Constitutional Law Commons^™

The Ohio Bill Of Rights, Paul C. Giannelli

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Should The Capital Vote In Congress? A Critical Analysis Of The Proposed D.C. Representation Amendment , U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article describes H.J. Res. 554, the proposed Amendment to obtain voting representation for D.C. It gives a historical overview of the District and its efforts to gain national representation, and presents a critical analysis of the case for District representation, including a summary of the arguments made in favor of the proposed amendment, as well as the constitutional and policy objections to the D.C. Amendment. The article concludes that proponents of the amendment conflate representation of the citizens of the District with representation of the District, and overlook its place as a neutral seat of government.

Note, A Dialogue On The Political Question Doctrine, Thomas B. Mcaffee, Christopher A. Johnson

Scholarly Works

Legal scholars have generally discussed the political question doctrine as part of the larger debate over the legitimacy of judicial review. Points of discordance aside, scholars have agreed that the doctrine is “a classic technique of judicial avoidance, a way of allowing a governmental decision to stand without involving the Court in supporting its legitimacy.” Thus, debate over the objectives, legitimacy and scope of the doctrine has traditionally proceeded from the unquestioned assumption that there exists a body of law which justifies judicial abstention from deciding some types of issues.

In recent years, however, some scholars have challenged the assumption …

Juvenile Curfew Ordinances And The Constitution, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Recognizing that a legislature must decide whether to enact a juvenile curfew without the benefit of conclusive data on the effectiveness of such laws, the remainder of this Note will focus primarily upon the constitutional issues raised by such ordinances. The freedom of movement that is limited by a curfew is, it will be argued, an unenumerated right protected by the ninth and fourteenth amendments. The constitutional rights of juveniles, however, -are not necessarily coextensive with those of adults. Certain characteristics of juveniles-in particular, their lesser capacity for reason and self-control-imply that the strength of their right to freedom of …

A Proposal For Revision Of The Florida Constitution: Environmental Rights For Florida Citizens, Martha L. Harrell

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Housing For The Elderly: Constitutional Limitations And Our Obligations, Ed Stafman

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Taxation And The Supreme Court: Toward A More Unified Approach To Constitutional Adjudication?, Walter Hellerstein

Michigan Law Review

The first section of this Article examines three recent cases, each addressed to a different constitutional limitation on the scope of state tax power, that may be read as signifying a new approach: Michelin Tire Corp. v. Wages, which concerned the import-export clause; United States v. County of Fresno, which concerned the supremacy clause; and Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady, which concerned the commerce clause. Section II considers the implications of these decisions and explores -the possibility that they share an underlying doctrinal unity.

Judicial Protection Of Minorities, Terrance Sandalow

Articles

In United States v. Carolene Products Co., Justice Stone suggested by indirection that there "may be narrower scope for operation of the presumption of constitutionality" when courts are called upon to determine the validity "of statutes directed at particular religious . . . or national . . . or racial minorities."' In such cases, he explained, "prejudice against discrete and insular minorities may be a special condition, which tends seriously to curtail the operation of those political processes ordinarily to be relied upon to protect minorities, and which may call for a correspondingly more searching judicial inquiry."' Forty years later, …

Congressional Power Under The Appointments Clause After Buckley V. Valeo, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines the constitutional power of Congress to control the selection of government officers. It first discusses the article II grant itself and concludes that the Court in Buckley correctly interpreted that provision to prohibit direct appointment by Congress of officers who are found to possess "significant authority." The Note then explores possible means not explicitly foreclosed in Buckley by which Congress might influence such appointments and argues that these alternatives are restricted by the same constitutional principles that prohibit direct congressional appointments.

Adjudication Of Federal Causes Of Action In State Court, Martin H. Redish, John E. Muench

Michigan Law Review

The first section of this article considers the power of state courts to hear federal cases. Since it is now well established that state courts have the constitutional power to adjudicate federal causes of action if Congress so desires, the significant questions concern the method by which the judiciary is to decipher congressional intent. Although the courts have no difficulty where Congress has explicitly addressed the issue of state court jurisdiction, problems do arise in situations where Congress has remained silent on the question. The first section critically examines the traditional criteria employed by the courts for determining congressional intent …

Towards A Constitutional Right To Counsel In Matrimonial Litigation, Gary R. Matano

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The marriage institution is the basic unit in the anatomical composition of American society as it exists today. The right to marry and the right to divorce when marriage fails have long been held in the highest esteem by our nation's courts. But some citizens of the State of New York are judicially denied the right to terminate their marriages because they are indigents. The court has denied indigents their requested assignments of counsel when the assistance of counsel was unquestionably necessary for prospective matrimonial litigants. The first problem posed by that holding is that it operates as a virtual …

Justice William 0. Douglas: The Constitution In A Free Society, William M. Beaney

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: From Confederation To Nation: The American Constitution, 1835-1877 By Bernard Schwartz (1973), Donald E. Wilkes Jr.

