Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Contract Law And The Liberalism Of Fear, Nathan B. Oman

Faculty Publications

Liberalism’s concern with human freedom seems related to contractual freedom and thus contract law. There are, however, many strands of liberal thought and which of them best justifies contract is a difficult question. In The Choice Theory of Contracts, Hanoch Dagan and Michael Heller offer a vision of contract based on autonomy. Drawing on the work of Joseph Raz, they argue that extending autonomy should be the law’s primary concern, which requires that we extend the range of contractual choices available. While there is much to admire in their work, I argue that autonomy as conceived by Dagan and Heller …

The Challenges Of Gaming For Democratic Education: The Case Of Icivics, Jeremy D. Stoddard, Angela M. Banks, Christine L. Nemacheck, Elizabeth Wenska

Faculty Publications

Video games are the most recent technological advancement to be viewed as an educational panacea and a force for democracy. However, this medium has particular affordances and constraints as a tool for democratic education in educational environments. This paper presents results from a study of the design and content of four iCivics games and their potential to meet the goals of democratic education. Specifically, we focus on the games as designed experiences, the nature and accuracy of the content, and the nature of intellectual engagement in the games. We find that the games, while easily accessible and aligned with standardized …

Petitions, Privacy, And Political Obscurity, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

People who sign petitions must accept disclosure of their political views. This conclusion rests on the seemingly uncontroversial (if circular) premise that petition signing is a public activity. Courts have thus far shown little sympathy for individuals who take a public stand on an issue by signing a petition and then assert privacy claims after the fact. Democracy, after all, takes courage, as Justice Scalia wrote in the petitioning disclosure case Doe v. Reed. But signing a petition today brings consequences beyond public criticism. The real threat of disclosure for modern petition signers is not tangible harassment, but the loss …

The Senate: Out Of Order?, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

Faculty Publications

Due to the routine use of the filibuster and related devices, today’s Senate operates as a supermajoritarian body. This Symposium Article considers whether this supermajoritarian aspect of the Senate renders it dysfunctional and, if so, what can be done about it. I contend that the Senate is indeed broken. Its current supermajoritarian features have pernicious effects. Further, and contrary to the claims of many of the Senate’s defenders, this aspect of the Senate is not part of the original design. I go on to explain why the Senate’s procedures, despite their deficiencies, have nonetheless proven resistant to reform. The impediment …

Immature Citizens And The State, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

Citizens are born, but they are also made. How its citizens come to be—whether the educations they receive will expand or constrain their future options, whether the values they assimilate will encourage or dissuade their civic engagement, etc.—fundamentally concerns the state. Through the power it wields over a vast range of policymaking contexts, the state can significantly influence (or designate those who will influence) many of the formative experiences of young citizens. Young citizens’ accumulated experiences in turn can significantly influence the future mature citizens they will become. The state insufficiently considers the cumulative nature of its citizens’ development, however. …

Talk Loudly And Carry A Small Stick: The Supreme Court And Enemy Combatants, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Presidential Unilateralism And Political Polarization: Why Today's Congress Lacks The Will And The Way To Stop Presidential Initiatives, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Politique Partisane Et Indépendence Judiciare, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Active Sovereignty, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tom Delay: Popular Constitutionalist?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Moderating Politics In Post-Conflict States: An Examination Of Bosnia And Herzegovina, Angela M. Banks

Faculty Publications

The individuals who negotiated the peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina considered ethnicity to be the most salient division within Bosnian society. Consequently they organized Bosnia's political structure around ethnic representation. While it is doubtful that peace in Bosnia would have been possible without guarantees for ethnic-based political representation, such guarantees have proven insufficient for building a functioning, stable, and cohesive state. This article analyzes the role that Bosnia's political framework, which focuses exclusively on ethnic representation, has played in impeding the development of a significant cadre of moderate political actors and in hindering the success …

Are The States Sovereign?, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Constitutionality Of The Filibuster, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dignity: The New Frontier Of State Sovereignty, Scott Dodson

Faculty Publications

In Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority, the Supreme Court strongly articulated a new “dignity” rationale for state sovereign immunity. The article critiques this rationale and argues that it dissociates sovereign immunity from any constitutional grounding. However, in doing so, the rationale frees the Court to develop a more coherent theory of state sovereign immunity. The article explores how the dignity rationale might be used to develop such coherence.

Ethnic Federalism: Its Promise And Pitfalls For Africa, Alemante G. Selassie

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Federalism-Rights Nexus: Explaining Why Senate Democrats Tolerate Rehnquist Court Decision Making But Not The Rehnquist Court, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Misunderstood, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Court Administration As A Tool For Judicial Reform, Christie Warren

Faculty Publications

This paper focuses on court administration as a component of judicial branch reform in the United States and other countries.

Over the past fifty years, state and federal court systems in the United States have undergone a process of significant change. At the beginning of the twentieth century, courts were largely dependent upon the executive branch of government for administrative support and were for the most part externally dominated, disorganized, and poorly managed. By the end of the century, they had undergone a process of administrative innovation and improvement that changed the way they were managed. In other countries, judicial …

Norm Theory And The Future Of The Federal Appointments Process, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Carter, Reagan, And Khomeini: Presidential Transitions And International Law, Nancy Amoury Combs

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bearing False Witness: The Clinton Impeachment And The Future Of Academic Freedom, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Foreign Affairs Power -- The Massachusetts Burma Law Is Found To Encroach On The Federal Government's Exclusive Constitutional Authority To Regulate Foreign Affairs. -- National Foreign Trade Council V. Baker, 26 F. Supp. 2d 287 (D. Mass. 1998), Angela M. Banks

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

On Difference And Equality, Cynthia V. Ward

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Confirmation Mystery, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Through The Looking Glass: What Abortion Teaches Us About American Politics, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Limits Of "Liberal Republicanism": Why Group-Based Remedies And Republican Citizenship Don't Mix, Cynthia V. Ward

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Chernobyl Accident: A Case Study In International Law Regulating State Responsibility For Transboundary Nuclear Pollution, Linda A. Malone

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Kahan Report, Ariel Sharon And The Sabra-Shatilla Massacres In Lebanon: Responsibility Under International Law For Massacres Of Civilian Populations, Linda A. Malone

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Diminished Luster In Escambia County?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.