Legislation Commons^™

Legal Obligations: The Proper Role Of White House Lawyers, William Michael Treanor

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

An opinion issued on Aug. 1, 2002, by Assistant Attorney General Jay S. Bybee of the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel held that the federal statute that makes it a crime to commit torture outside the United States should not be read to “apply to the President’s detention and interrogation of enemy combatants pursuant to his Commander-in-Chief authority.” The opinion further concluded that if the statute did criminalize interrogations ordered by the president, it was unconstitutional.

The memorandum, which has become known as the “torture memo,” figures prominently in the ongoing public debate about whether there should be …

Establishing A Framework For Systemic Risk Regulation: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 111th Cong., July 23, 2009 (Statement Of Daniel K. Tarullo, Geo. U. L. Center), Daniel K. Tarullo

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

The Same-Sex Future, David Cole

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Bills Introduced In The 111th Congress Regarding Flexible Work Arrangements, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) alter the time and/or place that work is conducted on a regular basis -- in a manner that is as manageable and predictable as possible for both employees and employers. This document charts bills introduced in the 111th Congress regarding flexible work arrangements.

The Legislative History Of Fefcwa And Feptcea, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

No abstract provided.

Labor Standards Regarding Flexible Work Arrangements In The U.S. And Abroad, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

A chart of labor standards regarding flexible work arrangements in the U.S. and abroad (United Kingdom, New Zealand, New South Wales, Netherlands, and Germany). Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) alter the time and/or place that work is conducted on a regular basis -- in a manner that is as manageable and predictable as possible for both employees and employers.

The Missing Jurisprudence Of The Legislated Constitution, Robin West

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Does the fourteenth Amendment and its Equal Protection Clause — the promise that "no state shall deny equal protection of the laws" — have any relevance to the progressive project of reducing economic inequality in various spheres of life or, more modestly, of ameliorating the multiple vulnerabilities of this country's poor people? The short answer, I believe, is, it depends. It will depend, in 2020, just as it depends now, on what we mean by the Constitution we are expounding: the Constitution as read and interpreted by courts — the adjudicated Constitution — or what I propose to call the …

Against Textualism, William Michael Treanor

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Modern textualists have assumed that careful attention to constitutional text is the key to the recovery of the Constitution's original public meaning. This article challenges that assumption by showing the importance of nontextual factors in early constitutional interpretation. The Founding generation consistently relied on structural concerns, policy, ratifiers' and drafters' intent, and broad principles of government. To exclude such nontextual factors from constitutional interpretation is to depart from original public meaning because the Founders gave these factors great weight in ascertaining meaning. Moreover, for a modern judge seeking to apply original public meaning, the threshold question is not simply; "How …

Helping Families Save Their Homes: The Role Of Bankruptcy Law: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On The Judiciary, 110th Cong., Nov. 19, 2008 (Statement Of Professor Adam Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Brief Of Amici Curiae Members Of Congress In Support Of Respondents, Coeur Alaska, Inc. V. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Nos. 07-984 & 07-990 (U.S. Nov. 14, 2008), Kathryn A. Sabbeth, David C. Vladeck

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Bills Introduced In The 110th Congress Regarding Flexible Work Arrangements, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) alter the time and/or place that work is conducted on a regular basis -- in a manner that is as manageable and predictable as possible for both employees and employers. This document charts bills introduced in the 110th Congress regarding flexible work arrangements.

Brief For Respondents Riverkeeper, Inc., Entergy Corporation V. Environmental Protection Agency V. Riverkeeper, Nos. 07-588, 07-589 & 07-597 (U.S. Sept. 29, 2008), Richard J. Lazarus

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Implications Of The Supreme Court’S Boumediene Decision For Detainees At Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: Hearing Before The H. Comm. On Armed Services, 110th Cong., July 30, 2008 (Statement Of Neal Katyal, Prof. Of Law, Geo. U. L. Center), Neal K. Katyal

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Petition For Rehearing, Kennedy V. Louisiana, No. 07-343 (U.S. July 21, 2008), Viet D. Dinh, Neal K. Katyal

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

The Americans With Disabilities Act And The Ada Amendments Act Of 2008: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, 110th Cong., July 15, 2008 (Statement Of Chai R. Feldblum, Geo. U. L. Center), Chai R. Feldblum

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Proposed Legislation To Amend The Commodity Exchange Act: Hearing Before The H. Comm. On Agriculture, 110th Cong., July 11, 2008 (Statement Of Mark D. Young, Adjunct Prof. Of Law, Geo. U. L. Center), Mark D. Young

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

The Track Record On Takings Legislation: Lessons From Democracy's Laboratories, John D. Echeverria, Thekla Hansen-Young

Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute Papers & Reports

This report by the Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute, entitled "The Track Record on Takings Legislation: Lessons from Democracy's Laboratories," examines the experiences of Florida, Oregon, and several other states with legislation implementing the property rights agenda. The report is the first comprehensive effort to systematically identify and evaluate the on-the-ground consequences of so-called takings "compensation" laws. The major findings of the report are that the takings agenda has undermined community protections by forcing a roll back of existing legal rules and/or by exerting a chilling effect on new legislative activity, special interests such as developers and timber companies …

