Constitutional Law Commons^™

Nigro V. United States: The Most Disingenuous Supreme Court Opinion, Ever, A. Christopher Bryant

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Of Speech And Sanctions: Toward A Penalty-Sensitive Approach To The First Amendment, Michael Coenen

Journal Articles

Courts confronting First Amendment claims do not often scrutinize the severity of a speaker’s punishment. Embracing a “penalty-neutral” understanding of the free-speech right, these courts tend to treat an individual’s expression as either protected, in which case the government may not punish it at all, or unprotected, in which case the government may punish it to a very great degree. There is, however, a small but important body of “penalty-sensitive” case law that runs counter to the penalty-neutral norm. Within this case law, the severity of a speaker’s punishment affects the merits of her First Amendment claim, thus giving rise …

Congress, The Constitution, And Supreme Court Recusal, Louis J. Virelli Iii

Washington and Lee Law Review

Recusal is one of the most hotly contested issues facing the Supreme Court. From the wide-ranging debate over Supreme Court recusal, however, a singular theme has emerged: Congress must do more to protect the integrity and legitimacy of the Court by regulating the Justices’ recusal practices. Herein lies the problem. Rather than solve the puzzle of Supreme Court recusal, direct congressional regulation has created an impasse between Congress and the Court that has consequences for the reputation, efficacy, and legitimacy of both Branches. In a precursor to this Article, I recast the issue of Supreme Court recusal as a constitutional …

Naim V. Naim, Richard Delgado

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Making The Most Of United States V. Jones In A Surveillance Society: A Statutory Implementation Of Mosaic Theory, Christopher Slobogin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In the Supreme Court's recent decision in United States v. Jones, a majority of the Justices appeared to recognize that under some circumstances aggregation of information about an individual through governmental surveillance can amount to a Fourth Amendment search. If adopted by the Court, this notion sometimes called "mosaic theory"-could bring about a radical change to Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, not just in connection with surveillance of public movements-the issue raised in Jonesbut also with respect to the government's increasingly pervasive record-mining efforts. One reason the Court might avoid the mosaic theory is the perceived difficulty of implementing it. This article …

The Constitutionality Of Federal Jurisdiction-Stripping Legislation And The History Of State Judicial Selection And Tenure, Brian T. Fitzpatrick

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Few questions in the field of Federal Courts have captivated scholars like the question of whether Congress can simultaneously divest both lower federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court of jurisdiction to hear federal constitutional claims and thereby leave those claims to be litigated in state courts alone. Such a divestiture is known today as “jurisdiction stripping,” and, despite literally decades of scholarship on the subject, scholars have largely been unable to reconcile two widely held views: jurisdiction stripping should be unconstitutional because it deprives constitutional rights of adjudication by independent judges and jurisdiction stripping is nonetheless perfectly consistent with …

Dubious Delegation: Article Iii Limits On Mental Health Treatment Decisions, Adam Teitelbaum

Michigan Law Review

A common condition of supervised release requires a defendant, post-incarceration, to participate in a mental health treatment program. Federal district courts often order probation officers to make certain decisions ancillary to these programs. However Article III delegation doctrine places limits on such actions. This Note addresses the constitutionality of delegating the "treatment program" decision, in which a probation officer decides which type of treatment the defendant must undergo; the choice is often between inpatient treatment and other less restrictive alternatives. The resolution of this issue ultimately depends on whether this decision constitutes a "judicial act." Finding support in lower court …

The European Convention On Human Rights And National Constitutional Reordering, Alec Stone Sweet

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutionalism Beyond The State? The Administrative Character Of European Governance Revisited, Peter L. Lindseth

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Patriotism Beyond The Nation-State: Human Rights, Constitutional Necessity, And The Limits Of Pluralism, Jan-Werner Müller

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comments On Michel Rosenfeld's The Identity Of The Constitutional Subject: Selfhood, Citizenship, Culture, And Community, Deborah Hellman

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Subject And Its Identity: My German Experience, Bernhard Schlink

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Civil War, Ceasefire, Constitution: Some Preliminary Notes, Sujit Choudhry

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Subject, Its Other, And The Perplexing Quest For An Identity Of Its Own: A Reply To My Critics, Michel Rosenfeld

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

May 30, 2012: Seeger—An Extraordinary Case, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Seeger—an Extraordinary Case“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Association For Civil Rights In Israel V. Israel Police, Dorit Beinisch, Asher Grunis, Miriam Naor, Esther Hayut, Hanan Melcer, Eliezer Rivlin, Edna Arbel

Translated Opinions

This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]

Petitions concerning the constitutionality of some of the arrangements prescribed in the scope of the Criminal Procedure Act (Powers of Enforcement – Communications Data), 5768-2007, which came into effect on June 27, 2008 (hereinafter referred to as “the Communications Data Act” or “the Act”) and enables the Israeli investigatory authorities to obtain communications data from all the communications companies – the various cellular or …

Hammer V. Amit, Eliezer Rivlin, Dorit Beinisch, Asher Grunis, Miriam Naor, Edna Arbel, Salim Joubran, Elyakim Rubinstein

Translated Opinions

[This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.] 

