Constitutional Law Commons^™

A Precarious Path: The Bill Of Rights After 200 Years, Tony A. Freyer

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Bill of Rights occupies an ambiguous place in American society. Americans favor the Bill of Rights in principle, but when asked whether they support particular rights guarantees for real-life practices such as gun ownership, capital punishment, abortion, and flag burning, Americans fervently and profoundly disagree. The essays David J. Bodenhamer and James W. Ely, Jr. have compiled in The Bill of Rights in Modern America After 200 Years, richly suggest why Americans have reconciled principle and practice with such difficulty. Written for a popular audience by specialists who possess a profound knowledge of and differing views concerning the technical …

State Courts Reject "Leon" On State Constitutional Grounds: A Defense Of Reactive Rulings, Leigh A. Morrissey

Vanderbilt Law Review

In 1984, the United States Supreme Court announced a broad exception to the federal exclusionary rule' in United States v. Leon. The Court held the exclusionary rule inapplicable when police officers obtain evidence in reasonable, good faith reliance on a warrant later found to be defective. Commentators had advised against the creation of the so-called good faith exception before Leon. After Leon, they promulgated a torrent of commentary criticizing both the Leon Court's reasoning and its result. Today, because Leon does not control state constitutional decisions, the battle over the good faith exception is fought on the state level. Currently, …

The Continuing Evolution Of Criminal Constitutional Law In State Courts, S. Carran Daughtrey

Vanderbilt Law Review

Although early state constitutions were important and ambitious documents for their time, the development of state constitutional law stagnated after the drafting and adoption of the federal constitution., As the doctrine of federalism has resurfaced, however, states have begun to turn to their constitutions to grant more protection for their citizens. The states' criminal constitutional laws have changed significantly and continue to evolve today.

In the 1960s, the Warren Court expanded basic protections for criminal defendants by finding that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. The Court held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual …

Despite Anti-Stalking Laws, Stalkers Continue To Stalk: Are These Laws Constitutional And Effective, Lisa I. Steinman

St. Thomas Law Review

This Note evaluates the national stalking laws, examines Florida's current anti-stalking law, and develops appropriate direction for the state anti-stalking statutes in the future. Part II describes four case histories. Part III discusses the federal legislation to stop stalking. Part IV discusses the Florida anti-stalking law, its constitutionality, and compares it to the stalking laws of the other states. Part V discusses the effectiveness of the Florida stalking law. Part VI discusses present and future alternatives to these anti-stalking statutes. Part VII contains a proposal of a model statute providing lawmakers with an example of a constitutional and effective law …

Fundamental Rights In The "Gray" Area: The Right Of Privacy Under The Minnesota Constitution, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

This Article explores the constitutional aspects of Minnesota privacy law. Part II briefly explains federal privacy law to provide a baseline for consideration of privacy law in Minnesota. Part III examines the right of privacy as it has evolved in the Minnesota common law. Part IV evaluates the Minnesota Supreme Court's application of federal privacy standards and then examines the court's decisions that outline the right of privacy under the Minnesota Constitution. Part V concludes by raising questions concerning the potential application of the court's concept of privacy under the Minnesota Constitution as applied to two areas: same-sex marriages and …

The Disabled, The Ada, And Strict Scrutiny, James B. Miller

St. Thomas Law Review

This Note argues that Congress has statutorily overturned City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr., Inc.'s holding of "rational basis" review for the disabled, through its enactment of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. The argument focuses upon the fact that the United States Supreme Court affords Congress substantial deference in both its fact-finding capacity and in its lawmaking capacity in constitutional matters, especially in the realm of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. This Note will distinguish Heller v. Doe by arguing that although it was a proper decision, the Court failed to state that the correct standard …

The "Wrap" On Probable Cause: The Fourth Amendment Contained, Paul L. Kaminsky

St. Thomas Law Review

Part I of this Note begins by exploring the meaning of probable cause, briefly tracing its development. Part I continues with an examination of how the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fourth Amendment and the probable cause requirement relates to searches and seizures of containers, specifically, containers that may fall within the Sanders' footnote "exception." The relationship between the Sanders doctrine and that of the "plain view" doctrine will also be examined. In Part II, this Note presents the case of United States v. Prandy-Binett as an example of the above-mentioned doctrinal exceptions to the requirements of the Fourth Amendment …

