Legal History Commons^™

Advice, Consent, And Influence, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

No abstract provided.

"Were There No Appeal": The History Of Review In American Criminal Courts, David Rossman

Faculty Scholarship

The contemporary criminal justice system is guided, in large part, from the top down. A great deal of the force that drives the "terrible engine" of the criminal law is supplied by courts that consider cases on review after a defendant has been convicted.

The Constitution's Accommodation Of Social Change, Philip A. Hamburger

Michigan Law Review

Did the framers and ratifiers of the United States Constitution think that changes in American society would require changes in the text or interpretation of the Constitution? If those who created the Constitution understood or even anticipated the possibility of major social alterations, how did they expect constitutional law - text and interpretation - to accommodate such developments?

The effect of social change upon constitutional law was an issue the framers and ratifiers frequently discussed. For example, when AntiFederalists complained of the Constitution's failure to protect the jury trial in civil cases, Federalists responded that a change of circumstances might, …

Stories Of Origin And Constitutional Possibilities, Milner S. Ball

Michigan Law Review

Robert Cover once observed how "[n]o set of legal institutions or prescriptions exists apart from the narratives that locate it and give it meaning. For every constitution there is an epic, for each decalogue a scripture." Stories of origin locate law, invest it with legitimacy, and so lend it stability. As Cover went on to note, however, the narratives that legitimate a legal order also retain revolutionary force, for a return to the originating acts recounted in the narratives is always possible. A polity begun in revolution remains subject to revolution.

There is an American story of origins. It is …

Judicial Review And American Democracy, Stanley S. Sokul

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Judicial Review and American Democracy by Albert P. Melone and George Mace

Philosophy, The Federalist, And The Constitution, Edward J. Sebold

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Philosophy, The Federalist, and the Constitution by Morton White

Condemnation, Credit, And Corporations In Washington: 100 Years Of Judicial Decisions—Have The Framers' Views Been Followed?, Justice James M. Dolliver

Seattle University Law Review

As part of the commemoration of Washington's centennial, this Article will examine three parts of the Washington Constitution written and adopted in 1889: article I, section 16,2 the taking clause; article VIII, section 7,3 the municipal credit clause; and article XII, sections 1-22,4 the Corporations Article. This Article will attempt to identify and explain the fundamental premises behind each of the three parts by considering the constitutional text, the specific intent of the framers where discoverable, the climate of the times in the territory and nation in 1889, and the judicial gloss from early case law. Additionally, given these considerations, …

An Historical Analysis Of Alien Land Law: Washington Territory And State 1853-1889, Mark L. Lazarus Iii

Seattle University Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to analyze the historical development of Washington's alien land law from the birth of the territory in 1853 to the drafting of the state constitution in 1889. Because alien land law necessarily involves relationships among people, this Article focuses not only on historical legal sources such as statutes, constitutional material, and judicial opinions, but also on the underlying social forces that compelled change in the law. This Article consists of three sections, the first of which is a brief discussion of the common-law roots of alien land disability in feudal England and its subsequent …

The Beginning Of The Constitutional Era: A Bicentennial Comparative Study Of The American And French Constitutions, Rett R. Ludwikowski

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article is intended only to be introductory. The author is quite aware that the period surrounding the creation of the American Constitution has been profoundly studied; thorough analysis has been provided concerning both the origin and historical development of the American Constitution, as well as the intellectual background of the "founding generation." Characteristically, these studies have focused on the "American constitutional tradition," which means that they have been limited to little more than two centuries of colonial experience. This essay follows a different vein of inquiry. The author's purpose is not to add another article to the numerous works …

A Two-Tiered Theory Of Consolidation And Separation Of Powers, David S. Yassky

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Note explores the jurisprudential implications of the New Deal watershed and elaborates a post-New Deal theory of allocation of governmental power. Part I begins with a discussion of the Federalist theory of separation of powers. For the Federalists, two conditions ensured an effective separation. First, governmental branches must be institutionally independent; each must be free from control by the others. Second, the branches must be functionally specialized; each must wield a distinct component of governmental power, so that the assent of all three is required for government action.

