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Full-Text Articles in Constitutional Law

Speech, Intent, And The Chilling Effect, Leslie Kendrick Apr 2013

Speech, Intent, And The Chilling Effect, Leslie Kendrick

William & Mary Law Review

Speaker’s intent requirements are a common but unremarked feature of First Amendment law. From the “actual malice” standard for defamation to the specific-intent requirement for incitement, many types of expression are protected or unprotected depending on the state of mind with which they are said. To the extent that courts and commentators have considered why speaker’s intent should determine First Amendment protection, they have relied upon the chilling effect. On this view, imposing strict liability for harmful speech, such as defamatory statements, would overdeter, or chill, valuable speech, such as true political information. Intent requirements are necessary prophylactically to provide …


Pennsylvania’S Supreme Court, Still Broken, Bruce Ledewitz Mar 2013

Pennsylvania’S Supreme Court, Still Broken, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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


March 10, 2013: The Executioner In Chief, Bruce Ledewitz Mar 2013

March 10, 2013: The Executioner In Chief, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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


February 16, 2013: No One Believes In Separation Of Church And State, Bruce Ledewitz Feb 2013

February 16, 2013: No One Believes In Separation Of Church And State, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “No One Believes in Separation of Church and State“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


February 12, 2013: The Absurdity Of Corporate Religious Freedom, Bruce Ledewitz Feb 2013

February 12, 2013: The Absurdity Of Corporate Religious Freedom, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Absurdity of Corporate Religious Freedom“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


February 3, 2013: The Response To Obama’S Contraception Initiative, Bruce Ledewitz Feb 2013

February 3, 2013: The Response To Obama’S Contraception Initiative, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Response to Obama’s Contraception Initiative“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


January 24, 2013: What Was President Obama’S Speech About?, Bruce Ledewitz Jan 2013

January 24, 2013: What Was President Obama’S Speech About?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “What Was President Obama’s Speech About?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


January 17, 2013: I Agree With Some Of The Words Of Pastor Louie Giglio, Bruce Ledewitz Jan 2013

January 17, 2013: I Agree With Some Of The Words Of Pastor Louie Giglio, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “I Agree With Some of the Words of Pastor Louie Giglio“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


The Mighty Work Of Making Nations Happy: A Response To James Davison Hunter, Patrick Mckinley Brennan Jan 2013

The Mighty Work Of Making Nations Happy: A Response To James Davison Hunter, Patrick Mckinley Brennan

Pepperdine Law Review

This article is an invited response to James Davison Hunter’s much-discussed book To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World (Oxford University Press, 2010). Hunter, a sociologist at UVA and a believing Protestant, claims that law’s capacity to contribute to social change is “mostly illusory” and that Christians, therefore, should practice “faithful presence” in the public square rather than seek to influence law directly. My response is that it is, in fact, law’s stunning ability to alter and limit available choices that makes it an object of deservedly fierce contest. The wild …


Implications Of United States V. Jones On Dna Collection Form Arrestees: Trespass Prohibited By The Fourth Amendment, Angelique Romero Jan 2013

Implications Of United States V. Jones On Dna Collection Form Arrestees: Trespass Prohibited By The Fourth Amendment, Angelique Romero

St. Thomas Law Review

This comment discusses the constitutionality of warrantless DNA collection from arrestees, and proposes an analysis that the Supreme Court should use when deciding on this issue to find that this practice violates the Fourth Amendment. Part II of this comment discusses the general development of DNA collection laws, how the laws have expanded to include persons that have been arrested but not convicted of certain crimes, and the procedures used to collect the DNA samples. In addition, Part II includes a survey of the conflicting decisions by courts across the country and demonstrates the disagreement over the constitutionality of this …


Regression To The Mean: How Miranda Has Become A Tragicomical Farce, Alfredo Garcia Jan 2013

Regression To The Mean: How Miranda Has Become A Tragicomical Farce, Alfredo Garcia

St. Thomas Law Review

In my original article, I examined Miranda's historical and social background, discussed its precursors, traced the evolution of the case, and documented the dismantling of the Miranda doctrine. I also argued that the doctrine's "seductive appeal" lulled defense counsel into a false sense of security, thereby deflecting reliance on the "voluntariness" standard as a failsafe to Miranda. Further, I maintained that a waiver of Miranda in some instances served to sanitize an otherwise involuntary confession. Finally, I proposed to "do away" with Miranda, to return to the voluntariness standard with one caveat: that the government be precluded from relying on …


A General Defense Of Erie Railroad Co. V. Tompkins, Ernest A. Young Jan 2013

A General Defense Of Erie Railroad Co. V. Tompkins, Ernest A. Young

Faculty Scholarship

Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins was the most important federalism decision of the Twentieth Century. Justice Brandeis’s opinion for the Court stated unequivocally that “[e]xcept in matters governed by the Federal Constitution or by acts of Congress, the law to be applied in any case is the law of the state. . . . There is no federal general common law.” Seventy-five years later, however, Erie finds itself under siege. Critics have claimed that it is “bereft of serious intellectual or constitutional support” (Michael Greve), based on a “myth” that must be “repressed” (Craig Green), and even “the worst decision …


