Law and Philosophy Commons^™

September 14, 2015: Just Leave Me Alone On The New Year, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

September 12, 2015: The Iranian Deal “Passes”, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Iranian Deal “Passes”“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

September 7, 2015: A Heideggerian Prayer, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “A Heideggerian Prayer“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

September 6, 2015: Kim Davis Is No Religious Martyr, No Prisoner Of Conscience, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ Kim Davis is No Religious Martyr, No Prisoner of Conscience“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The Gag Rule: From Compromise To Contradiction, Timothy A. Byram

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

This essay examines the gag rule of 1836, its motivations and effects. Enacted in 1836 to counter the growing vitriol of the slavery debates, it was later repealed in 1844, following sustained controversy. To begin, the essay analyzes the historical context which informed the rule’s enactment, going over the Second Great Awakening and its role in intensifying the abolitionist movement. It proceeds to examine both the proximate historical explanations for the gag rule, such as recent slave revolts, as well as the more abstract, theoretical arguments concerning how enforced silence can function within democratic legislation. Finally, the essay elucidates the …

September 2, 2015: How To Be Secular, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “How to be Secular“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The Purpose Of Law, Pancasila And Legality According To Ernst Utrecht: A Critical Reflection, Fernando Morganda Manullang

Indonesia Law Review

Ernst Utrecht is one of the best legal scholars Indonesia has ever had. His political views position him as an organic intellectual; a legal scholar involved in and expressing the social consciousness, both in the academic as well as in the political arena. His controversial involvement came to a tragic end, causing him to leave Indonesia for good. This article describes and reflects on some of Utrecht’s rather controversial ideas about law and politics; namely, first, “pengayoman” (guardianship) the purpose of law in Indonesia, a purpose of law which is almost completely absent from the mainstream conception of the purpose …

August 30, 2015: Is There A World Beyond Capitalism?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Is There a World Beyond Capitalism?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

August 26, 2015: Introducing Constitutional Law In The Midst Of The Plight, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Introducing Constitutional Law in the Midst of the Plight“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

August 19, 2015: “The Money Seems To Have Lost Its Knack For Hoodwinking The Voters.”, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, ““The money seems to have lost its knack for hoodwinking the voters.”“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

August 15, 2015: No Religious Right To Refuse Government Service, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “No Religious Right to Refuse Government Service“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

August 9, 2015: The Need For Forgiveness, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

August 6, 2015: What Is A Religious War?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

August 1, 2015: What We Can Learn From Fifty Shades Of Grey, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ What We Can Learn from Fifty Shades of Grey“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The Judicial Philosophy Of Justice Rehnquist, Robert E. Riggs, Thomas D. Proffitt

Akron Law Review

In defining the contours of the Rehnquist judicial philosophy, this article will examine three sources: (1) ideas articulated by Justice Rehnquist in opinions and other writings, (2) values implicit in his pattern of decision-making as distilled from the decided cases, and (3) ideas attributed to him by others. Information from each source will be examined separately for light it sheds on the Rehnquist judicial philosophy, and each is assigned its own label. Thus, this article will refer to the self-articulated philosophy (as reflected in the Justice's writings), the attributed philosophy (as reflected in the writings of others), and the operative …

Hohfeld's Cube, Mark Andrews

Akron Law Review

The thesis presented here is that the eight jural relations may be effectively graphed as the eight corners of a cube, and this image unifies all eight into a single logical structure. This structure symbolizes real legal relationships and assists an understanding of the way legal relations work. This article, then, is about Hohfeld's Cube.

The validity of the cube will be shown in three stages. First, the eight jural relations will be arranged on the cube in a manner which seems to best characterize the way Hohfeld intended his concepts to be used and which also seems to construct …

Can We Afford Liberty?, Arthur J. Goldberg

Akron Law Review

I would like to venture the suggestion, however, that the real gravamen of Chief Justice Burger's address has been overlooked. In a very real sense, the Chief Justice is raising the question of whether, in light of the serious nature of crime in America, we can afford liberty and decisions of the Supreme Court, largely during the Warren era, which enforced the Bill of Rights in the case of those charged with crime.