Scholarly Works

From Confederation to Nation is a constitutional history of the United States in the nineteenth century. To be more exact, it is an examination of the operation of the Federal Constitution from 1835 (the year of John Marshall's death) to 1877 (the end of Reconstruction).

Although the book is. rather short (only 243 pages, including index), it is packed with information and analysis. None of the important American constitutional developments of the period is excluded from discussion. The thesis of the book is that between 1835 and 1877 the United States was transformed from a loose confederation with a weak …

Immunity Under The Speech Or Debate Clause For Republican And From Questioning About Sources, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Gravel v. United States, which arose out of Senator Mike Gravel's attempt to publicize the Pentagon Papers, concerned the scope of the immunity conferred upon a legislator and his aide under article I, section 6, of the United States Constitution. This provision, commonly called the "speech or debate clause," provides that "for any Speech or Debate in either House, [United States Senators or Representatives] shall not be questioned in any other Place." Gravel is one of the few Supreme Court interpretations of this clause.

Separation Of Powers: Congrssional Riders And The Veto Power, Richard A. Riggs

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

It has been suggested that in order to avoid this potential crisis statutory authority to veto nongermane riders be granted to the President. One author has contended that no such statute is needed, that the President presently has such power under Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution. On the other hand, bills have been introduced in both houses of Congress which might have specifically denied that power to the President. This article examines whether there is any constitutional ground on which the President could take the unprecedented action of separately vetoing congressional riders.

Article V: Changing Dimensions In Constitutional Change, Francis H. Heller

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

To anyone raised under the Constitution of the United States, that document's declaration that it is "the supreme law of the land" may appear as a commonplace assertion. In some other nations the constitution is not viewed as law, but is seen as a primarily political document. In fact, some foreign constitutions are formally proclaimed to be "political constitutions." The writers of the American Constitution were well aware that they were engaged in fashioning an arrangement for the exercise of political functions and the peaceful adjustment of political conflict. And, however much validity there continues to be to de Tocqueville's …

The Constitution And Privilege Holders: Conditioning The Issuance Of A Liquor License Upon Consent To A Warrantless Search, William W. Gooden

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Judicial Supremacy Re-Examined: A Proposed Alternative, G. Sidney Buchanan

Michigan Law Review

A citizen critic recently expressed to me his bitter opposition to the Warren Court's decisions on school prayer and school desegregation. If this critic were elected governor of a state or placed in some other position of governmental authority, he would almost certainly use his power to block public school desegregation and to encourage prayer reading in the public schools. Conceding that our critic would be acting controversially in so using his power, would he be acting unconstitutionally? This is the question which this Article will attempt to answer. More generally, this Article will consider the extent to which a …

The Defendant In Jeopardy- Is Virginia Unique?

University of Richmond Law Review

The constitutional and statutory safeguards against a person being twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense are well known both to laymen and lawyers alike. What has gone largely unnoticed by the Virginia courts is the applicability of the doctrine of res judicata to the area of criminal law. It is the purpose of this comment to make the reader aware of the doctrine of res judicata as it applies to criminal cases and to attempt to clear up the confusion which has developed in this area of Virginia law.

The Presidential Veto Power: A Shallow Pocket, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Problems created by the uncertain scope of the President's pocket-veto power do not often arise, but neither are they a matter of purely academic interest. Indeed, two Senators who have questioned President Nixon's use of the pocket-veto power base their challenge on the ambiguous language of the pocket-veto provision. They argue that the pocket-veto provision was intended to apply only in circumstances involving a final adjournment at the end of a term or a session of Congress and was not intended to apply to brief adjournments-such as the 1970 Christmas recess-occurring within a session of Congress. Senator Kennedy contends that …

The Clear And Present Danger Standard: Its Present Viability

University of Richmond Law Review

The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides that "Congress shall make no law ...abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble..." While the terms of the first amendment appear to be all embracing, its application has never been absolute. Its guarantees have always been subject to regulation by the state wherever they endangered the safety or welfare of the public. The fundamental issue involved in all first amendment problems involving free expression is the determination of the point at which the rights of the individual stop …

Bucci: Chiesa E Stato: Church-State Relations In Italy Within The Contemporary Constitutional Framework, Jonathan Weiss

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Chiesa e State: Church-State Relations in Italy Within the Contemporary