The Growing Pains Of Graham V. Florida: Deciphering Whether Lengthy Term-Of-Years Sentences For Juvenile Defendants Can Equate To The Unconstitutional Sentence Of Life Without The Possibility Of Parole, Therese A. Savona Jan 2013

The Growing Pains Of Graham V. Florida: Deciphering Whether Lengthy Term-Of-Years Sentences For Juvenile Defendants Can Equate To The Unconstitutional Sentence Of Life Without The Possibility Of Parole, Therese A. Savona

St. Thomas Law Review

This article will provide a basic understanding of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence and then explores how the most recent United States Supreme Court cases of Graham v. Florida and Miller v. Alabama affect juvenile resentencing. Additionally, this article addresses the most recent trend presented in juvenile cases where the juvenile defendant is charged as an adult, tried as an adult, and sentenced accordingly. Specifically, the issue of a lengthy term-of-years sentence in states such as California and Florida appear to be the battleground of diverse opinions, more so perhaps than other states.


Pre-Apprendi Sentencing: Issues Surrounding The Retroactivity Of An Unconstitutional Sentence, Priscilla S. Zaldivar Jan 2013

Pre-Apprendi Sentencing: Issues Surrounding The Retroactivity Of An Unconstitutional Sentence, Priscilla S. Zaldivar

St. Thomas Law Review

This comment ventures to provide a manageable resolution to the issues that have arisen from the implementation and subsequent limitations of the federal sentencing guidelines. Part II discusses the sentencing guidelines' history, creation, and evolution. This part also reviews the pertinent cases that have shaped the relevance and application of the sentencing guidelines by the U.S. Supreme Court. Part III details the successful retroactivity of the Boggs Act as a real-world example of the feasibility of retroactivity. Finally, Part IV provides an administrative solution to the problems with retroactive application of the Booker/Fanfan decision in order to remedy the unconstitutional …


Sixth Amendment Right To Counsel: Broaden The Scope, Decriminalize, And Ensure Indigents A Fair Chance In Court And In Life, Maria C. Pena Jan 2013

Sixth Amendment Right To Counsel: Broaden The Scope, Decriminalize, And Ensure Indigents A Fair Chance In Court And In Life, Maria C. Pena

St. Thomas Law Review

Part I of this comment explains the history of the Sixth Amendment and the right to counsel, beginning at English common law through the current status of the right. Part II discusses the collateral consequences and social stigma an individual is faced with after conviction of a crime, despite the fact that the accused was not sentenced to jail. Part III summarizes the current problem an ex-convict faces based on the initial denial of assistance of counsel and offers a solution to this problem by explaining that the right to counsel should be extended to all criminal prosecutions. In addition, …


Consistently Inconsistent: The Constitution And Animals, Marianne Sullivan Jan 2013

Consistently Inconsistent: The Constitution And Animals, Marianne Sullivan

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Slave By Any Other Name Is Still A Slave: The Tilikum Case And Application Of The Thirteenth Amendment To Nonhuman Animals, Jeffrey S. Kerr, Martina Bernstein, Amanda S. Schwoerke, Matthew D. Strugar, Jared Goodman Jan 2013

A Slave By Any Other Name Is Still A Slave: The Tilikum Case And Application Of The Thirteenth Amendment To Nonhuman Animals, Jeffrey S. Kerr, Martina Bernstein, Amanda S. Schwoerke, Matthew D. Strugar, Jared Goodman

Animal Law Review

On its face, the Thirteenth Amendment outlaws the conditions and practices of slavery and involuntary servitude wherever they may exist in this country—irrespective of the victim’s race, creed, sex, or species. In 2011, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, on behalf of five wild-captured orcas, sued SeaWorld for enslaving the orcas in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment. The case presented, for the first time, the question of whether the Thirteenth Amendment’s protections can extend to nonhuman animals. This Article examines the lawsuit’s factual, theoretical, and strategic underpinnings, and argues that the district court’s opinion ultimately dismissing the suit failed …


The Causal Context Of Disparate Vote Denial, Janai S. Nelson Jan 2013

The Causal Context Of Disparate Vote Denial, Janai S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

For nearly fifty years, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ("VRA") and its amendments have remedied racial discrimination in the electoral process with unparalleled muscularity. Modern vote denial practices that have a disparate impact on minority political participation, however, increasingly fall outside the VRA's ambit. As judicial tolerance of disparate impact claims has waned in other areas of law, the contours of Section 2, one of the VRA's most powerful provisions, have also narrowed to fit the shifting landscape. Section 2's "on account of race" standard to determine discrimination in voting has evolved from one of quasi-intent determined by a …


