Jurisprudence Commons^™

Render Unto Caesar: How Misunderstanding A Century Of Free Exercise Jurisprudence Forged And Then Fractured The Rfra Coalition, John S. Blattner

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis provides a comprehensive history of Supreme Court Free Exercise Clause jurisprudence from 1879 until the present day. It describes how a jurisdictional approach to free exercise dominated the Court’s rulings from its first Free Exercise Clause case in 1879 until Sherbert v. Verner in 1963, and how Sherbert introduced an accommodationist precedent which was ineffectively, incompletely, and inconsistently defined by the Court. This thesis shows how proponents of accommodationism furthered a false narrative overstating the scope and consistency of Sherbert’s precedent following the Court’s repudiation of accommodationism and return to full jurisdictionalism with Employment Division v. Smith …

Some Initial Thoughts On Wilson V. Atomic Energy Of Canada Ltd And Edmonton (City) V. Edmonton East (Capilano) Shopping Centres Ltd, Diana Ginn

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Administrative law focusses on the way in which, and the extent to which, courts should oversee the exercise of administrative authority. The law on substantive review of administrative decision-making has changed drastically over the last several decades, particularly around choice of standard of review. In the words of the Honorable John M Evans, courts have returned to this issue “with almost monotonous regularity over the last 30 years”. Two Supreme Court of Canada decisions from 2016, Wilson v Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd and Edmonton (City) v Edmonton East (Capilano) Shopping Centres Ltd, have regenerated discussion about standard of …

Sovereignty And Social Change In The Wake Of India's Recent Sodomy Cases, Deepa Das Acevedo

Faculty Articles

American constitutional law scholars have long questioned whether courts can truly drive social reform, and this uncertainty remains even in the wake of recent landmark decisions affecting the LGBT community. In contrast, court watchers in India—spurred by developments in a special type of legal action developed in the late 1970s known as public interest litigation (PIL)—have only recently begun to question the judiciary’s ability to promote progressive social change. Indian scholarship on this point has veered between despair that PIL cases no longer reliably produce good outcomes for India’s most disadvantaged and optimism that public interest litigation can be returned …

Custom In Our Courts: Reconciling Theory With Reality In The Debate About Erie Railroad And Customary International Law, Nikki C. Gutierrez, Mitu Gulati

Faculty Scholarship

One of the most heated debates of the last two decades in U.S. legal academia focuses on customary international law’s domestic status after Erie Railroad v. Tompkins. At one end, champions of the “modern position” support customary international law’s (“CIL”) wholesale incorporation into post-Erie federal common law. At the other end, “revisionists” argue that federal courts cannot apply CIL as federal law absent federal legislative authorization. Scholars on both sides of the Erie debate also make claims about the sources judges reference when discerning CIL. They then use these claims to support their arguments regarding CIL’s domestic status. Interestingly, neither …

From Parliamentary To Judicial Supremacy: Reflections In Honour Of The Constitutionalism Of Justice Moseneke, Peter G. Danchin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Means To An Element: The Supreme Court's Modified Categorical Approach After Mathis V. United States, Michael Mcgivney

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Using Feminist Theory To Advance Equal Justice Under Law, Bridget J. Crawford

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This essay provides an overview of the purposes, themes and scholarly methodologies evidenced at the October 2016 conference, The U.S. Feminist Judgments Project: Writing the Law, Rewriting the Future, a two-day conference hosted by the Center for Constitutional Law at the University of Akron School of Law. This essay provides some of the background to the development of the path-breaking book, Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Opinions of the United States Supreme Court (Cambridge University Press, 2016). It also focuses attention on the importance of diversity on the bench, with a particular need for judges who understand or experience the intersecting relationships …

A New Remedy For Junk Science: Article 11.073 And Texas's Response To The Changing Landscape In The Forensic Sciences., Trevor Rosson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

No Appropriation Without Compensation: How Per Se Takings Of Personal Property Check The Power To Regulate Commerce., William Sumner Macdaniel

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Pipe(Line) Dreams Post-Denbury Green., Nicholas Laurent, Christopher Oddo

