Constitutional Law Commons^™

September 9, 2018: Happy New Year, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Happy New Year“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Brennan And Brewbaker's Christian Legal Thought: Providing The Foundations For Establishment Clause Understanding, Angela C. Carmella

Journal of Catholic Legal Studies

(Excerpt)

Under this approach—which clearly prioritizes the protection of religious exercise as well as the religious messages of cultural and political institutions—it appears that the Establishment Clause plays little or no role independent of the Free Exercise Clause. My question, then, is whether Christian legal thought compels us, or at least supports, such a reading of the Establishment Clause. In other words, does this lack of concern for non-establishment norms inhere in Christian legal and political thought? I look to Patrick Brennan and William Brewbaker’s casebook—Christian Legal Thought: Materials and Cases (“CLT”) —in search of a framework for exploration. …

Liberty And Separation Of Powers In Judicial Review Of Privatized Governance Regimes, Jeffrey Kleeger

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This article examines the power difference between homeowner association (HOA) owners, members, and their governing boards. Administrative adjudication can remedy the imbalance to better secure member rights. What is necessary is a heightened standard of judicial review and a requirement to produce a comprehensive record for review. Boards enjoy an advantage in disputes with members—courts uphold board actions unless they are arbitrary and capricious. Boards also possess largely unrestricted state-delegated authority to make and enforce rules, as well as decide penalties for infractions. These clearly governmental functions are not restrained by the state action doctrine. Tools of administrative adjudication are …

The Death Of Judicial Independence In Turkey: A Lesson For Others, Edwin L. Felter Jr., Oyku Didem Aydin

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Administrative Constitutionalism And The Unity Of Public Law, Matthew Lewans

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Public law scholarship in the common law tradition often aims at elucidating a connection between law and constitutional values like equality, due process, and the rule of law. However, in their quest to reveal the morality of public law, common lawyers often focus their attention on judicial interpretations of constitutional values to the exclusion of other sources of constitutional jurisprudence. The author argues that the traditional fascination with courts as the primary or exclusive arbiters of constitutional values should be tempered and supplemented by recognizing the valuable contributions of administrative officials who interpret and enforce constitutional norms when exercising statutorily …

Judge Kavanaugh, Chevron Deference, And The Supreme Court, Kent H. Barnett, Christina L. Boyd, Christopher J. Walker

Popular Media

How might a new U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh review federal agency statutory interpretations that come before him on the Court?

To find at least a preliminary answer, we can look to his judicial behavior while serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit—and there is plenty of relevant Kavanaugh judicial behavior to observe. Since starting his service on the D.C. Circuit in 2006, Judge Kavanaugh has participated in the disposition of around 2,700 cases and has authored more than 300 opinions. Over a third of those authored opinions involved administrative law.

September 2, 2018: When Does Disagreement On Climate Become Dishonesty?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ When Does Disagreement on Climate Become Dishonesty?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Private Law, Fundamental Rights, And The Rule Of Law, Hugh Collins

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Gamble V. U.S.: Brief Of Amici Curiae Law Professors In Support Of Petitioner, Stuart Banner, Paul Cassell

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

In this case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, petitioner Gamble's brief demonstrates that there was no dual sovereignty doctrine before the mid-19th century. At the Founding and for several decades thereafter, a prosecution by one sovereign was understood to bar a subsequent prosecution by all other sovereigns. Dual sovereignty is thus contrary to the original meaning of the Double Jeopardy Clause. Defendants today enjoy a weaker form of double jeopardy protection than they did when the Bill of Rights was ratified.

But that fact only raises three further questions. First why did the Court erroneously conclude in Bartkus v. …

The Well’S Run Dry: Considering Water As A Fundamental Right Using An Interdisciplinary Approach, Matthew J. Mckissick

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Co-Parenting War Powers: Congress's Authority To Escalate Conflicts, Russell A. Spivak

West Virginia Law Review

This article argues that Congress has the ability to force a President to escalate military intervention when he is otherwise unwilling to do so. The article begins by exploring the constitutional powers at Congress's disposal-the Declare War Clause, the Taxing and Spending Clause, and the Commander-in-Chief Clause-and their historical application. It then establishes that, under Justice Jackson's Youngstown framework, the Executive would be acting in Category Three, meaning that the President may "rely only upon his own constitutional powers minus any constitutional powers of Congress over the matter." Citing multiple Article I clauses, this article argues that Executive action in …

Book Review: 51 Imperfect Solutions: States And The Making Of American Constitutional Law, By Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton, Steven H. Steinglass

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, has written an excellent book on the importance of state constitutions as bulwarks against state abuse and the source of protections of individual rights. The book, 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law, argues that individual rights are more secure when both federal and state constitutional protections are strong. And our system of federalism and the quality of state and federal judicial decisions are improved when there are state constitutional safeguards.

