Constitutional Law Commons^™

Originalism Without Obligation, Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

I am truly delighted that Boston University School of Law is hosting a conference on Abner Greene’s Against Obligation1 and Michael Seidman’s On Constitutional Disobedience. 2 Both books launch powerful and much-needed broadsides against the idea of a political obligation to obey the U.S. Constitution, and more generally (whether or not the authors embrace these implications) against the very idea of a political obligation to obey state authorities. I fully agree with both authors that the arguments normally made in favor of a duty of obedience to the Constitution, and by extension to state authorities of any kind, are remarkably …

Chief Justice Roberts's Individual Mandate: The Lawless Medicine Of Nfib V. Sebelius, Gregory P. Magarian

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

Fit, Justification, And Fidelity In Constitutional Interpretation, James E. Fleming

Faculty Scholarship

With this event – a Symposium on Abner Greene’s Against Obligation2 and Michael Seidman’s On Constitutional Disobedience3 – we continue our Boston University Law Review series of symposia on significant recent books in law. The distinctive format is to pick two books that join issue on an important topic, to invite the author of each book to write an essay on the other book, and to invite several Boston University School of Law faculty members to write an essay on one or both books.

Ordered Liberty: Response To Michael Dorf, James E. Fleming, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

We appreciate Michael Dorf’s serious engagement with our book and his conclusion that “it responds effectively to the charge that liberalism focuses on rights to the exclusion of responsibilities.”1 He charges us, however, with an “errant theodicy” – with making the “claim that we have . . . the freedoms we have in virtue of a freestanding principle that respectful treatment of persons requires granting them autonomy as responsibility.”2 He also criticizes us for deriving basic liberties from a “freestanding interest in autonomy.”3 In this response we aim to clarify our argument concerning responsibility as autonomy and to reject the …

Ordered Liberty: Response To Michael Dorf, James E. Fleming, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

We appreciate Michael Dorf's serious engagement with our book and his conclusion that “it responds effectively to the charge that liberalism focuses on rights to the exclusion of responsibilities.” 1 He charges us, however, with an “errant theodicy” - with making the “claim that we have . . . the freedoms we have in virtue of a freestanding principle that respectful treatment of persons requires granting them autonomy as responsibility.” 2 He also criticizes us for deriving basic liberties from a “freestanding interest in autonomy.” 3 In this response we aim to clarify our argument concerning responsibility as autonomy and …

Critical Reflections On Seidman's On Constitutional Disobedience, Hugh Baxter

Faculty Scholarship

This symposium contribution critically examines Louis Seidman’s book "Constitutional Disobedience" (2012). Seidman questions whether American constitutionalism really has the positive values commonly attributed to it. He suggests that citizens and legislators should shift away from claims that the Constitution requires or forbids certain governmental choices and toward more straightforward, “all-things-considered” political debate about “how to solve real, modern problems” and “about what will produce the best country.” I argue against Seidman's view that straightforward political talk will be less polarizing and divisive than constitution-invoking discussion. Seidman, I think, might romanticize ordinary political discussion in somewhat the same way that orthodox …

June 29, 2013: The Other Side Of The Us Supreme Court Decisions, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Other Side of the US Supreme Court Decisions“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Doe V. Supreme Sharia Court Of Appeals, Edna Arbel, Miriam Naor, Noam Sohlberg

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.]

A petition against the decision of the Sharia Court of Appeals that it is not possible to appoint a female arbitrator under Section 130 of the Ottoman Family Law for divorce proceedings conducted before the court. According to the Sharia court, Section 130 of the Ottoman Family Law is based on the Maliki interpretation. Since the Malikis require that the arbitrators be men, women …

Gary Wall, Plaintiff-Appellant V. James Wade, Et Al., Defendants-Appellees: Reply Brief Of Appellant, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Robert M. Luck Iii, Patricia E. Roberts

Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic

No abstract provided.

Shtanger V. Speaker Of The Knesset, Asher Grunis, Hanan Melcer, 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.]