St. Mary's Law Journal

In Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas, LLC v. Texas Rice Land Partners, the Beaumont Court of Appeals articulated the test that should be applied when considering whether the condemnation of private property, which would result favorably for pipeline companies, should be allowed. In Denbury, the Beaumont Court of Appeals balanced the protection of private property rights against the need for true common carrier pipeline companies to condemn private property. The court held that in order to condemn private property, a substantial public interest must exist to justify such condemnation. The Texas Supreme Court, however, reversed the decision of the Beaumont Court of …

Tx Rice V. Denbury., Thomas Alan Zabel

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Can Mediation Deliver Justice?, Sherif Elnegahy

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Can mediation deliver justice? This article seeks to answer this controversial question by exploring the idea of justice through a number of perspectives, including the historical, philosophical, and religious perspectives. After reaching an understanding on the idea of justice, the article discusses two main means of delivering justice: formal justice-including an analysis of its strength and limitations-and creative justice. The article proceeds to demonstrate the relationship between mediation and justice and mediation's ability to deliver several justice outcomes, which include procedural justice, distributive justice, and restorative justice. The article concludes by highlighting the possible challenges that can accrue when attempting …

Reconsidering Substantive Canons, Anita S. Krishnakumar

Faculty Publications

This paper provides the first empirical study of the Roberts Court’s use of substantive canons in its statutory interpretation cases. Based on data from 295 statutory interpretation cases decided by the Roberts Court during its first six-and-a-half terms, the paper argues that much of the conventional wisdom about substantive canons of statutory construction is wrong, or at least overstated with respect to the modern Supreme Court. Substantive canons — such as the rule of lenity, the avoidance canon, or the presumption against extraterritorial application of domestic laws — have long been criticized as undemocratic judge-made rules that defeat congressional intent, …

Gun Rights And The New Lochnerism, Areto A. Imoukuede

Journal Publications

This Article examines the Supreme Court's recent Second Amendment cases as applications of the same libertarian bias that has undermined constitutional law's fundamental rights doctrine. The concept of a libertarian bias that is based in a New Lochnerism was previously introduced in both The Fifth Freedom and The New Due Process. The analysis here demonstrates that the recently revised doctrine regarding the Second Amendment and gun rights is driven by the current Supreme Court ("Court") hostility towards government regulation in a manner that is akin to what was seen during the Lochner Era. Regrettably, this Article is timely and is …

The English Rule - It Ain't English, And Ought Not Be American., Timothy M. Mulligan

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

The Demise Of Anti-Panhandling Laws In America., Natie Pilgram Neidig

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

The Exclusionary Rule And The Dueling Legacies Of Utah V. Streiff: Which Will Be Suppressed., Marcos Herrera

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Force Majeure: How Lessees Can Save Their Leases While The War On Fracking Rages On., Allison R. Ebanks

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Realizing Dispute Resolution: Meeting The Challenges Of Legal Realism Through Mediation, Robert Rubinson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The History And Legacy Of The Pound Conferences, Lara Traum, Brian Farkas

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

In light of the GPC, it is useful to take a brief step back to consider the legacy of self-reflection that brings the field to this exciting moment. As we reflect, we find ourselves facing new challenges and raising new questions about the direction of alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") in the 21st century. In this Article, Sections II and III will introduce the "Framers" of the ADR industry's "Constitution," and Section IV will evaluate their 100-year legacy and consider the extent to which it now needs further amendments.

Rwanda And The Kigali International Arbitration Centre: The Future Faces Of East African Arbitration And Growth, Jeremy Cantor

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Part I is a brief introduction to the Note. Part II is a brief background of Rwandan history and the country's push for economic growth. Furthermore, Part II elaborates on the history, the current status of Rwanda's judicial system, and on the KIAC. Part III explains why arbitration is fitting for Africa as a whole and why it is more fitting for East Africa specifically. In particular, the Note explains why Kigali is the proper choice of seat6 and KIAC the proper institution, and analyzes certain problems preventing the growth of African arbitration. Lastly, Part IV proposes how to effectuate …