This opinion is a result of cases joined together in order for the Court to resolve the general questions regarding the cause of action known as “wrongful birth”. This issue arises when a person born with a congenital disability claims that careful conduct by petitions – usually medical professionals who treated the pregnant mother – would have entirely prevented that person’s birth. Two distinct …

May 27, 2012: Happy Memorial Day, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Happy Memorial Day“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

May 24, 2012: What Is The Right Term For Nonmembers Of Organized Religion?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “What Is the Right Term for Nonmembers of Organized Religion?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Brief Of Amici Curiae Health Law & Policy Scholars And Prescription Policy Choices In Support Of Respondents On The Constitutional Validity Of The Medicaid Expansion, Kevin Outterson, Laura Hermer, Nicole Huberfeld, Elizabeth Weeks Leonard, Sara Rosenbaum, Sidney D. Watson

All Faculty Scholarship

The Medicaid expansion in Section 2001(a)(1)(C) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is one part of Congress’s comprehensive effort to expand access to health care coverage. This expansion is not revolutionary, but builds on many prior statutory amendments to Medicaid. Nor does it alter the voluntary nature of the Medicaid program – as before, States remain free to decline federal funding. The Petitioners and their amici have mischaracterized the expansion to obscure these facts, hoping this Court will unravel this hard-fought legislative enactment.

The question presented is whether Congress may offer States generous additional funding for Medicaid, with …

May 21, 2012: Raimon Panikkar On Church And State, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Raimon Panikkar on Church and State“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Federalism: Theory, Policy, Law, Daniel Halberstam

Book Chapters

Even France now values local government. Over the past 30 years, top-down appointment of regional prefects and local administrators has given way to regionally elected councils and a revision of Article 1 of the French Constitution, which proclaims that today the state’s ‘organization is decentralized’. The British Parliament, too, has embraced local rule by devolving powers to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. And in China, decentralization has reached a point where some scholars speak of ‘de facto federalism’. A systematic study of the distribution of authority in 42 democracies found that over the past 50 years, regional authority grew in …

Goren V. Home Center (Do It Yourself) Ltd., Dorit Beinisch, Neal Hendel, Isaac Amit

Translated Opinions

[This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]

Can a showing of a wage gap between a female employee and a male employee for equal work or work of equal value at the same workplace can “automatically” substantiate a cause of action under the Equal Pay for Female and Male Employees Act 1996 (hereinafter: the Equal Pay Act) as well as under the Equal Opportunities in Employment Act 1988 (hereinafter: the Equal …

May 15, 2012: Religion At Occupy Wall Street, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Religion at Occupy Wall Street“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Why Obama’S Words Didn’T Go Far Enough, Sonja R. West, Dahlia Lithwick

Popular Media

When President Obama announced his support of same-sex marriage, he talked broadly about “equality” and “fairness.” He spoke of “opposing discrimination against gays and lesbians” and making sure that nobody is treated as “less than full citizens when it comes to their legal rights.” It was a powerful moment—historic and emotional. In the Aaron Sorkin version, the orchestra would have soared at this point as the supporting cast members exchanged teary-eyed yet knowing nods.

But then President Obama described how these rights should be protected and the music stopped with a squawk. Same-sex marriage, he said, is not in fact …

May 9, 2012: The Future Of Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Future of Secularism“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Yassin V. Minister Of Defense, Asher Grunis, Salim Joubran, Uzi Vogelman

Translated Opinions

In HCJ 9060/08 petitions were filed with the High Court against the illegal construction of structures on a site next to the Beit El settlement. Following a series of hearings the State notified the court of its adoption of a policy concerning the demolition of illegal building on private land and the arrangement of construction on State land. As a result of this policy, illegal construction located on private land would be removed. The Court gave a judgment giving effect to the State's undertaking to ensure the removal of the illegal structures within one year of the filing of said …

Constitutional Heterarchy: The Centrality Of Conflict In The European Union And The United States, Daniel Halberstam

Book Chapters

In the debates about whether to take constitutionalism beyond the state, the European Union invariably looms large. One element, in particular, that invites scholars to grapple with the analogy between the European Union and global governance is the idea of legal pluralism. Just as the European legal order is based on competing claims of ultimate legal authority among the European Union and its member states, so, too, the global legal order, to the extent that we can speak of one, lacks a singular, uncontested hierarchy among its various parts. To be sure, some have argued that the UN Charter provides …

Tying The Knot: Determining The Legality Of Same-Sex Marriage And The Courts’ Responsibilities In Defining The Right, Eva Cerreta

Honors Scholar Theses

Ambiguous terms and phrases in the United States Bill of Rights have caused a great deal of controversy throughout United States history over what rights truly exist and which branch of government should be responsible for determining those rights. These questions are currently being debated in states throughout the country concerning the right to same-sex marriage. This thesis answers these questions of legality and responsibility concerning the right to same-sex marriage. The thesis uses case law of the doctrinal development of the Equal Protection Clause and the right to privacy to suggest that the Equal Protection Clause provides the soundest …

Association For Civil Rights In Israel V. Knesset, Elyakim Rubinstein, Edna Arbel, Dorit Beinisch

Translated Opinions

The petition, filed in 1999, concerned the repeated renewal of the declaration of a national state of emergency under sec. 38 of Basic Law: The Government. The petition asked that the Court revoke the declaration of a national state of emergency.

The High Court of Justice (per Justice Rubinstein, President (Emerita) Beinisch and Justice Arbel concurring) dismissed the petition, holding:

Although the work is not finished, the petition has exhausted its purpose. The state authorities should be allowed to work toward completing the legislative processes that the Petitioner helped advance by means of its petition. While this was, indeed, a …