Judges Commons^™

Federalism, Liberty, And Equality In United States V. Windsor, Ernest A. Young, Erin C. Blondel

Faculty Scholarship

This essay argues that federalism played a profoundly important role in the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor, which struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Arguments to the contrary have failed to appreciate how Justice Kennedy's opinion employed federalism not as a freestanding argument but as an essential component of his rights analysis. Far from being a "muddle," as many have claimed, Justice Kennedy's analysis offered one of the most sophisticated examples to date of the interconnections between federalism, liberty, and equality.

Suboptimal Social Science And Judicial Precedent, Ben Grunwald

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Simplifying The Standard Of Review In North Carolina Administrative Appeals, Sarah H. Ludington

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

More Law Than Politics: The Chief, The “Mandate,” Legality, And Statesmanship, Neil S. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter in a forthcoming book on NFIB v. Sebelius asks whether the various parts of Chief Justice Roberts’s opinion on the minimum coverage provision are legally justifiable. I focus on what Roberts decided, not why he decided it that way.

Law is fully adequate to explain the Chief Justice’s vote to uphold the minimum coverage provision as within the scope of Congress’s tax power. Roberts embraced the soundest constitutional understanding of the Taxing Clause. He also showed fidelity to the law by applying—and not just giving lip service to—the deeply entrenched presumption of constitutionality that judges are supposed to …

Legitimacy And Lawmaking: A Tale Of Three International Courts, Laurence R. Helfer, Karen J. Alter

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the relationship between the legitimacy of international courts and expansive judicial lawmaking. We compare lawmaking by three regional integration courts — the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the Andean Tribunal of Justice (ATJ), and the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (ECCJ). These courts have similar jurisdictional grants and access rules, yet each has behaved in a strikingly different way when faced with opportunities to engage in expansive judicial lawmaking. The ECJ is the most activist, but its audacious legal doctrines have been assimilated as part of the court’s legitimate authority. The ATJ and ECOWAS have been more …

Judicial Memoirs, Thomas Simmons

Faculty Publications

Review of Ipse Dixit: How the World Looks to a Federal Judge, by Hon. William L. Dwyer and Called to Justice: The Life of a Federal Trial Judge, by Hon. Warren K. Urbom

Tribute To Chief Justice Harry L. Carrico, John G. Douglass

Law Faculty Publications

An insightful personal perspective of Chief Justice Harry L. Carrico by Professor John G. Douglass.

Constructing Courts: Architecture, The Ideology Of Judging, And The Public Sphere, Allison Anna Tait

Law Faculty Publications

In several countries, governments have embarked on major building expansion programs for their judiciaries. The new buildings posit the courtroom as their center and the judge as that room’s pivot. These contemporary projects follow the didactic path laid out in Medieval and Renaissance town halls, which repeatedly deployed symbolism in efforts to shape norms. Dramatic depictions then reminded judges to be loyal subjects of the state. In contrast, modern buildings narrate not only the independence of judges but also the dominion of judges, insulated from the state. The significant allocation of public funds reflects the prestige accorded to courts by …

Civil Rights For The Twenty-First Century: Lessons From Justice Thurgood Marshall's Race-Transcending Jurisprudence, Sheryll Cashin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Essay pays tribute to justice Thurgood Marshall's race-transcending vision of universal human dignity, and explores the importance of building cross-racial alliances to modern civil rights advocacy. justice Marshall's role as a "Race Man" is evident in much of his jurisprudence, where he fought for years to promote equal opportunity and equal justice. As an advocate for all marginalized people, justice Marshall viewed equal justice as transcending race, and this Essay suggests that the multi-racial coalition that supported President Obama aligns with Marshall's vision. The Essay evaluates the civil rights movement through the lens of Justice Marshall's equality analysis, and …

The Wages Of Crying Judicial Restraint, Randy E. Barnett

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Five Justices voted to affirm the proposition that the Constitution creates a government of limited and enumerated powers and that the courts will enforce those limits. To understand why this victory was possible, it is important to understand that there are not just two versions of federalism, pre‐New Deal and post‐New Deal. There is also a third version. The failure to recognize the third version goes a long way to explain why most of my academic colleagues predicted that the right would have no chance to prevail in our constitutional challenge to the individual insurance mandate.

The first version of …

Two Great Leaders, L.A. Powe Jr.

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

What Alex Kozinski And The Investigation Of Earl Bradley Teach About Searching And Seizing Computers And The Dangers Of Inevitable Discovery, Stephen E. Henderson

Faculty Articles

This paper tells two stories. One concerns the investigation of a Delaware physician named Earl B. Bradley that resulted in a conviction and sentence of fourteen consecutive life terms for the sexual abuse of children. The other concerns the computer problems, both judicial and extra-judicial, of Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Though in a sense unrelated, they share lessons about the practicalities of computers and their search that are worth telling. As courts continue to struggle with how to cabin the searches of computers in order to minimize privacy intrusion …

Latina And Latino Judges: Changing The Complexion Of The Bench, Mary Dolores Guerra

Florida A & M University Law Review

Although having a diverse bench is instrumental to a fair judicial system, the first Mexican American was not appointed to the federal bench until 1961. In that year, President John F. Kennedy appointed Reynaldo G. Garza, to the U.S. federal bench as a district court judge. Judge Garza hoped that by becoming an "effective jurist" he would quell any scrutiny over his appointment and, moreover, "encourage [the] appointment of other qualified Mexican Americans to the federal bench." Judge Garza was the only Latino appointed to the federal bench until 1979 when President Jimmy Carter appointed several Latinos to the bench, …

The Practical Implications Of Recusal Of Supreme Court Justices: A Response To Professor Swisher, Steven M. Klepper

Maryland Law Review Online

No abstract provided.