Trial By Tabloid, Mercy Hermida

St. Thomas Law Review

An intense conflict has persisted throughout legal history between the practical application of the First and Sixth Amendments. The controversy between these two guarantees has been a constant debate for decades. On the one hand, the First Amendment guarantees the media the Constitutional right to report the news via their right to freedom of expression. Alternatively, the Sixth Amendment guarantees the criminally accused the right to a fair trial decided by an impartial jury. Although these two guarantees are not seemingly contradictory, they ultimately collide when the media, in asserting its First Amendment right, so intrudes and disrupts a criminal …

Is The Death Knell Sounding For Animal Rights - The Sacrifice Of Animals For Religious Purposes Under The Guise Of The First Amendment Right To The Free Exercise Of Religion, Mercedes A. Sanchez

St. Thomas Law Review

As a result of several Supreme Court decisions and a recent legislative enactment, it has become increasingly more difficult to protect animal rights through legislation. This is particularly true when the legislation is challenged as unduly encroaching upon the free exercise of religion. This comment questions the Court's most recent application of the strict scrutiny standard in free exercise challenges which effectively swept away the rights of animals. First, this comment discusses the evolution of animal legal rights. Next, this comment provides an overview of free exercise jurisprudence with particular emphasis on the test articulated in Employment Division, Department of …

Clergy Sexual Misconduct: Confronting The Difficult Constitutional And Institutional Liability Issues, James T. O'Reilly, Joann M. Strasser

St. Thomas Law Review

Sexual misconduct among clergy members is a rare but troubling societal phenomenon, made more evident in the 1990s by dramatic news reporting and high-profile litigation demands. Revelation is no longer just an uplifting part of the New Testament; revelation is a tabloid tactic for uplifting television ratings and newspaper sales by assailing massive sexual scandals in the churches. This article focuses on a clash of doctrines that is developing in tort cases, when institutional churches are sued for failure to adequately oversee and control their errant ministers and priests. The clash arises because the religious doctrines of faith, responsibility and …

Different Religions, Different Politics: Evaluating The Role Of Competing Religious Traditions In American Politics And Law, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In addressing the role of religion in politics and law, American political theory has strongly embraced the principle of religious equality. In this article, I explain how this principle has evolved and how it has nourished the privatization of religion and the secularization of public discourse by generating the view that public evaluations of religion are inappropriate. Under this view, religion is a private good that lacks public significance. As matters merely of private taste, matters that cannot be evaluated publicly, religious positions on political issues are not to be "imposed" on other citizens.

I challenge this reading of the …

Hate Speech, Offensive Speech, And Public Discourse In America, Edward J. Eberle

Law Faculty Scholarship

In this article, Professor Eberle discusses several limitations on governmental power to regulate public discourse. After examining the United States Supreme Court decisions of R.A.V. v. City of St. Paula nd Wisconsin v. Mitchell, Professor Eberle concludes that government should refrain from regulating speech itself. Rather, any restrictions should focus strictly on the problematic conduct underlying the speech which justifies regulation. Professor Eberle also concludes that the Court has implicitly recognized two distinct subcategories of "content" discrimination and viewpoint discrimination. Both subcategories are presumptively unconstitutional and nominally subject to conventional strict scrutiny. The Court, however, finds viewpoint discrimination more dangerous …

Constitutional Law And International Law In The United States Of America, Lung-Chu Chen

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

A Heterodox Catechism, Paul Campos

Publications

No abstract provided.

Terminator 2, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

No abstract provided.

Voice In Government: The People, Emily Calhoun

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Case Against Precedent, Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

A recent, and characteristically illuminating, article by Professor Henry Monaghan confidently announces that "[p] recedent is, of course, part of our understanding of what law is."1 As a descriptive matter, Professor Monaghan is entirely correct. Legal analysis-by lawyers, courts, and academics-typically begins and ends with precedent. Law students are meticulously trained in the art of reading, applying, and distinguishing cases. Court pinions, including Supreme Court opinions, on constitutional matters frequently consist entirely of discussions of past decisions, without so much as a reference to the Constitution itself.' Even in this era of law-and-metatheory, case analysis is still the mainstay of …