I therefore propose in this address to discuss the question of whether we can afford liberty under present circumstances.

July 29, 2015: The Power Of Choice, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

A Commentary On Hegelian Philosophy And The Absolutes In Law, H. Newcomb Morse

Akron Law Review

The principles of law are twofold: those that are absolute and those that are relative. The absolute and the relative are akin to dogma and doctrine, respectively. We are on shaky ground indeed when we stand upon relativism. The principal purveyors of relativism have been Justices Cardozo, Douglas, and Holmes.

Legal Agreement, Andrew Tutt

Akron Law Review

This Article grapples with the question of what it means to agree about what the law is. First, it shows that the question of what it means to “agree about the law” invites us to consider many different kinds of agreement and disagreement we might have about what the law is. Second, it shows that without selecting one of these kinds of agreement, we cannot speak intelligibly about whether we agree or disagree. Third, it explains that this failure to choose is a source of much confusion and apparent disagreement between competing philosophers and philosophies of law. Fourth, it argues …

July 22, 2015: Why A Jew Invented Hallowed Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Why a Jew Invented Hallowed Secularism“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

July 21, 2015: A Great President, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “A Great President“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Legislative Process And Intent In Justice Scalia's Interpretive Method, David Schultz

Akron Law Review

This article explores Justice Scalia's views on the legislative process and his interpretive methodology which questions using legislative intent when interpreting statutes. Unlike other recent scholarship which focuses on Scalia's interpretive method, this article is somewhat more expansive. It will examine his views towards the legislative process and decision-making, including his approach and methodology used in interpreting legislative pronouncements. To do this, the article will first provide an assessment of recent legal scholarship describing Scalia's interpretive jurisprudence. The goal here is to establish a description of the legal community's perspective regarding Scalia's views towards interpreting statutes. The second section will …

July 18, 2015: Religions That Promise Us Death And War, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Religions that Promise Us Death and War“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The Declaration As Ur-Constitution: The Bizarre Jurisprudential Philosophy Of Professor Harry V. Jaffa, Patrick M. O'Neil

Akron Law Review

In his most recent work, Original Intent and the Framers of the Constitution: A Disputed Question, Professor Harry V. Jaffa finally has put together in one place the core of his constitutional hermeneutic with all the attendant elements of his jurisprudential philosophy. Stated in oversimplified terms, perhaps, Dr. Jaffa sees the Declaration of Independence as the source of the principles embodied in the Constitution of the United States and finds the Declaration, furthermore, to be an indispensable aid to the correct interpretation of that later document. In order to comprehend the error of Jaffa's claims, one must first consider several …

July 14, 2015: Good News Tuesday, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

July 10, 2015: Mark Greif Says We Can No Longer Ask, What Is Man?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Mark Greif Says We Can No Longer Ask, What is Man?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The Future As A Concept In National Security Law, Mary L. Dudziak

Pepperdine Law Review

With their focus on the future of national security law, the essays in this issue share a common premise: that the future matters to legal policy, and that law must take the future into account. But what is this future? And what conception of the future do national security lawyers have in mind? The future is, in an absolute sense, unknowable. Absent a time machine, we cannot directly experience it. Yet human action is premised on ideas about the future, political scientist Harold Lasswell wrote in his classic work The Garrison State. The ideas about the future that guide social …

July 4, 2015: Can God Do A New Thing?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Can God Do a New Thing?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Franz Kafka’S “Before The Law”: A Parable, Geoffrey L. Brackett

Pace Law Review

Despite Francis Bacon’s cautionary note, I have always been a fan of parables, and perhaps the most poignant one to speak for perils of the legal profession is Franz Kafka’s “Vor dem Gesetz” (“Before the Law”), one of the relatively few works to be published in his lifetime. It was seen first in the almanac Vom Jüngsten Tag: Ein Almanach Neuer Dichtung in December 1915 before it was included in his novel Der Prozess (The Trial), which was unpublished in his lifetime. He wrote it at one sitting on December 13, 1914, and in fewer than 650 words, Kafka illustrates …