A Contextual Approach To Harmless Error Review, Justin Murray

Articles & Chapters

Harmless error review is profoundly important, but arguably broken, in the form that courts currently employ it in criminal cases. One significant reason for this brokenness lies in the dissonance between the reductionism of modern harmless error methodology and the diverse normative ambitions of criminal procedure. Nearly all harmless error rules used by courts today focus exclusively on whether the procedural error under review affected the result of a judicial proceeding. I refer to these rules as “result-based harmlesserror review.” The singular preoccupation of result-based harmless error review with the outputs of criminal processes stands in marked contrast with criminal …

In The Shadow Of A Myth: Bargaining For Same-Sex Divorce, Noa Ben-Asher

Faculty Publications

This Article explores a relatively new phenomenon in family law: same-sex divorce. The Article’s central claim is that parties to the first wave of same-sex divorces are not effectively bargaining against the backdrop of legal dissolution rules that would govern in the absence of an agreement. In other words, to use Robert Mnookin and Lewis Kornhauser’s terminology, they are not “bargaining in the shadow of the law.” Instead, the Article argues, many same-sex couples today bargain in the shadow of a myth that same-sex couples are egalitarian—that there are no vulnerable parties or power differentials in same-sex divorce.

The Article …

The Freedom Of Artistic Expression In The Jurisprudence Of The United States Supreme Court And Federal Constitutional Court Of Germany: A Comparative Analysis, Raman Maroz

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Introductions, Melanie B. Leslie

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

United States V. Mcintosh: Ninth Circuit Limits Federal Prosecutors From Spending To Enforce Marijuana Laws In Medicinal States., Daniel Haley

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Covenants Running With The Land., Michael P. Pearson

St. Mary's Law Journal

The analysis of real covenants in wellhead contracts (e.g., gas purchasing, gathering, processing, etc.) by Texas courts has not been consistent. As a result, some bankruptcy courts are holding that a debtor in bankruptcy is not liable for a prior contractual obligation, unless the covenant is held to be a real covenant running with the land. For instance, the holding in In re Sabine Oil & Gas Corp. (Sabine I) contradicts the holdings in Westland Oil Development Corp. v. Gulf Oil Corp. and in Inwood North Homeowners' Association, Inc. v. Harris. The Sabine I court held that because the Acreage …

Justice Stevens, The Writer, Sonja R. West

Scholarly Works

In any discussion about United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, you're likely to hear him labeled in a variety of ways--as a brilliant “judge's judge,” the highly successful leader of the Court's more liberal wing, the prolific “maverick,” and a shrewd questioner from the bench. You might also hear him described simply as a polite and humble Midwesterner, bow-tie aficionado and diehard Cubs fan. Yet while Justice Stevens is and was all of these things, there is another important title he richly deserves yet often does not receive--Justice Stevens, the excellent writer.

This essay strives to close that …

Short-Circuiting The New Major Questions Doctrine, Kent H. Barnett, Christopher J. Walker

Scholarly Works

In Minor Courts, Major Questions, Michael Coenen and Seth Davis advance perhaps the most provocative proposal to date to address the new major questions doctrine articulated in King v. Burwell. They argue that the Supreme Court alone should identify “major questions” that deprive agencies of interpretive primacy, prohibiting the doctrine’s use in the lower courts. Although we agree that the Court provided little guidance about the doctrine’s scope in King v. Burwell, we are unpersuaded that the solution to this lack of guidance is to limit its doctrinal development to one court that hears fewer than eighty cases per year. …

Dynamic Regulatory Constitutionalism: Taking Legislation Seriously In The Judicial Enforcement Of Economic And Social Rights, Richard Stacey

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

The international human rights revolution in the decades after the Second World War recognized economic and social rights alongside civil and political rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1949, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in 1966, regional treaties, and subject-specific treaties variously describe rights to food, shelter, health, and education, and set out state obligations for the treatment of children. When they first appeared, these international, economic, and social rights instruments raised questions about whether economic and social rights are justiciable in domestic legal contexts and whether they can be meaningfully enforced by courts …