practice that is based on who the usual offender is or an offensive exercise of racial prejudice? What are the consequences for those communities targeted by the police? This article investigates these questions that have gone unanswered for too long in Canada. After offering a definition of racial profiling, evidence is presented that suggests that the practice is rampant in the United States and is likely practiced by some Canadian police forces, particularly, in cities with large visible minority …

The Steel Seizure Case: One Of A Kind?, Neal Devins, Louis Fisher

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Rhetoric Of Judicial Critique: From Judicial Restraint To The Virtual Bill Of Rights, Michael J. Gerhardt

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Professor Michael Gerhardt traces the rhetoric employed by national leaders and commentators over the past century to describe popular conceptions of the judicial function. In particular, Professor Gerhardt examines the evolution of the terminology used in popular and political rhetoric, revealing their inconsistent application to political ideologies through time. Professor Gerhardt argues that such shifts in usage correspond with transfers of power between the political authorities controlling the central interests at stake in constitutional adjudication. Professor Gerhardt applies the shortcomings of traditional political rhetoric to the issues surrounding technological advancements, concluding that the proper treatment of technology by the Supreme …

Religion, The Rule Of Law, And The Good Of The Whole: A View From The Clergy, Marci A. Hamilton

Articles

No abstract provided.

Joint Teaching With A Colleague, For Just A Week Or Two, Richard H. Seamon, Stephen A. Spitz

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The Supreme Court's Misplaced Concern With Selective Fairness: Bush V. Gore And Three Analogies To Grading Dilemmas, William K.S. Wang

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of What Brown V. Board Of Education Should Have Said: The Nation's Top Legal Experts Rewrite America's Landmark Civil Rights Recision, Wendy Parker

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Entrance, Voice And Exit: The Constitutional Bounds Of The Right Of Association, Evelyn Brody

All Faculty Scholarship

Despite the central role of organized groups as intermediary bodies in American society, the constitutional right of association is surprisingly recent and limited. As the Supreme Court struggles to define the bounds of 'the' freedom of association, it is time to take a critical look at a difficult set of questions. First, many private organizations engage in various types of selection criteria, but what subjects the Jaycees to State anti-discrimination laws but insulates the Boy Scouts of America? Second, the typical American nonprofit organization is a corporation that lacks both shareholders and members, so are there any 'associates' whose rights …

Extraterritoriality And Political Heterogeneity In American Federalism, Mark D. Rosen

All Faculty Scholarship

It is commonly understood that as a matter of federal law, states' substantive policies may diverge in respect of those matters that are not violative of the United States Constitution. As a practical matter, however, what degree of political heterogeneity among states is possible vis-a-vis substantive policies that are not unconstitutional? The answer to the question turns in large part on whether states, if they so choose, can regulate their citizens even when they are out-of-state. If they cannot, citizens can bypass their home state’s laws by simply traveling to a more legally permissive state to do there what is …

The Radical Possibility Of Limited Community-Based Interpretation Of The Constitution, Mark D. Rosen

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article explores a radical method under the U.S. Constitution for devolving extraordinary political power to select communities. The United States Constitution places limitations on the exercise of public power by sub-federal polities. When insular groups seek to exercise public power to govern themselves, however, there may be special constitutional limitations that are operative - doctrines that afford their local governments more options in the exercise of power than ordinary state and local governments enjoy. The Article shows that Congress may grant the communities the authority to construe designated provisions of the United States Constitution insofar as the provisions apply …

State Courts As Agents Of Federalism: Power And Interpretation In State Constitutional Law, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

In the American constitutional tradition, federalism is commonly understood as a mechanism designed to institutionalize a kind of permanent struggle between state and national power. The same American constitutional tradition also holds that courts are basically passive institutions whose mission is to apply the law impartially while avoiding inherently political power struggles. These two commonplace understandings conflict on their face. The conflict may be dissolved for federal courts by conceiving their resistance to state authority as the impartial consequence of limitations on state power imposed by the U.S. Constitution. But this reconciliation is unavailable for state courts, which, by operation …

Easing The Spring: Strict Scrutiny And Affirmative Action After The Redistricting Cases, Pamela S. Karlan

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of The "Essential Nexus": How State And Federal Courts Have Applied Nollan And Dolan And Where They Should Go From Here, J. David Breemer

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Neutralizing The Incompetent Voter: A Comment On Cook V. Gralike, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Judicial Review And Institutional Choice, Adrian Vermeule

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Congressional Power Over Presidential Elections: Lessons From The Past And Reforms For The Future, Dan T. Coenen, Edward J. Larson

Scholarly Works

Presidential election controversies are nothing new. They have plagued our republic since 1801, when the fourth election for the office ended in a muddle that nearly deprived the rightful winner of the presidency. Each controversy has led to calls for reform. In every instance, the cryptic and troublesome constitutional text has hampered congressional efforts to correct the problems. Simply stated, the Constitution offers little explicit guidance on when and how Congress can regulate the selection of the President. In this Article, we explore the implications of this textual deficiency, looking both at what Congress has done in the past and …

The Law: Defending Congress’S Interests In Court: How Lawmakers And The President Bargain Over Department Of Justice Representation, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

In understanding the willingness of government lawyers to defend the constitutionality of federal statutes, this article will explain why presidents rarely make use of their powers under the Constitution (allowing the president to refuse to defend laws he finds unconstitutional) and under federal law (placing the control of most government litigation with the attorney general). Attention will be paid both to how Department of Justice lawyers enhance their power by defending federal statutes and to how Congress, if need be, can pressure the department to bow to lawmaker preferences. In consequence, when the president refuses to defend a statute, courts …