Constitutional Law Commons^™

The Other Cause Of January 6, Katherine A. Shaw

Online Publications

John Eastman. Rudy Giuliani. Donald Trump himself.

These people all bear some responsibility for the events of January 6, 2021. But there is another contributing factor—an institution, not a person—whose role is regularly overlooked, and that deserves a focus in the ongoing January 6 committee hearings: the Electoral College. The Electoral College isn’t responsible for President Trump’s efforts to remain in office despite his clear loss. But it was integral to Trump’s strategy, and it has everything to do with how close he came to success.

Here’S A Path To Practical, Immediate Gun Reform, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

Collected biweekly contributions to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site.

Private Search And Seizure: The Constitutionality Of Anton Piller Orders In Canada, Dimitros Valkanas

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper examines the constitutionality of the Anton Piller order in Canadian law. First, the paper examines whether Anton Piller orders overall are unconstitutional through three major avenues of attack: (i) Charter challenges; (ii) the ultra vires doctrine; and (iii) the principle of natural justice, audi alteram partem. Afterwards, in the event that no challenge against Anton Piller orders broadly would succeed, the paper examines whether their uniquely Canadian variant known as a “rolling” or “John (or Jane) Doe” Anton Piller orders could be challenged, looking at both Charter and non-Charter challenges. Finally, this paper proposes the imposition of additional …

Life And Afterlife In The Steel Seizure Case, Matthew Steilen

Buffalo Law Review

This Essay examines the proper role of the Supreme Court in deciding disputes between Congress and the President. Progressive commentators are now urging the Court to dismiss these cases as political questions, at least where doing so would give effect to congressional regulations of the President. The Court’s interference is criticized as antidemocratic. This Essay advances a different conception of the Supreme Court’s role by examining the famous Steel Seizure Case. In that case, the Court upheld an injunction barring President Truman from seizing the nation’s steel mills, on grounds that doing so was inconsistent with congressional will and without …

The Committee Of Style And The Federalist Constitution, David S. Schwartz

Buffalo Law Review

The conventional interpretation of the Constitution assumes that the Committee of Style, which created the final draft of the Constitution, lacked authority to engage with substance; therefore, any arguably substantive changes it purportedly made should be disregarded in favor of earlier draft language found in the records of the Constitutional Convention. This “Style doctrine” has been embraced by the Supreme Court and several leading constitutional scholars. This Article argues that the Style doctrine is historically unfounded and obscures the Constitution’s original meaning. The Committee of Style was not prohibited from proposing substantive changes. In any case, most of the revisions …

Checking Our Attachment To The Charter And Respecting Indigenous Legal Orders: A Framework For Charter Application To Indigenous Governments, Naiomi Metallic

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom looms large in our national identity. As a constitutional law professor at a Canadian law school, my experience is that most students and lawyers see the Charter as intrinsically tied to fundamental notions of justice and fairness in our country. Because of this, Canadian lawyers and judges, who believe the Charter to be inherently good, may find it hard to understand why Indigenous peoples resist application of the Charter to their own institutions. But Canadian jurists’ attachment to the Charter, if not kept in check, can easily lead to dismissing important objections …

The Future Of Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals.

Disentangling Textualism And Originalism, Katie Eyer

ConLawNOW

Textualism and originalism are not the same interpretive theory. Textualism commands adherence to the text. Originalism, in contrast, commands adherence to history. It should be self-evident that these are not—put simply—the same thing. While textualism and originalism may in some circumstances be harnessed to work in tandem—or may in some circumstances lead to the same result—they are different inquiries, and command fidelity to different ultimate guiding principles.

In this Essay, I argue that disentangling textualism and originalism is critical to the future vibrancy and legitimacy of textualism as an interpretive methodology. When conflated with originalism, textualism holds almost endless opportunities …

Is Corporate Law Nonpartisan?, Ofer Eldar, Gabriel V. Rauterberg

Articles

Only rarely does the United States Supreme Court hear a case with fundamental implications for corporate law. In Carney v. Adams, however, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to address whether the State of Delaware’s requirement of partisan balance for its judiciary violates the First Amendment. Although the Court disposed of the case on other grounds, Justice Sotomayor acknowledged that the issue “will likely be raised again.” The stakes are high because most large businesses are incorporated in Delaware and thus are governed by its corporate law. Former Delaware governors and chief justices lined up to defend the state’s “nonpartisan” …

Competitor Standing To The Rescue: Saving The Emoluments Clause, Demitri Dawson

Legislation and Policy Brief

No abstract provided.

