Rule of Law Commons^™

The Bar In America: The Role Of Elitism In A Liberal Democracy, Philip S. Stamatakos

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Part I of this Note argues that liberal democracy, the free market, and science have contributed to the increasing atomization of American society. When each person and her views are glorified, universal standards of good become undermined, values become relative, and a sense of community becomes evanescent. Part II argues that individualism is incapable of accounting for the commonweal and therefore is inherently amoral because morality is concerned largely with determining when an individual's will should be subservient to the will of others. Part III considers the nature of elitism and equality and attributes the demise of elitist institutions in …

Post-Totalitarian Politics, Guyora Binder

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama and Civil Society and Political Theory by Jean L. Cohen and Andrew Arato

Is The Rule Of Law Possible In A Postmodern World?, Francis J. Mootz Iii

Washington Law Review

The Rule of Law is the core of our political and legal ideology, but the Rule of Law increasingly is attacked as an unattainable goal. Postmoder theorists challenge whether it makes sense to believe that rules can be formulated for general application and then later neutrally applied by decision makers. Postmodern theorists reject the nlightenment world view and its political corollary, classical liberalism. The author agrees with the spirit of the postmoder critique, but argues that we can understand the Rule of Law in a manner consonant with postmodern thought. Drawing on the Continental tradition of hermeneutics, or the philosophy …

Procedure As A Guarantee Of Democracy: The Legacy Of The Perestroika Parliament, Frances H. Foster

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, the author chronicles the rise and fall of the "perestroika parliament." While Gorbachev's reforms were ultimately unsuccessful in producing effective democratic representation, the author believes that the history of these reforms provides some valuable lessons for post-Soviet Russia. Specifically, Professor Foster concludes that current reformers in Russia should learn from the failed perestroika parliament that a democratic, "rule-of-law" state requires uniform lawmaking procedures with constitutional safeguards to guarantee their integrity.

Liberal Philosophy's Troubled Relation To The Rule Of Law, David G. Carlson

Articles

The article critiques Andrew Altman's defense of liberalism against critical legal studies (CLS), arguing that his account of the rule of law relies on unexamined presuppositions and fails to address the indeterminacy of legal meaning. Altman's metaphor of the rule of law as a checkerboard of zones of freedom is challenged for its definitional ambiguity and reliance on natural law, which undermines his critique of CLS. The analysis suggests that liberalism's inability to tolerate political intrusion into the rule of law exposes its dogmatic underpinnings, while deconstruction offers a more nuanced understanding of legal meaning and its ethical implications.

Dialogue And Judicial Review, Barry Friedman

Michigan Law Review

This article argues that most normative legal scholarship regarding the role of judicial review rests upon a descriptively inaccurate foundation. The goal of this article is to redescribe the landscape of American constitutionalism in a manner vastly different than most normative scholarship. At times this article slips across the line into prescription, but by and large the task is descriptive. The idea is to clear the way so that later normative work can proceed against the backdrop of a far more accurate understanding of the system of American constitutionalism.

This article proceeds in three separate parts. Parts I and II …

Evidence: Indiana Moves Toward Adoption Of The Federal Rules, Ivan E. Bodensteiner

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Judicial Conduct

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Identifying, Protecting And Preserving Individual Rights: Traditional Federal Court Functions, Roger J. Miner '56

Constitutional Law

No abstract provided.

Cause For Cautious Celebration: Hungarian Post-Communist Environmental Reform, Karen S. Libertiny

Michigan Journal of International Law

In October 1989, the Hungarian Communist regime collapsed and was replaced by a democratic government. This new government was confronted with a visible and grave concern: environmental degradation. In just three years, the new Hungarian government, sometimes of its own impetus, sometimes at the prodding of environmentalists and foreign governments, has taken tremendous steps toward establishing palpable environmental legislation. More importantly, it has created an administrative and information-gathering infrastructure capable of sustaining a cohesive system of environmental protection initiatives. Although the path to further progress is littered with obstacles, this East European country has proven itself a worthy warrior in …

Explorations At The Edge Of Time: The Prospects For World Order, Catherine Tinker

Michigan Journal of International Law

Review of the book by Richard A. Falk.

Disagreement And Interpretation, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Rule Of Law And The Politics Of Fear, Richard F. Devlin Frsc

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In this essay, I employ the methodology of narrative jurisprudence to develop briefly some critical reflections on the nature and function of law in Northern Ireland, and in so doing to give voice to what bell hooks has called a "subjugated knowledge". In order to achieve this goal I will draw upon the interdisciplinary insights of neo-marxist, feminist and critical political and social theory, and psychoanalysis. In Part II, I will interpret my own experiences of law in Northern Ireland through the adumbration of neo-Marxist inspired theory of the nature and function of law in a western liberal democratic society. …

Bringing Law To Sentencing, David Boerner

Faculty Articles

This article outlines the evolution of sentencing standards over the years. It identifies several key events in the progression toward a more lawful approach to sentencing.

Clerks In The Maze, Pierre Schlag

Publications

No abstract provided.