Until the New Deal, the Supreme Court incorporated this theory into …

The Constitution Of 1787: A Meditation, Jonathan Van Patten

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Indian Consent To American Government, Richard B. Collins

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Theory Of The Fourth Amendment, Gerard V. Bradley

Journal Articles

This Article will, in large part, present its thesis regarding fourth amendment doctrine by employing, as an illustration, a recent application of the current approach by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In United States v. Torres, the Seventh Circuit held video surveillance constitutional and further found that the judiciary had the authority to issue warrants for such a technique. Although welcomed by prosecutors and law enforcement officials, this decision highlights the absurdity of the current interpretation of the reasonableness clause. Moreover, Torres provides a vehicle through which this Article's historical interpretation can be brought into focus under the cold …

In The Beginning: The Washington Supreme Court A Century Ago, Charles H. Sheldon, Michael Stohr-Gillmore

Seattle University Law Review

This Article will discuss (1) the politics that influenced the drafting of the judicial article (article IV) in the constitutional convention; (2) the election of the first five members of the bench and the backgrounds of those inaugural judges; (3) the particular approach toward judicial review adopted by these five jurists (activism-restraint); and (4) the personal relations among these members of the supreme court. This Article will provide a personal perspective of the first five judges and their court.

James Wilson's "Assimilation Of The Common-Law Mind", Stephen A. Conrad

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Law, Literature, And The Celebration Of Authority, Robin West

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Richard Posner's new book, Law and Literature: A Misunderstood Relation, is a defense of “liberal legalism” against a group of modern critics who have only one thing in common: their use of either particular pieces of literature or literary theory to mount legal critiques. Perhaps for that reason, it is very hard to discern a unified thesis within Posner's book regarding the relationship between law and literature. In part, Posner is complaining about a pollution of literature by its use and abuse in political and legal argument; thus, the “misunderstood relation” to which the title refers. At times, Posner suggests …

Chief Justice Marshall, Justice Holmes, And The Discourse Of Constitutional Adjudication, G. Edward White

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reconstituting "Original Intent": A Constitutional Law Encyclopedia For The Next Century, David M. Skover

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Encyclopedia of the American Constitution by Leonard Levy, Kenneth Karst and Dennis Mahoney

The Believer And The Powers That Are, Elizabeth Ferguson

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Believer and the Powers That Are by John T. Noonan, Jr.

Constitutional Opinions: Aspects Of The Bill Of Rights, Kenneth F. Sparks

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Constitutional Opinions: Aspects of the Bill of Rights by Leonard W. Levy

The Enduring Constitution: A Bicentennial Perspective, Robert F. Drinan

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Enduring Constitution: A Bicentennial Perspective by Jethro K. Lieberman

Judicial Conscience And Natural Rights: A Reply To Professor Ledewitz, Harry V. Jaffa

Seattle University Law Review

In our Spring 1987 issue, Professor Jaffa authored an essay in which he posited that the fundamental principles of equality and other tenets of natural law expressed in the Declaration of Independence were originally intended to be the principles of the Constitution of 1787 Professor Jaffa asserted that while the Framers believed in the "law of nature and nature's God," many contemporary constitutional thinkers, including fellow conservatives Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Attorney General Edwin Meese, do not. Thus, Jaffa argued, those conservatives "who today most aggressively appeal to the doctrine of original intent are among its most resolute antagonists." …

Johnson V. Transportation Agency: The United States Supreme Court Weighs Statistical Imbalance In Favor Of Affirmative Action, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 593 (1988), Denise C. Hockley-Cann

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Affirmative Action: A Divided Supreme Court, 22 J. Marshall L. Rev. 99 (1988), Arthur J. Marinelli

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Doing Politics In The United States Supreme Court, 22 J. Marshall L. Rev. 265 (1988), John D. Gorby

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Some Thoughts On The Historical Origins Of The United States Constitution And The Establishment Clause, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 239 (1988), Marvin E. Aspen

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Costello V. Capital Cities Communications, Inc.: Illinois' Innocent Construction Rule Prevails Over The Constitutional Privilege For Expression Of Opinion, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 427 (1988), Jerald B. Holisky

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Economic Union As A Constitutional Value, Richard B. Collins

Publications

Professor Collins presents an in-depth defense of the dormant commerce power doctrine. He maintains that the text of the commerce clause, the original intent behind it, and a century of congressional acquiescence to broad judicial enforcement of the dormant commerce power lend sufficient legitimacy to the doctrine to support its continued existence. After examining the textual and historical bases for the doctrine, Professor Collins concludes that the primary purpose behind the commerce clause is the promotion of economic integration and interstate harmony. Based upon his discussion of the doctrine's origins and development, he contends that critics of the doctrine who …

Aids, Prostitution, And The Use Of Historical Stereotypes To Legislate Sexuality, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 777 (1988), Beth Bergman

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Science In School: From Antireligion To Scientific Cult, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 449 (1988), Elizabeth Freidheim

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.