Foreword, Meron Wendwesen, Katrina Uyehara

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Nevada As An Example: State Immigration Reform In A Swing State, Michael Kagan, Selena Torres, Jorge "Coco" Padilla

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Stopping Anti-Asian Hate: Local Solutions To A National Problem, Stewart Chang

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

No Path Forward: Nevada’S Death Penalty, Randolph M. Fiedler

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Introduction: A Symposium On Enhancing Civil And Constitutional Rights Through State And Local Action, Ann C. Mcginley

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Felony Disenfranchisement And Voting Rights Restoration In The States, Manoj Mate

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Health Plan Coverage For Gender-Affirming Care: Continued Shortcomings At The Federal Level And A Role For Progressive States, Richard Luedeman

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Behind The Screen: The Constitutionality Of Remote Testimony For Survivors Of Domestic Violence, Rachel Harris

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

“Before my hearing for my order of protection, I knew that he would try to contact me through other people, send me flowers, send presents to the kids, and all of those things will make me feel powerless when I have to go into court and see him face-to-face. I knew after all of that I would tell the judge that I changed my mind and that I am going to give him another chance. But being on the screen, I tell you, gave me a sense of empowerment. When the judge asked me if I wanted an order of …

Renewing The Vagueness Challenge To Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude, Melissa London

Washington Law Review

Noncitizens who have been convicted of a “crime involving moral turpitude” (CIMT) under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) can be deported. However, the INA fails to provide a definition for “moral turpitude” or a list of crimes that necessarily involve “moral turpitude.” As a result, judges are given wide discretion to decide when a crime is morally reprehensible enough to render a noncitizen deportable. This moral determination in the CIMT analysis has led to disparate results among the lower courts, which deprives noncitizens of meaningful notice of what conduct could render them deportable. In 1951, the Supreme Court held …

State Constitutional Law Declares Its Independence: Double Protecting Rights During A Time Of Federal Constitutional Upheaval, Scott L. Kafker

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

History And Tradition Or Fantasy And Fiction: Which Version Of The Past Will The Supreme Court Choose In Nysrpa V. Bruen?, Saul Cornell

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Faq On The New York State Equality Amendment, Center For Gender And Sexuality Law

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

Adopted in 1938, the New York State Constitution’s equality protections fall far short of a modern notion of equality that would protect the rights of all New Yorkers. Legislation currently pending in the New York Legislature would update the state’s constitution by prohibiting forms of discrimination that are currently unrecognized by the law.

Masthead

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Unintentional Destruction: Torres V. Madrid, In Defining A Fourth Amendment Seizure Of The Person As A Common Law Arrest, Turned Terry V. Ohio Into Collateral Damage, George M. Dery Iii

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

This article analyzes Torres v. Madrid, in which the Supreme Court ruled an officer seized a person when he shot her, even though the suspect temporarily eluded capture after the shooting. This work examines the logical implications of Torres’s reasoning. Torres equated a Fourth Amendment seizure of the person with a common law arrest and defined an arrest to include an officer’s slightest touching of a person, even with only a finger. This article asserts that the force of Torres’s logic has elevated the Terry stop and frisk to a full arrest because Terry’s intrusion involves official touching and control …

Tackling The Qualified Immunity Problem With State Law, Andréa Vieira, Addie C. Rolnick, Anona Su

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law—Fourteenth Amendment And Fetal Personhood—Established Injustice: American Abortion Jurisprudence And The Irreducible, Geoffrey "Chip" Gross

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legislating Against Liberties: Congress And The Constitution In The Aftermath Of War, Harry Blain

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

How far can a democracy go to protect itself without jeopardizing the liberties upon which democracy depends? This dissertation examines why wartime restrictions on civil liberties outlive their original justifications. Through a comparative historical analysis of five major American wars, it illustrates the decisive role of the U.S. Congress in preserving these restrictions during peacetime. This argument challenges the prevailing consensus in the literature, which identifies wartime executive power as the main threat to postwar freedoms. It also reveals broader narratives of American constitutional development, including the rise and fall of intrusive congressional investigations, the decline of sedition legislation since …

State Is Required Under Texas Forfeiture Staute To Assume Burden Of Proving Proceeds Were Used In Gambling Activity., Curtis Vaughan Iii

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Book Review: The Mighty Roe Has Fallen (Probably): A Call To Action As An Antidote To Despair, Loreen Peritz

Journal of Law and Policy

Reviewing CONTROLLING WOMEN: WHAT WE MUST DO NOW TO SAVE REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM. By Kathryn Kolbert & Julie Kay. New York, NY: Hachette Books, 2021. 304 pp., $29.00

Slaying The Serpents: Why Alternative Intervention Is Necessary To Protect Those In Mental Health Crisis From The State-Created Danger “Snake Pit”, Kathleen Giunta

Journal of Law and Policy

The Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and ongoing reports of police brutality around the United States sparked extensive debate over qualified immunity and the legal protections that prevent police accountability. Individuals experiencing mental health crises are especially vulnerable to police violence, since police officers lack the requisite skills and knowledge to provide effective crisis support during mental health emergencies. Although the state-created danger doctrine was created by the courts as an exception to qualified immunity, it is so rarely applied that individuals harmed or even killed by police are left without legal remedy. This Note explores qualified immunity and …