The Road Not Taken: State Constitutions As An Alternative Source Of Protection For Reproductive Rights, Kevin F. O'Neill

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Lawyers seeking constitutional protection for reproductive rights have relied almost exclusively on a liberty/privacy theory under the Federal Constitution. In the wake of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, this theory may be seen as providing a floor of minimum protection-preventing states from banning abortion outright. But it is not strong enough to prevent states from enacting restrictions on the availability of abortion. Thus, the battle over reproductive rights may be seen as shifting from one phase ("Can abortion be banned?") to another ("How far can states go in restricting access to abortion'?"). If proponents of reproductive freedom are …

Is There A Law Of Federal Courts, Gene R. Nichol

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Procedure As A Guarantee Of Democracy: The Legacy Of The Perestroika Parliament, Frances H. Foster

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, the author chronicles the rise and fall of the "perestroika parliament." While Gorbachev's reforms were ultimately unsuccessful in producing effective democratic representation, the author believes that the history of these reforms provides some valuable lessons for post-Soviet Russia. Specifically, Professor Foster concludes that current reformers in Russia should learn from the failed perestroika parliament that a democratic, "rule-of-law" state requires uniform lawmaking procedures with constitutional safeguards to guarantee their integrity.

Reasonable Expectations Of Privacy And Autonomy In Fourth Amendment Cases: An Empirical Look At "Understandings Recognized And Permitted By Society", Christopher Slobogin, Joseph E. Schumacher

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article reports an attempt to investigate empirically important aspects of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as construed by the United States Supreme Court. In the course of doing so, it touches upon two other topics. Most directly, it addresses the appropriate scope of the Fourth Amendment. Less directly, it raises questions about the role that empirical research should play in fashioning constitutional rules.

Federalism, The Commerce Clause, And Equal Protection, Leon Friedman

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Diversity And Discrimination In Our Midst: Musings On Constitutional Schizophrenia, Cultural Conflict, And 'Interculturalism' At The Threshold Of A New Century, Francisco Valdes

St. Thomas Law Review

This essay argues that the 1990s pose a postponed but inescapable challenge: the fulfillment of the nation's historic commitment to liberty/ equality ideals for all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, sex/gender, economic class or sexuality/sexual orientation. In pursuing this argument, this essay traces the historical and jurisprudential continuities regarding (non)liberty/(in)equality that has plagued the American constitutional order from inception to the present, and then focuses on current controversies. Part I sketches a brief history of the liberty/ equality and non-liberty/inequality cross-traditions embedded into American law and society at the nation's genesis in order to show how the cross-traditions work at cross-purposes …

From The Constitutionality Of Juvenile Curfew Ordinances To A Children's Agenda For The 1990'S: Is It Really A Simple Matter Of Supporting Family Values And Recognizing Fundamental Rights, Michael Jordan

St. Thomas Law Review

No abstract provided.

Enslaved To Judicial Supremacy?, H. Jefferson Powell

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law And The Myth Of The Great Judge, Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

One of the enduring myths of American history, including constitutional history, is that of the “Great Man” or “Great Woman.” The idea is that, to understand the history of America, one needs to understand the impact made by Great Men and Women whose actions affected the course of history. In political history, one assays the development of the United States through the lives of great Americans, from the “Founders” to Abraham Lincoln to John F. Kennedy. Similarly, in constitutional history, the story is told through key figures, the “Great Judges,” from John Marshall to Oliver Wendell Holmes to Earl Warren. …

The Role Of Public Opinion In Constitutional Interpretation, James G. Wilson

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article seeks to answer two questions. First, to what degree has public opinion influenced American constitutional interpretation, both on and off the Supreme Court, over the past two centuries? Second, how much weight, if any, should constitutional decision-makers give to public opinion, however that protean concept is defined? The Article initially places these queries in a contemporary context by considering the extended discussion of public opinion in the Planned Parenthood v. Casey opinions of Justice Souter, Chief Justice Rehnquist, and Justice Scalia. Justice Souter partially relied on public opinion to not overrule the constitutional right to an abortion created …

Recent Constitutional Decisions In Indiana, Patrick L. Baude

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Shaw V. Reno: On The Borderline, Emily Calhoun

Publications

No abstract provided.

Name-Calling And The Clear Error Rule, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

No abstract provided.