Constitutional Law Commons^™

March 17, 2008: The Gospel According To Anne Rice, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

The Gospel According to Anne Rice

March 15, 2008: Senator Obama Doesn't Get The Pennsylvania Primary, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Senator Obama Doesn't Get the Pennsylvania Primary

March 13, 2008: More On Progressive Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

More on Progressive Religion

The President's Signing Statement Upon Signing The National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2008: Hearing Before The Subcomm. On Oversight And Investigations Of The H. Comm. On Armed Services,, 110th Cong., Mar. 11, 2008 (Statement Of Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, Geo. U. L. Center), Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

March 11, 2008: The Democratic Party Turns To Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

The Democratic Party Turns to Religion

March 9, 2008: The End Of An Illusion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

The End of an Illusion

March 7, 2008: Progressive Religion And Hallowed Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Progressive Religion and Hallowed Secularism

March 6, 2008: Enlightened Tolerance Of Post-Enlightenment, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Enlightened Tolerance of Post-Enlightenment

March 4, 2008: Anne Lamott, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Anne Lamott

The South African Civil Union Act 17 Of 2006: A Good Example Of The Dangers Of Rushing The Legislative Process, Bradley S. Smith, J. A. Robinson

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Non-Judicial Precedent, Michael J. Gerhardt

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article proposes a new paradigm for analyzing the role of precedent in constitutional law. The conventional perspective equates precedent with judicial decisions, particularly those of the Supreme Court, and almost totally ignores the constitutional significance of precedents made by public authorities other than courts. Yet, non- judicial actors produce precedents that are more pervasive than those made by courts in constitutional law. Non-judicial precedents are not only confined to the backwaters of constitutional law, but they also pertain to serious constitutional matters-presidential succession, secession, congressional power to remove Presidents and Justices, and the respective authorities of the President and …

The Democratic Aspect Of The Establishment Clause: A Refutation Of The Argument That The Clause Serves To Protect Religious Or Nonreligious Minorities, Patrick M. Garry

Mercer Law Review

A survey of Establishment Clause doctrines and commentary reveals that the Clause is often interpreted as a minority rights provision, protecting religious and nonreligious minorities from being exposed in certain ways to society's dominant religions. This Article argues against such an interpretation. It portrays the Establishment Clause as a structural provision of the Constitution, concerned with democratic processes and limited government, much like the doctrines of federalism and separation of powers. This Article also asserts that democratic values and concern for majority rule constitute core values of the Establishment Clause. Whereas the Free Exercise Clause protects minority rights, the Establishment …

Completely Unguided Discretion: Admitting Non-Statutory Aggravating And Non-Statutory Mitigating Evidence In Capital Sentencing Trials, Sharon Turlington

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “As an attorney practicing exclusively in the area of death penalty defense at the trial level for the last ten years, my perspective on the problems inherent in the system seems vastly different from that presented in academic research and even in case law. While most of the recent changes in death penalty law have focused on the right of the defendant to have sentencing enhancing elements of an offense proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, much of the evidence presented in an actual death penalty jury trial is non-statutory aggravation and non-statutory mitigation. Generally, non-statutory aggravating …

The Two-Step Evidentiary And Causation Quandary For Medium- Specific Laws Targeting Sexual And Violent Content: First Proving Harm And Injury To Silence Speech, Then Proving Redress And Rehabilitation Through Censorship, Clay Calvert

Federal Communications Law Journal

This Article argues that legislators today that want to suppress First Amendment-protected images of sexual and violent conduct conveyed on a specific medium face a steep two-step evidentiary burden. First, they must prove actual harm caused by the speech in question as it is conveyed on a specific medium--not the aggregate injury from viewing all media generallythat is sufficient to overcome free-speech rights. Second, even if sufficient harm from viewing violent or sexual content on a particular medium is proven by social science research, the government then must prove that its legislative remedy-its censorship of the harmful expression conveyed via …

The Colonel's Finest Campaign: Robert R. Mccormick And Near V. Minnesota, Eric B. Easton

Federal Communications Law Journal

Media corporations and their professional and trade associations, as well as organizations such as Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the American Civil Liberties Union, regularly monitor litigation that implicates First Amendment values and decide whether, when, and how to intervene. But that was not always the case. While media companies have always lobbied and litigated in support of their business interests-antitrust, copyright, postal rates, taxes-litigation by the institutional press to create or avoid doctrinal precedent under the First Amendment began only in the late 1920s. Once the United States Supreme Court recognized the incorporation of the First …

Reassessing Turner And Litigating The Must-Carry Law Beyond A Facial Challenge, R. Matthew Warner

Federal Communications Law Journal

In recent decades, the must-carry rules have had a troubled constitutional history. After two sets of rules were struck down by the D.C. Circuit for violating the First Amendment rights of both cable programmers and operators, Congress revised the must-carry rules in the 1992 Cable Act. In 1997, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, determined that the congressional must-carry law was facially constitutional. However, does the Turner II decision preclude further First Amendment challenges to the must-carry law? This Note argues that the answer is no and that the time is drawing near for new challenges.

Whither Sexual Orientation Analysis?: The Proper Methodology When Due Process And Equal Protection Intersect, Sharon E. Rush

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article suggests that there is Proper Methodology that courts apply when reviewing cases at the intersection of due process and equal protection. Briefly, courts operate under a rule that heightened review applies if either a fundamental right or a suspect class is involved in a case, and that rational basis review applies if neither is involved (the "Rule"). Two primary exceptions to the Rule exist, and this Article identifies them as the "Logical" and "Ill Motives" Exceptions. The Logical Exception applies when a court need not apply heightened review because a law fails rational basis review. The Ill Motives …

Essay: In Opposition To The Suffolk County Legislature's Introductory Resolution 2025, Andrea Callan

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Born In The U.S.A.? Rethinking Birthright Citizenship In The Wake Of 9/11, John C. Eastman

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Death Is Unconstitutional: How Capital Punishment Became Illegal In America—A Future History, Jur. Eric Engle Ph.D.

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “A constitution is an organic fact of every state: it is a part of the being of the state. People, like the state, also have a constitution—a character. Just as people change over time, so do states. But just as there are natural limits on what people can or cannot become, so there are natural limits on what the state can and cannot fairly do. No man, nor any group of men, ex ante may justly take the life of another person, though perhaps their killing may be excused (or forgiven) ex post.”

"The death of Death would surely …

Rights And Obligations Of Americans In Mexico Under Immigration Law And Other Areas Of Mexican Law, Jorge A. Vargas

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Birthright Citizenship, The Fourteenth Amendment, And State Authority, James C. Ho

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Baghdad, Tokyo, Kabul….Constitution Making In Occupied States, Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg, James Melton

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Theocratic Challenge To Constitution Drafting In Post-Conflict States, Ran Hirschl

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

What's In A Name? Reflections On Timing, Naming, And Constitution-Making, Vicki C. Jackson

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conciliatory Institutions And Constitutional Processes In Post-Conflict States, Donald L. Horowitz

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitution Making After National Catastrophes: Germany In 1949 And 1990, Inga Markovits

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Some Skepticism About Normative Constitutional Advice, Mark Tushnet

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitution Making At The Edges Of Constituional Order, Karol Edward Soltan

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Popular Authorship And Constitution Making: Comparing And Contrasting The Drc And Kenya, James Thuo Gathii

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.