President John Adams And Four Chief Justices: An Essay For James F. Simon, R.B. Bernstein

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Women And Judging: A Feminist Approach To Judging And The Issue Of Customary Law (Eleventh Annual Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lecture), Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Of Law And The Revolution, Lama Abu-Odeh

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Egyptian revolution is proving to be a very legal one. That is not to say that the revolution’s demands have been legalized, nor that Egypt’s law has been revolutionized, rather, the forces that have come to the fore since the toppling of Mubarak in Feb 2011 have chosen law as the privileged form through which to bargain with each other. The density of the legal back and fro has been overwhelming: constitutional amendments, constitutional supplementary declarations, parliamentary laws, legislative amendments, military decrees, court trials, constitutional court decisions overturning laws passed, conflicting decisions from various courts, presidential decrees, emergency laws …

Essay:1 From The “No Spittin’, No Cussin’ And No Summary Judgment”2 Days Of Employment Discrimination Litigation To The “Defendant’S Summary Judgment A Rmed Without Comment” Days: One Judge’S Four-Decade Perspective, Hon. Mark W. Bennett

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Jury (Or More Accurately The Judge) Is Still Out For Civil Rights And Employment Cases Post-Iqbal, Suzette M. Malveaux

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bringing Back Reasonable Inferences: A Short, Simple Suggestion For Addressing Some Problems At The Intersection Of Employment Discrimination And Summary Judgment, Hon. Bernice B. Donald, J. Eric Pardue

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mocking Equality: Reproduction Of Gender Hierarchy In Collegiate Mock Trial, Lily M. Foss

Scripps Senior Theses

During the information sessions that the Scripps Mock Trial Team hosts at the beginning of the school year for those interested in mock trial, it's customary for all the returning team members to talk about why we decided to join mock trial in college. We had no team at my high school, but at the end of my senior year, my AP American Government teacher decided that having a mock trial in class would give us valuable insight into the American legal system. I was chosen to give the closing statement for the defense, and I found my calling. My …

Issue 2: Table Of Contents

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Oasis Or Mirage: The Supreme Court's Thirst For Dictionaries In The Rehnquist And Roberts Eras, James J. Brudney, Lawrence Baum

Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court’s use of dictionaries, virtually non-existent before 1987, has dramatically increased during the Rehnquist and Roberts Court eras to the point where as many as one-third of statutory decisions invoke dictionary definitions. The increase is linked to the rise of textualism and its intense focus on ordinary meaning. This Article explores the Court’s new dictionary culture in depth from empirical and doctrinal perspectives. We find that while textualist justices are heavy dictionary users, purposivist justices invoke dictionary definitions with comparable frequency. Further, dictionary use overall is strikingly ad hoc and subjective. We demonstrate how the Court’s patterns of …

Increasing Referrals To Small Claims Mediation Programs: Models To Improve Access To Justice, Heather Scheiwe Kulp

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

The justice system is in crisis. In 2011, 85% of Connecticut's family court cases had at least one self-represented litigant. In Massachusetts, 92% of parties appearing in housing cases are selfrepresented. New York saw self-representation in 97% of child support cases. Although judges and attorneys are learning to adapt to this new reality, the strain is felt strongly by bench and bar alike.

This article explores a service that many courts already offer-small claims mediation-and studies how courts may more effectively refer parties to such services. Specifically, this article identifies six primary models courts use to refer parties to small …

What If You Build It And No One Comes?: The Introduction Of Mediation To Russia, Kathryn Hendley

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Russia joined the community of countries where disputes can legally be diverted to mediation in early 2011. Russian court officials and judges were optimistic that mediation would alleviate the nagging problem of overloaded dockets; however, initial experience has shown that Russian litigants are skeptical of mediation. The reasons for this skepticism are a complex mix of institutional disincentives and a lack of familiarity with alternative dispute resolution. The relatively low costs associated with going to court in Russia, measured in terms of money, time, and relational damage, have done little to encourage litigants to opt for mediation. The absence of …

Justice Holmes's Bad Man And The Depleted Purposes Of Punitive Damages, Jill Wieber Lens

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Justice Kennedy’S “Gay Agenda”: Romer, Lawrence, And The Struggle For Marriage Equality, Lawrence C. Levine

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

The Property Jurisprudence Of Justice Kennedy, John G. Sprankling

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Panel I: Critical Legal Studies In Intellectual Property And Information Law Scholarship, Peter Goodrich, Sonia K. Katyal, Rebecca Tushnet

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

On Estimating Disparity And Inferring Causation: Sur-Reply To The U.S. Sentencing Commission Staff, Sonja B. Starr, M. Marit Rehavi

Articles

In this Essay, Professors Starr and Rehavi respond to the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s empirical staff’s criticisms of their recent article, which found, contrary to the Commission’s prior work, no evidence that racial disparity in sentences increased in response to United States v. Booker. As Starr and Rehavi suggest, their differences with the Commission perhaps relate to differing objectives. The Commission staff’s reply expresses a lack of interest in identifying Booker’s causal effects; in contrast, that is Starr and Rehavi’s central objective. In addition, Starr and Rehavi’s approach also accounts for disparities arising throughout the post-arrest justice process, extending beyond the …