Justiciability, Federalism, And The Administrative State, Zachary D. Clopton

Cornell Law Review

Article III provides that the judicial power of the United States extends to certain justiciable cases and controversies. So if a plaintiff bringing a federal claim lacks constitutional standing or her dispute is moot under Article III, then a federal court should dismiss. But this dismissal need not end the story. This Article suggests a simple, forward-looking reading of case-or-controversy dismissals: they should be understood as invitations to legislators to consider other pathways for adjudication. A case dismissed for lack of standing, for mootness, or for requesting an advisory opinion might be a candidate for resolution in a state court …

Don't Take Me Out To That Ballpark: State Action, Government Speech, And Chief Wahoo After Matal, Robert H. Hendricks

Cornell Law Review

Close your eyes and imagine yourself driving to a concert. On the way, you pass a car bearing a license plate with the image of a Confederate flag. You pause, and ask . . . Did the state approve that license plate? Does the state endorse the use of the Confederate flag? You keep driving. Eventually you reach the concert and walk in. To your surprise, an Asian- American band named “The Slants” is opening. You pause, and ask . . . I thought the government approves trademarks? Does the Patent and Trademark Office endorse derogatory slurs? These questions strike …

Sex Offender Civil Commitment To Prison Post-Kingsley, Arielle W. Tolman

Northwestern University Law Review

Today, an estimated 5400 people are civilly committed under state and federal sex offender programs. This Note surveys these civil commitment regimes and finds that seventeen jurisdictions (sixteen states and the federal government) have enacted legislative schemes that authorize the indefinite civil detention of people charged with, or previously convicted of, sex offenses to prisons or prison-like facilities—often for their entire lives. By charting the pervasiveness of sex offender civil commitment to prison, this Note provides new evidence that these sex offender civil commitment statutes are, in fact, punitive and, therefore, unconstitutional. Moreover, this Note argues that the Supreme Court’s …

Weed Wars: Winning The Fight Against Marijuana Spillover From Neighboring States, Jessica Berch

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Child Marriage As Constitutional Violation, Teri Dobbins Baxter

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The First Amendment And Mandatory Condom Laws: Rethinking The “Porn Exception” In Strict Scrutiny, Content Neutrality And Secondary Effects Analysis, Jason M. Shepard

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Politics Heller Launched, Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Elusive Constitutional Right To Informational Privacy, Larry J. Pittman

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Active Judicial Governance, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

Evidence marshaled in a new article by Jonathan Marshfield suggests strongly that unlike judges of U.S. federal courts, judges of American state supreme courts both recognize and embrace their role as active participants in the process of indirect popular self-rule. Consequently, they much more willingly serve as active and self-conscious vectors of governance. This is not to say that state judges lack appropriate judicial humility; it is to say merely that they possess a different and more nuanced understanding of the role of courts in American government than some of their federal counterparts.

Managing Dissent, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

In his insightful new book, Managed Speech: The Roberts Court's First Amendment (2017), Professor Greg Magarian criticizes the Roberts Court for adopting a "managed speech" approach in its First Amendment cases. According to Professor Magarian, that approach gives too much power to private and governmental actors to manage public discourse, constrain dissident speakers, and instill social and political stability. This Article argues that at least insofar as it relates to many forms of public dissent, the managed speech approach is both deeply rooted in First Amendment jurisprudence and culturally prevalent. Historically, First Amendment jurisprudence has expressed support for narrowly managed …

Section 5'S Forgotten Years: Congressional Power To Enforce The Fourteenth Amendment Before Katzenbach V. Morgan, Christopher W. Schmidt

Northwestern University Law Review

Few decisions in American constitutional law have frustrated, inspired, and puzzled more than Katzenbach v. Morgan. Justice Brennan’s 1966 opinion put forth the seemingly radical claim that Congress—through its power, based in Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, to “enforce, by appropriate legislation,” the rights enumerated in that Amendment—shared responsibility with the Court to define the meaning of Fourteenth Amendment rights. Although it spawned a cottage industry of scholarship, this claim has never been fully embraced by a subsequent Supreme Court majority, and in City of Boerne v. Flores, the Supreme Court rejected the heart of the Morgan …

The Unconstitutionality Of Consolidated Planning Boards: Interlocal Planning Under New York Law, Albert J. Pirro Jr.

Pace Law Review

This Article will examine the nature and constitutionality of consolidated planning boards in light of the broad powers actually granted them. The issues surrounding the constitutionality of consolidated planning boards begs, yet again, Chief Justice Marshall's question respecting the extent of the power granted to the state governments. The question is whether a municipality may abdicate its power to regulate land within its own boundaries by delegating it to a separate planning entity.

The U.S Constitution: The Original American Dream, Judith S. Kaye

Pace Law Review

Adapted from Remarks delivered at Law Day ceremonies May 1, 1996, at Court of Appeals Hall, Albany, New York.

August 30, 2018: Needed: A New Ontology And Epistemology, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ Needed: A New Ontology and Epistemology“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Chilling: The Constitutional Implications Of Body-Worn Cameras And Facial Recognition Technology At Public Protests, Julian R. Murphy

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

In recent years body-worn cameras have been championed by community groups, scholars, and the courts as a potential check on police misconduct. Such has been the enthusiasm for body-worn cameras that, in a relatively short time, they have been rolled out to police departments across the country. Perhaps because of the optimism surrounding these devices there has been little consideration of the Fourth Amendment issues they pose, especially when they are coupled with facial recognition technology (FRT). There is one particular context in which police use of FRT equipped body-worn cameras is especially concerning: public protests. This Comment constitutes the …

The Supreme Court’S Use Of Narratives In Issuing Advisory Opinions, Andrea Lawlor

Master of Studies in Law Research Papers Repository

This major research paper looks at how Canadian Supreme Court justices view their role in adjudicating reference questions. Comparing the texts of 21 Supreme Court advisory opinions across two eras of the Court (Chief Justice Laskin: 1973-1984 and Chief Justice McLachlin: 2000-2017), the study examines the use of four narratives – the Guardian of the Constitution, Umpire of Federalism, Institutional and Public Will – to determine how the Court positions its role vis-à-vis the constitutional order and the other branches of government. I use a mixed-method approach that incorporates an empirically oriented content analysis of each decision, complemented by four …

August 24, 2018: The Coming Desperate Struggle, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

August 23, 2018: Busy Day For Hallowed Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Busy Day for Hallowed Secularism“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.