Should Fda Drug And Medical Device Regulation Bar State Liability Claims?: Hearing Before The H. Comm. On Oversight And Government Reform, 110th Cong., May 14, 2008 (Statement Of Professor David C. Vladeck, Geo. U. L. Center), David C. Vladeck

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Paying With Their Lives: The Status Of Compensation For 9/11 Health Effects: Hearing Before The H. Comm. On The Judiciary, 110th Cong., Apr. 1, 2008 (Statement Of Kenneth Feinberg, Adjunct Prof. Of Law, Geo. U. L. Center), Kenneth R. Feinberg

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

The Credit Cardholders' Bill Of Rights: Providing New Protections For Consumers: Hearings Before The Subcomm. On Financial Institutions And Consumer Credit Of The H. Comm. On Financial Services, 110th Cong., Mar. 13, 2008 (Statement Of Professor Adam Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Massachusetts V. U.S. Epa Part Ii: Implications Of The Supreme Court Decision: Hearing Before The H. Select Comm. On Energy Independence And Global Warming, 110th Cong., Mar. 13, 2008 (Statement Of Professor Lisa Heinzerling, Geo. U. L. Center), Lisa Heinzerling

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Time To Start Over On Deferred Compensation, Michael Doran

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Writing good regulations--"good" in the sense of promoting the public interest--always presents challenges. Regulators must hit a small but important target where private conduct is brought within appropriate government control, but unnecessary compliance burdens and other deadweight costs are minimized. Even if they see the government's objectives clearly, regulators often have only a limited understanding of the underlying private activities. Moreover, regulators may be unaware of how their rules disrupt or distort those activities in socially harmful ways.

Regulators occasionally hit the target exactly. More often, they miss--though not by an intolerably wide margin (good enough for government work, as …

Does Doj's Privilege Waiver Policy Threaten The Rationales Underlying The Attorney-Client Privilege And Work Product Doctrine? A Preliminary "No", Julie R. O'Sullivan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

According to white-collar defense practitioners, the demise of the corporate attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine is imminent. While a variety of assaults have been identified, by far the most oft-cited culprit is the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), whose prosecutors, it is charged, have routinely insisted that corporations waive these protections to secure cooperation credit and declination of criminal action against the corporate actor and/or consideration at sentencing. DOJ has, by and large, vigorously defended its policies in this regard. Congress now threatens to inject itself into the debate: legislation entitled the "Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act" has been introduced …

Time To Start Over On Deferred Compensation, Michael Doran

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Government regulators would do well to follow simple heuristics like that. Writing good regulations--"good" in the sense of promoting the public interest--always presents challenges. Regulators must hit a small but important target where private conduct is brought within appropriate government control, but unnecessary compliance burdens and other deadweight costs are minimized. Even if they see the government's objectives clearly, regulators often have only a limited understanding of the underlying private activities. Moreover, regulators may be unaware of how their rules disrupt or distort those activities in socially harmful ways.

Regulators occasionally hit the target exactly. More often, they miss--though not …

The Ada Amendments Act Of 2008, Chai R. Feldblum, Kevin Barry, Emily A. Benfer

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The goal of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was to create a civil rights law protecting people with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of their disabilities. Disability rights advocates in 1990 were victorious in their efforts to open doors for people with disabilities and to change the country's outlook and acceptance of people with disabilities. These advocates believed that the terms of the ADA, based as they were on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, combined with the legislative history of the ADA, would provide clear instructions to the courts that the ADA was intended to provide broad …

Taking Text Too Seriously: Modern Textualism, Original Meaning, And The Case Of Amar's Bill Of Rights, William Michael Treanor

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Championed on the Supreme Court by Justices Scalia and Thomas and championed in academia most prominently by Professor Akhil Amar, textualism has in the past twenty years emerged as a leading school of constitutional interpretation. Textualists argue that the Constitution should be interpreted in accordance with its original public meaning and, in seeking that meaning, they closely parse the Constitution's words and grammar and the placement of clauses in the document. They have assumed that this close parsing recaptures original meaning, but, perhaps because it seems obviously correct, that assumption has neither been defended nor challenged. This article uses Professor …

Regulatory Preemption: Are Federal Agencies Usurping Congressional And State Authority?: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On The Judiciary,, 110th Cong., Sept. 12, 2007 (Statement Of Viet D. Dinh, Geo. U. L. Center), Viet D. Dinh

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Preemption: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On The Judiciary, 110th Cong., Sept. 12, 2007 (Statement Of David C. Vladeck, Geo. U. L. Center), David C. Vladeck

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Equal Representation In Congress: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs, 110th Cong., May 15, 2007 (Statement Of Viet D. Dinh, Geo. U. L. Center), Viet D. Dinh

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Demolition By Neglect: Repairing Buildings By Repairing Legislation, Anna Martin

Georgetown Law Historic Preservation Papers Series

One of the biggest problems today facing communities with historic preservation ordinances is delinquent owners who don’t have the will or the finances to maintain their historic properties and landmarks. Historic preservation law plays an important role in building a sense of patriotism and community togetherness, fostering education and providing incentives for aesthetically pleasing architecture. When residents can identify with a community, this creates a dialogue and sense of belonging. There are also environmental and psychological impacts of preserving old buildings, since human beings are positively affected by their surroundings when they feel a "sense of place." When buildings in …