Constitutional Law Commons^™

Restoring The Lost Constitution, Not The Constitution In Exile, Randy E. Barnett

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Constitution we have now is redacted. Any practicing lawyer will tell you that you cannot go into court and argue the Ninth Amendment. You cannot go into court and argue the Privileges or Immunities Clause. Until United States v. Lopez you could not argue the Commerce Clause; after Gonzales v. Raich, it is not clear you can argue the Commerce Clause anymore. You cannot argue the Necessary and Proper Clause. You cannot argue the Republican Guarantee Clause. You cannot argue the Second Amendment outside the Fifth Circuit. Whole sections of the Constitution are now gone. This is the …

Conducting The Constitution: Justice Scalia, Textualism, And The Eroica Symphony, Ian Gallacher

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The goal of this article is a very modest one: to use one piece of music, the first movement of Beethoven's Eroica symphony, to consider how legal scholars, using the doctrinal principles they have developed to interpret the Constitution, would interpret the piece as conductors. This article makes no pretense of offering a new genre of legal hermeneutics; there is no suggestion here that a "law and musicology" movement will provide a comprehensive analytical framework which we can use to solve problems of Constitutional interpretation. Rather, this article suggests that musical interpretative "doctrines"--if so loose a collection of practices merits …

In Search Of A Conservative Vision Of Constitutional Privacy: Two Case Studies From The Rehnquist Court, Mark C. Rahdert

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Popular Constitutionalism And The Rule Of Recognition: Whose Practices Ground U.S. Law?, Matthew D. Adler

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Tipping Points: Civil Rights, Social Change, And Fact-Based Adjudication, Suzanne B. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

This Article offers an account of how courts respond to social change, with a specific focus on the process by which courts "tip" from one understanding of a social group and its constitutional claims to another. Adjudication of equal protection and due process claims, in particular, requires courts to make normative judgments regarding the effect of traits such as race, sex, sexual orientation, or mental retardation on group members' status and capacity. Yet, Professor Goldberg argues, courts commonly approach decisionmaking by focusing only on the 'facts" about a social group, an approach that she terms 'fact-based adjudication." Professor Goldberg critiques …

Letter To The Editors, Charles W. Collier

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law—First Amendment And Freedom Of Thought—Banishing Sex Offenders: Seventh Circuit Upholds Sex Offender's Ban From Public Parks After Thinking Obscene Thoughts About Children. Doe V. City Of Lafayette, 377 F.3d 757 (7th Cir. 2004)., Elizabeth Cloud

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stepping Through Grutter'S Open Doors: What The University Of Michigan Affirmative Action Cases Mean For Race-Conscious Government Decisionmaking, Helen L. Norton

Faculty Scholarship

In Grutter, a majority of the Court for the first time identified an instrumental justification for race-based government decisionmaking as compelling -- specifically, a public law school’s interest in attaining a diverse student body. Grutter not only recognized the value of diversity in higher education, but left open the possibility that the Court might find similar justifications compelling as well. The switch to instrumental justifications for affirmative action appears a strategic response to the Court’s narrowing of the availability of remedial rationales. A number of thoughtful commentators, however, have reacted to this trend with concern and even dismay, questioning whether …

The View Outside: What Kind Of Expression For Adolescents Outside The United States?, Edward J. Eberle

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Does The Constitution Apply To The Actions Of The United States Anti-Doping Agency?, Dionne L. Koller

All Faculty Scholarship

Since its formation in 2000, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has aggressively pursued athletes who are believed to have used performance-enhancing substances and has aggressively prosecuted those who ultimately test positive. To many, this is a long overdue response to the growing problem of doping in sports. But to others, USADA's actions, and the federal government's support of these efforts, has sparked enormous controversy. This article examines USADA and its relationship to the federal government to determine whether USADA's actions could be constrained by the Constitution. While it is clear that USADA has very close ties to the federal …

The Constitutional Rhetoric Of White Innocence, Cecil J. Hunt

ExpressO

This article discusses the Supreme Court’s use of the rhetoric of white innocence in deciding racially inflected claims of constitutional shelter. It argues that the Court’s use of this rhetoric reveals that it has adopted a distinctly white-centered-perspective which reveals only a one-sided view of racial reality and thus distorts its ability to accurately appreciate the true nature of racial reality in contemporary America. This article examines the Court’s habit of consistently choosing a white-centered-perspective in constitutional race cases by looking at the Court’s use of the rhetoric of white innocence first in the context of the Court’s concern with …

The Constitutional Right Not To Cooperate? Local Sovereignty And The Federal Immigration Power, Huyen Pham

ExpressO

May the federal government require local governments to cooperate with the enforcement of immigration law or other federal scheme? Or may local governments constitutionally refuse to provide that cooperation?

