Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sacrificing Legislative Integrity At The Altar Of Appropriations Riders: A Constitutional Crisis, Sandi Zellmer

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

The technique of appending substantive provisions to appropriations bills has become a favorite tool of the legislative trade in recent years. Congress has employed appropriations riders to dictate the outcome of public policy issues ranging from abortion to oil development in pristine wilderness areas. Riders have been used with particularly destructive effect to circumvent long-standing environmental policies, especially those involving the use of natural resources and public lands. In many cases, the policies affected were the result of decades of activity in Congress and in the courts, and retain broad public and legislative support. Appropriations riders have also allowed these …

Third Circuit Holds That Prayer At Graduation Is Unconstitutional Even If It Results From A Student Vote, Richard E. Moberly

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

Despite the Supreme Court's 1992 holding in Lee v. Weisman that state-sponsored prayer during a public school graduation ceremony violates the Establishment Clause, the issue of graduation prayer has recently resurfaced. Seeking to avoid Lee's prohibition, school boards have allowed students to decide by majority vote whether prayer will occur at graduation. The Third Circuit recently held, however, that these state-authorized student referenda regarding prayer violate the Establishment Clause. In ACLU v. Black Horse Pike Regional Board of Education, the court properly recognized the danger that popular votes could pose to the protections of the Establishment Clause, yet …

Searching For Pareto Gains In The Relationship Between Free Trade And Federalism: Revisiting The Nafta, Eyeing The Ftaa, Matthew Schaefer

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

Is devolution of power to sub-national governments by the constitution of federal states or by delegation in other nations a threat to maximizing the benefits of free trade within the Americas? Conversely, is the drive towards regional free trade a threat to the goals of federalism and decentralization? These are two of the many questions that arise in revisiting NAFTA and eyeing the successful creation of a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) by the year 2005, an initiative launched by thirty-four nations within the region in December 1994.

Part I of this Article first defines federalism and distinguishes …

Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase: Comparison Of The Enzyme From Mammalian And Bacterial Sources, Christal A. Sheppard, James S. Sumner, Phillipe Goyette, Phyllis Frosst, Rima Rozen, Rowena G. Matthews

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase catalyzes the reduction of methylenetetrahydrofolate to methyltetrahydrofolate, which serves as the methyl donor for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine in the reaction catalyzed by methionine synthase. Recent studies have provided evidence for association of a common polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase with elevated levels of blood homocysteine, a metabolite correlated with increased cardiovascular risk in humans. In this chapter, we review earlier studies on the properties of the mammalian enzyme, interpreting these observations in the light of the deduced amino acid sequence for the human enzyme. The catalytic portion of the human enzyme shows significant sequence homologies with …

The Narrow And Shallow Bite Of Romer And The Eminent Rationality Of Dual-Gender Marriage: A (Partial) Response To Professor Koppleman, Richard F. Duncan

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court's opinion in Romer has a very narrow and shallow bite. It does not hold that homosexuals are a suspect or quasi-suspect class under the Equal Protection Clause. It does not overrule or undermine the Court's landmark decision in Bowers v. Hardwick."° It does not hold that moral disapproval of homosexual conduct is invidious or irrational, nor does it in any way state or imply-as Professor Koppelman asserts-that laws that discriminate against homosexuals are always "constitutionally doubtful ... because they will always arouse suspicion that they rest on a bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group."

The …

Wigstock And The Kulturkampf: Supreme Court Storytelling, The Culture War, And Romer V. Evans, Richard F. Duncan

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

It bears repeating that the Supreme Court's decision in Romer is of trivial doctrinal import. The Court did not recognize homosexuals as a suspect or quasi-suspect class, nor did it reverse or undermine its landmark decision in Bowers v. Hardwick. Moreover, the narrow holding of Romer suggests quite strongly that typical laws disadvantaging homosexuals--the military exclusion, the heterosexual paradigm of civil marriage, and perhaps even better-crafted and more narrow versions of Amendment 2--do not offend the Equal Protection Clause. These laws rationally advance legitimate government interests and should easily pass scrutiny under the rational basis test applied by the …