Constitutional Law Commons^™

An Alternative To The Independent State Legislature Doctrine, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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

The Openness Of Talmud, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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

The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing: How Historical And Blight Designations In The Absence Of Constitutional Safeguards Can Render Property Rights Illusory, Kyle B. Teal, Dane L. Stuhlsatz

St. Thomas Law Review

This article summarily analyzes those more subtle forms of property rights infringement, including historical designations and blight designations, and it critiques laws in place that purport to grant local government the authority to assert such designations. This article also provides a summary of the causes of action owners aggrieved by unjust designations could bring in response, and critiques the flaws in those elective safeguards, which are prevalent even in property rights friendly jurisdictions such as Florida. It then proposes high-level solutions to enact legislation to limit fee exposure for property owners who bring inverse condemnation actions and Bert J. Harris …

Resolving Establishment Clause Issues Is No Longer "Easy-Peasy, Lemon-Squeezy", Daniela Cecilia Pachon

St. Thomas Law Review

The notion of separating Church and State is one that is deeply rooted in American history. Although simple on its face, as the American population grows more diverse, the idea of separation has become a convoluted concept difficult to apply. In an attempt to create a “one-size-fits-all” solution to issues regarding government intruding on the individual’s religious freedoms, the Supreme Court developed a tripartite test to determine whether a statute violated the Establishment Clause. In Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Court combined several tests originating in prior case law to develop the singular, infamous Lemon test. However, in June 2022 with …

Equal Protection Against Policing, Evan D. Bernick

College of Law Faculty Publications

A White police officer pins his knee against a Black man’s neck. The Black man lies prone. He says he can’t move. He says he can’t breathe. He says he’s through. He pleads for his mama. He moans, gasps, and writhes. Blood runs out of his nose and mouth. After eight minutes and forty-six seconds, George Floyd is dead.

Videos of the killing went viral. All four of the Minneapolis Police Department officers who arrested Floyd for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store were fired. Derek Chauvin—who held his knee to Floyd’s neck—was initially charged by …

What Is The Object Of The Constitutional Oath?, Evan D. Bernick, Christopher R. Green

College of Law Faculty Publications

How and why are public officials today obliged to follow the Constitution? Article VI gives us a crystal-clear answer: They are bound “by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution.” But what is “this Constitution”? American constitutional culture today describes its Constitution in ways that presuppose that the Article VI oath binds officeholders to an external, objective, common object: the same commitment for all oath-takers today, and the same commitment today as in the past. Justices on the Supreme Court took their constitutional oaths at different times, spread out over 31 years from 1991 to 2022, but they claim to …

Abortion Rights As (Inter)National Human Rights: Dobbs And The Noncompliance Of U.S. Abortion Policies Under International Human Rights Law, Sydney Chong Ju Padgett

Lewis & Clark Law Review

The current state of reproductive rights in the United States following Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization constitutes yet another chapter in the saga of the United States’ hypocrisy in failing to uphold international human rights at the domestic level. International human rights law unequivocally provides that safe and legal abortion access is a fundamental human right. Yet, applying treaty body guidance to the cruel and irrational legislation enacted in Dobbs’ wake, it is clear: the United States has wholly and dangerously failed to comply with its international commitments to protect and uphold the fundamental rights at stake in regulating …

A Synthesis Of The Science And Law Relating To Eyewitness Misidentifications And Recommendations For How Police And Courts Can Reduce Wrongful Convictions Based On Them, Henry F. Fradella

Seattle University Law Review

The empirical literature on perception and memory consistently demonstrates the pitfalls of eyewitness identifications. Exoneration data lend external validity to these studies. With the goal of informing law enforcement officers, prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, judges, and judicial law clerks about what they can do to reduce wrongful convictions based on misidentifications, this Article presents a synthesis of the scientific knowledge relevant to how perception and memory affect the (un)reliability of eyewitness identifications. The Article situates that body of knowledge within the context of leading case law. The Article then summarizes the most current recommendations for how law enforcement personnel should—and …

Do All Dogs Go To Heaven? How Our Secular Culture Views Death, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

The One Good Thing About The Independent State Legislature Theory, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Politik Hukum Dalam Penegakan Hukum Di Indonesia, Anita Anita

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

Law is a guide and rules related to the concept of social life and will always be in accordance with the conditions of society. Law is a demand to be able to provide justice, meaning that the law is always faced with the question of whether the law can bring about justice. In relation to the legal concept, legal politics is defined as an activity that determines the patterns and methods of shaping law, supervises the operation of the law, and reforms the law for the purposes of the State. Therefore, law is a determinant of politics, and is also …

Why The Courts Should Stop Philly Da Larry Krasner’S Impeachment Trial, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

When It Comes To Prosecuting Trump, Merrick Garland Needs To Decide Already, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

The Midterms Were Good News For Dems, But Even Better News For The Country, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

A Law Professors’ Symposium Asks: Should We Control The U.S. Supreme Court?, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

There’S A Secular Need For The High Holy Days. This Is Why, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Trump Isn’T Going To Jail. And That’S Good News For Democrats, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

The Nation’S Debt Limit Serves No Purpose. It Should Be Eliminated, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Only You Can Prevent Amendment Abuse, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Fourteenth Amendment Confrontation, Evan D. Bernick

College of Law Faculty Publications

Mr. Haley is one of the most memorable villains in all of American fiction. A “coarse” slave-trader whose “swaggering air of pretension” enrages readers of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin from his appearance in the opening scene, Haley does his part to fulfill the novel’s purpose of strengthening the abolitionist cause. He is also not entirely fictional, and his creation is part of the constitutional history of the United States.

The real Haley was John Caphart, a slave-catcher hired by John DeBree of Norfolk, Virginia to capture Shadrach Minkins—an enslaved man who in 1851 fled from Virginia to Boston. …

Few Lessons For Pa. From Kansas Abortion Vote. Gop Still Should Beware, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

This Is The Right Moment For The Democrats To Run A Fiscal Hawk, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Dobbs Is Not A Religion Case, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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

The Supreme Court’S Abortion, Epa Rulings Could Open The Door To More Democracy, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Does The End Of Roe Mean The End Of The Anti-Abortion Movement?, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Tax Cuts Cause Inflation, Too. We Need To Resist Quick Fixes, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

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.

The Future Of Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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

Three Observations About Justice Alito's Draft Opinion In Dobbs - Commentary, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] "There is much to say about Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which was leaked from the United States Supreme Court on May 2 [2022].

Obviously, the most significant direct consequence of the proposed decision, which overrules Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) while upholding the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that outlaws most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, would be the restriction or elimination of abortion services throughout much of the nation. This will have all sorts of attendant consequences, large and smaller, many of which …

Debating When Clarence Thomas Should Recuse Himself Is The Wrong Argument, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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