I use immigration law enforcement as a case study to argue that the current legal framework, which allows the federal government to mandate local cooperation, ignores the significant federalism harms that federal cooperation laws impose. And these federalism harms are not simply limited to the immigration field. In other areas where federal and local governments disagree (e.g., medical marijuana, stem cell research, and physician-assisted suicide), there is similar potential for conflict …

The Constitutionally Inspired Approaches To Police Accountability For Violence Against Women In The U.S. And South Africa: Conservation Versus Transformation, Christopher J. Roederer

ExpressO

In the summer of 2005, the United States Supreme Court in Castle Rock v. Gonzales and the South African Constitutional Court in N.K. v. Minister of Safety & Security overturned decisions from their appellate courts. N.K. drew on the Constitutional Court decision in Carmichele v. Minister of Safety & Security. All three were torts cases involving the duties of the police, their accountability to the public, and rights of women to be free from violence, and each depended on the respective court’s interpretation of its constitution for resolution. This article focuses on the comparison, or rather, the sharp contrast between, …

Foreign Law And The U.S. Constitution, Kenneth Anderson

Popular Media

The use of foreign law and unratified international treaty law by U.S. courts in U.S. constitutional adjudication has emerged as a major debate among justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for a majority approving the practice in the March 2005 decision of Roper v. Simmons, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer undertaking an unusual public discussion of the practice in January 2005 at American University law school. This article examines the arguments made by Justices Kennedy, Scalia, and Breyer for and against the practice, setting them in the broader context of constitutional theory. It …

Europe's Darker Legacies; Notes On Mirror Reflections, The Constitution As Fetish, And Other Such Linkages Between The Past And The Future Darker Legacies Of Law In Europe; The Shadow Of National Socialism And Fascism Over Europe And Its Legal Traditions Edited, By Christian Joerges And Navraj Singh Ghaleigh (Eds); European Constitutionalism Beyond The State, By J. H. H. Weiler And Marlene Wind (Eds), Peer Zumbansen

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviving A Natural Right: The Freedom Of Autonomy Amendment, Michael Anthony Lawrence

ExpressO

America in the early twenty-first century is a place where oppressive state constitutional amendments discriminate against millions of gay Americans; where compassionate end-of-life choice is illegal in 49 states and where the one state where it is legal is being sued by the U.S. government; where hundreds of thousands are arrested yearly and tens of thousands are in prison for private possession or use of marijuana; where a woman’s right to maintain control over her own reproductive decisions hangs by a thread; and where religious freedom is under relentless attack.

Whatever became of the ideal that represented the very foundation …

Constitutional Law—The Fourth Amendment Challenge To Dna Sampling Of Arrestees Pursuant To The Justice For All Act Of 2004: A Proposed Modification To The Traditional Fourth Amendment Test Of Reasonableness, Kimberly A. Polanco

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Deciding In The Heat Of The Constitutional Moment Constitutional Meaning And Change In The Quebec Secession Reference, Jonathon W. Penney

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Quebec Secession Reference addressed divisive issues with far-reaching implications for the Canadian constitutional order. Recently, commentators have called for a less traditional and more systematic approach to understanding the decision, and its place in the broader scheme of Canadian constitutionalism. Accordingly, this paper challenges the predominant narrative concerning the Quebec Secession Reference, which is largely judge-centred and shows little regard for the important historical, political, and popular forces so crucial to understanding the decision. The challenge is mounted through the work of Yale constitutional scholar Bruce Ackerman and his theory of constitutional moments. This paper uses Ackerman's criteria of …

Teaching National Security Law, Michael J. Glennon

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Congressional Oversight Of Counterterrorism And Its Reform, Robert F. Blomquist