State-Sponsored Religious Displays In The U.S. And Europe: Introduction, Mark L. Movsesian Jan 2013

State-Sponsored Religious Displays In The U.S. And Europe: Introduction, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

On June 22, 2012, the Center for Law and Religion proudly hosted, together with the Department of Law at Libera Universita Maria SS. Assunta (LUMSA), an international conference, State-Sponsored Religious Displays in the U.S. and Europe. Held at LUMSA's campus in Rome, Italy, the conference brought together leading American and European scholars, judges, and government officials to address the legality of public religious displays in different nations. Professor Silvio Ferrari of the University of Milan delivered the Conference Introduction. Panels included Cultural or Religious? Understanding Symbols in Public Places; The Lautsi Case and the Margin of Appreciation; and State-Sponsored Religious …


The First Amendment, Equal Protection, And Felon Disenfranchisement: A New Viewpoint, Janai S. Nelson Jan 2013

The First Amendment, Equal Protection, And Felon Disenfranchisement: A New Viewpoint, Janai S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

This Article engages the equality principles of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause to reconsider the constitutionality of one of the last and most entrenched barriers to universal suffrage—felon disenfranchisement. A deeply racialized problem, felon disenfranchisement is additionally and independently a legislative judgment as to which citizen's ideas are worthy of inclusion in the electorate. Relying on a series of cases involving state interests in protecting the ballot and promoting its intelligent use, this Article demonstrates that felon disenfranchisement is open to attack under the Supreme Court's fundamental rights jurisprudence when it is motivated by a desire to …


Reforming Affirmative Action For The Future: A Constitutional And Consequentialist Approach, Quinn Chasan Jan 2013

Reforming Affirmative Action For The Future: A Constitutional And Consequentialist Approach, Quinn Chasan

CMC Senior Theses

In my analysis of affirmative action policy, I began the search without having formed any opinion whatsoever. The topic was interesting to me, and after reading a mass of news editorials and their op-eds, I decided to take up the argument for myself. Other than the fact that I am a student, I have no stake in affirmative action policy. This paper relies primarily on the foremost half-dozen or so notable mismatch theory scholars, a close reading of an innumerable number of Supreme Court opinions, affirmative action related studies from higher education academics and policy institutes, and how historical executive …


Reconciling Positivism And Realism: Kelsen And Habermas On Democracy And Human Rights, David Ingram Jan 2013

Reconciling Positivism And Realism: Kelsen And Habermas On Democracy And Human Rights, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

It is well known that Hans Kelsen and Jürgen Habermas invoke realist arguments drawn from social science in defending an international, democratic human rights regime against Carl Schmitt’s attack on the rule of law. However, despite embracing the realist spirit of Kelsen’s legal positivism, Habermas criticizes Kelsen for neglecting to connect the rule of law with a concept of procedural justice (Part I). I argue, to the contrary (Part II), that Kelsen does connect these terms, albeit in a manner that may be best described as functional, rather than conceptual. Indeed, whereas Habermas tends to emphasize a conceptual connection between …


December 20, 2012: No, God Has Not Called Them Home, Bruce Ledewitz Dec 2012

December 20, 2012: No, God Has Not Called Them Home, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “No, God Has Not Called Them Home“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


December 16, 2012: Heller Is Good News For Gun Control, Bruce Ledewitz Dec 2012

December 16, 2012: Heller Is Good News For Gun Control, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Heller is Good News for Gun Control“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


December 12, 2012: Bringing Wal-Mart Jobs To Michigan, Bruce Ledewitz Dec 2012

December 12, 2012: Bringing Wal-Mart Jobs To Michigan, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Bringing Wal-Mart Jobs to Michigan“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


December 8, 2012: Another Challenge From Religious Conscience, Bruce Ledewitz Dec 2012

December 8, 2012: Another Challenge From Religious Conscience, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Another Challenge From Religious Conscience“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


December 5, 2012: Is Abortion Next?, Bruce Ledewitz Dec 2012

December 5, 2012: Is Abortion Next?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Is Abortion Next?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.


The Line-Item Veto: The Best Response When Congress Passes One Spending “Bill” A Year, L. Gordon Crovitz Nov 2012

The Line-Item Veto: The Best Response When Congress Passes One Spending “Bill” A Year, L. Gordon Crovitz

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Montesquieu's Theory Of Government And The Framing Of The American Constitution , Matthew P. Bergman Nov 2012

Montesquieu's Theory Of Government And The Framing Of The American Constitution , Matthew P. Bergman

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


November 27, 2012: A Compromise On The Contraception Mandate?, Bruce Ledewitz Nov 2012

November 27, 2012: A Compromise On The Contraception Mandate?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “A Compromise on the Contraception Mandate?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.