A petition which focuses on the question of the legality of two arrangements in the Criminal Procedure (Enforcement Powers – Detention) Law, 5756-1996 (hereinafter: the "Detention Law") which were added to the Detention Law, in the framework of Amendment no. 8 to the Law, which was legislated by the Knesset on March 14. 2011. The first arrangement amends Section 53 of the Detention Law. …

June 24, 2013: So, Is Religion Disappearing Or Getting Stronger?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “So, Is Religion Disappearing or Getting Stronger?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

June 18, 2013: Growing Secular Hostility Toward Religion In Europe, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Growing Secular Hostility Toward Religion in Europe“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

June 17, 2013: Chen Guangcheng To Leave Nyu, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Chen Guangcheng to Leave NYU“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Tapp, George Hambleton, 1900-1994 (Sc 2739), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2739. Paper titled “Should Kentucky Revise Her 1891 Constitution by Convention?” written by George Hambleton Tapp and dated August 1947.

June 13, 2013: The Return Of The Cicadas, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

Lower Court Compliance With Supreme Court Remands, Elise Borochoff

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Congress Practices Medicine: How Congressional Legislation Of Medical Judgment May Infringe A Fundamental Right, Shannon L. Pedersen

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Striking A Balance: The Speech Or Debate Clause’S Testimonial Privilege And Policing Government Corruption, Jay Rothrock

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fifth Amendment Protection For Public Employees: Garrity And Limited Constitutional Protections From Use Of Employer Coerced Statements In Internal Investigations And Practical Considerations, J. Michael Mcguinness

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

What Is Anthony Kennedy Thinking?, Sonja R. West

Popular Media

Supreme Court watchers have long made a national sport out of parsing Justice Anthony Kennedy’s every word. From issues as diverse as the death penalty, terrorism, and gay rights, Kennedy has been the only conservative justice to vote with the court’s more liberal wing. It’s not surprising, therefore, that as we wait for the court’s decision on same-sex marriage bans, the search for clues to Kennedy’s thinking has shifted into high gear.

In March, during the oral argument about California’s same-sex marriage ban, Kennedy said that he was “trying to wrestle” with a “difficult question” about the constitutionality of same-sex …

June 8, 2013: Chen Guangcheng Comes To Pittsburgh, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Chen Guangcheng Comes to Pittsburgh“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

How Nfib V. Sebelius Affects The Constitutional Gestalt, Lawrence B. Solum

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The thesis of this essay is that the most important legal effects of the Supreme Court's decision in NFIB v. Sebelius are likely to be indirect. Sebelius marks a possible shift in what we can call the “constitutional gestalt” regarding the meaning and implications of the so-called “New Deal Settlement.” Before Sebelius, the consensus understanding was that New Deal and Warren Court cases had established a constitutional regime of plenary and virtually unlimited national legislative power under the Commerce Clause (which might be subject to narrow and limited carve outs protective of the core of state sovereignty).

After Sebelius …

Is The Antidiscrimination Project Being Ended?, Michael J. Zimmer

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Rights Of Belonging For Women, Rebecca E. Zietlow

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Affirmative Action And Academic Freedom: Why The Supreme Court Should Continue Deferring To Faculty Judgments About The Value Of Educational Diversity, Steve Sanders

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

If A Right To Health Care Is Argued In The Supreme Court, Does Anybody Hear It?, W. David Koeninger

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

June 4, 2013: “In Our Family, There Was No Clear Line Between Religion And Fly Fishing.”, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. “ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Adalah – The Legal Center For Arab Minority Rights In Israel V. Ministry Of Social Affairs, Edna Arbel, Daphne Barak-Erez, Esther Hayut

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.]

We are concerned with petitions for the revocation of Section 61(2)(d) of the Arrangements Law (Legislative Amendments for Implementation of the Economic Plan for 2009 and 2010), 5769-2009, as it is unconstitutional, which included Amendment no. 113 to the National Insurance Law [Consolidated Version], 5755-1995 (hereinafter: the “Amendment to the Law”) that ordered, inter alia, the reduction of the child allowances paid for …

The Voting Rights Act's Fight To Stay Rational: Shelby County V. Holder, Sudeep Paul

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

This commentary previews an upcoming Supreme Court case, Shelby County v. Holder, in which the Court may decide whether Congress's 2006 reauthorization of Section 5 and Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act was constitutional.

June 1, 2013: The Economy, The Poor And Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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