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

The Demise Of The First Amendment As A Guarantor Of Religious Freedom, Ivan E. Bodensteiner

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Rule Of Law And The Origins Of The Bill Of Attainder Clause, Jacob Reynolds

St. Thomas Law Review

Until recently, modem bill of attainder analysis has been fairly simple for courts and litigators alike - in order to be considered a bill of attainder, a law must "(1) specify the affected persons; (2) impose punishment; and (3) lack a judicial trial." Furthermore, the case law defining the appropriate analysis in bill of attainder cases is minimal and simple to understand: as one recent appointee to the D.C. Circuit has aptly noted, "[t]he Supreme Court's approach to the bill of attainder clause has been developed in only a handful of decisions. It is surprising that such a historically non-controversial …

Reflections On The Teaching Of Constitutional Law, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ten Commandments, Nine Judges, And Five Versions Of One Amendment - The First. (“Now What?”), William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the variety of opinions expressed by the Justices in the two “Ten Commandments” cases, specifically Justice O’Connor’s dissent and Justice Breyer’s concurrence in Van Orden v. Perry.

Just Blowing Smoke? Politics, Doctrine, And The Federalist Revival After Gonzales V. Raich, Ernest A. Young

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Unitary Executive In The Modern Era, 1945-2004, Anthony J. Colangelo, Christopher S. Yoo, Steven G. Calabresi

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Since the impeachment of President Clinton, there has been renewed debate over whether Congress can create institutions such as special counsels and independent agencies that restrict the president's control over the administration of the law. Initially, debate centered on whether the Constitution rejected the executive by committee used by the Articles of Confederation in favor of a unitary executive, in which all administrative authority is centralized in the president. More recently, the debate has focused on historical practices. Some scholars suggest that independent agencies and special counsels are such established features of the constitutional landscape that any argument in favor …

Constitutional Law—Fourth Amendment—Knock And Announce: The Ninth Circuit Knocks And The Supreme Court Announces A Re-Emphasis On The Case-By-Case Analysis.United States V. Banks, 540 U.S. 31 (2003), Erin Elizabeth Cassinelli

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Note: The Earthquake That Will Move Sentencing Discretion Back To The Judiciary? Blakely V. Washington And Sentencing Guidelines In Minnesota, Matthew R. Kuhn

William Mitchell Law Review

This Note begins by briefly laying out the evolution of criminal sentencing over the past century. It then surveys judicial interpretation of defendants’ Constitutional rights as they relate to sentencing procedure, focusing on the Court’s recent invalidation of Washington state’s sentencing guidelines in Blakely v. Washington. The note will then examine possible reforms to Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines pursuant to the Court’s decision. It will conclude by advocating that, despite the recent spotlight on Kansas’s sentencing guidelines, Minnesota’s best response to Blakely is to return some sentencing discretion to the judiciary by implementing a system of voluntary guidelines.

Caging Animal Advocates' Political Freedoms: The Unconstitutionality Of The Animal And Ecological Terrorism Act, Andrew N. Ireland Moore

Animal Law Review

The animal advocacy movement is facing another obstacle, resulting from the creation of the Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act (AETA). The Act seeks to create harsh penalties including a Terrorist Registry for acts performed by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and ALF-type actors. In addition, the proposed legislation will affect animal advocates not involved with the ALF. However, the model legislation, as written, must pass Constitutional scrutiny. This paper argues that the proposed Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act is unconstitutional due to its infringement on the First Amendment, its overbreadth, and its vagueness.

Stepping Through Grutter's Open Doors: What The University Of Michigan Affirmative Action Cases Mean For Race-Conscious Government Decisionmaking, Helen Norton

Publications

In Grutter, a majority of the Court for the first time identified an instrumental justification for race-based government decisionmaking as compelling - specifically, a public law school's interest in attaining a diverse student body. Grutter not only recognized the value of diversity in higher education, but left open the possibility that the Court might find similar justifications compelling as well.

The switch to instrumental justifications for affirmative action appears a strategic response to the Court's narrowing of the availability of remedial rationales. A number of thoughtful commentators, however, have reacted to this trend with concern and even dismay, questioning …