Constitutional Law Commons^™

The Constitution Without Tears, Gene Carter

Maine Law Review

The coming plethora of Bicentennial speeches and activities are intended to provide occasions for public figures and private persons to say something helpful to a current and realistic understanding of the role of the Constitution in our daily lives; and, hopefully, something at least modestly expository of our duties as citizens of American constitutional democracy.

The Afro-American And The Constitution: Colonial Times To The Present, James L. Watson

Maine Law Review

The theme of this essay is the Afro-American and the Constitution: Colonial Times to the Present. When I was told about this theme, my first reaction was to follow the advice of the famous black philosopher, Satchel Paige, who said, "Don't look back because what is behind you might be catching up." My discipline, however, forced me to look back at the Constitution and particularly how it has affected black Americans.

A Commemorative, Eric Robert Herlan Editor-In-Chief

Maine Law Review

In this issue the Maine Law Review joins in the national celebration of the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. Three distinguished federal judges, all of whom are intimately familiar with that great document, have kindly contributed essays to the Review based on speeches they have earlier given for the Bicentennial. We are happy to present these essays, each of which has an important perspective on the Constitution, as our commemorative on this special occasion.

A Genealogy Of Founders, Frank M. Coffin

Maine Law Review

Two hundred years ago this spring George Washington wrote to our fellow Mainer, General Henry Knox, that because of the illness of his mother he would not be able to attend the Philadelphia Convention. If her health had not speedily improved, we might have had quite a different kind of Bicentennial, for both Washington and Benjamin Franklin, though largely silent in the debates, were palpable sources of strength. As it is, we have the happy occasion to celebrate what Everett Ladd has called "the expression of a nation-defining consensus on political values," our nationalizing principle, the one supreme bond linking …

Interstate Commerce And Personal Jurisdiction In Flux: A Critical Analysis Of Mallory V. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. And Its Effects On Business Litigation, Mairi Cooley

University of Miami Business Law Review

This Note examines the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., advocating for legislative intervention by Congress to mitigate its adverse effects on interstate commerce. The Court revived a pre-International Shoe v. Washingtonprecedent, validating a Pennsylvania statute that imposes general personal jurisdiction on non-resident businesses registered in the state. Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion, supported by a diverse coalition of Justices, underscored the constitutionality of the statute under the Due Process Clause, with Justice Jackson emphasizing the principle of jurisdictional waiver via business registration. Conversely, Justice Alito’s concurrence, while agreeing on …

Document Subpoenas And The Moral Dilemma At The Heart Of The Privilege Against Self Incrimination, John W. Nields Jr.

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Article will show that document subpoenas will nearly always compel “testimony.” This is so because the subpoena recipient is legally required to disclose to the party issuing the subpoena each and every document she has that is called for by the subpoena; and because, as Wigmore points out, the party issuing the subpoena will get the incriminating documents it seeks only if the subpoena recipient responds truthfully, disclosing every such incriminating document she has. And this means that the subpoena is compelling “testimony.”

That is the core teaching of the Hubbell decision in which the Court cites …

Venality: A Strangely Practical History Of Unremovable Offices And Limited Executive Power, Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Notre Dame Law Review

The Roberts Court has asserted that Article II’s “executive power” implied an “indefeasible” or unconditional presidential removal power. In response to counterevidence from the Founding era, unitary executive theorists have claimed a “British Backdrop” of a general removal power under the English Crown and European “executive power.” These assumptions are incorrect.

This Article shows that many powerful executive officers through the late eighteenth century, especially high English Treasury offices and even “department heads” in the cabinet, were unremovable. A long common law tradition protected many English offices as freehold property rights. Moreover, this Article explains why it was widely understood …

The Trouble With Classifications, Aziz Z. Huq

Notre Dame Law Review

The Supreme Court relies increasingly on anticlassification rules to implement the Constitution’s various commands of evenhanded state treatment. These rules direct attention to whether an instance of a forbidden classification is present on the face of a challenged law. They contain two necessary steps. First, a court defines a general category of impermissible terms. Second, a court ascertains whether an instance of the category is found in enacted text—so triggering the familiar strict scrutiny analysis. So defined, anticlassification rules now dominate equal protection, free speech, “dormant” Commerce Clause, and even free exercise jurisprudence. The Roberts Court celebrates these doctrinal tests …

The Lost History Of Judicial Restraint, Derek A. Webb

Notre Dame Law Review

For over 125 years, jurists and scholars who have championed judicial restraint have looked back to James Bradley Thayer’s 1893 Harvard Law Review article, The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional Law, as the seminal authority for the rule that courts should presume the constitutionality of a challenged law and only invalidate it if its unconstitutionality is “clear” and “beyond a reasonable doubt.” But Thayer presented those three rules (presumption of constitutionality, clear error rule, and reasonable doubt standard) as rooted in historical legal practice in America. And yet none of his twentieth or twenty-first century …

A Uniform Choice? Esas And The State Right To Education, Hadiah C. Mabry

Notre Dame Law Review

Education savings accounts (ESAs) are on the rise. Just since 2023, ESAs have been on the legislative docket in Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Montana, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, and Wyoming, with ESAs already active in eleven other states. These programs provide funds directly to parents on a per-child basis which can be used on any number of educational pursuits. While ESAs are relatively young in the world of school choice, they are also the natural outgrowth of a greater push toward educational freedom for parents. They join the ranks of more established programs like school vouchers, tax credits, and charter schools.

Unlike …

Roving Extraterritoriality: The Murky Doctrine On State Laws Regulating Absent Citizens, Leo Schlueter

Notre Dame Law Review

It is generally agreed that sovereigns have the power to punish the crimes of their citizens abroad, at least in some situations. But sovereigns rarely exercise this power, and its contours are not well understood. This is especially true in the context of American federalism. It is unclear to what degree states have retained their sovereign extraterritorial powers, and the Supreme Court has never had occasion to fully explain their limits. Recent political developments, however, make it plausible that the question will soon arise. This Note attempts to provide some insight into the future debate over state criminal extraterritorial jurisdiction …

Teaching Dobbs: On The Role Of Ideology In Constitutional Interpretation, Steven J. Heyman

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Imperfect Protection Against Perfect Enforcement: When Procedure Is Not Enough, William S. Fallon

Connecticut Law Review

Government technology that exclusively detects illegal conduct is per se constitutional. Today, the Fourth Amendment provides no protection—zero—against government technology that identifies illegality without also revealing private, innocent behavior.

Meanwhile, alarmingly, government is rapidly developing—and deploying— technology that bypasses the need to examine private, innocent behavior in its detection of wrongdoing. Government can know there is contraband in your bedroom drawer without the need to rummage through that drawer, your home, or any of your private information and possessions. Government can know there is illegal content on your phone without the need to search through that phone or any of …

Teaching Constitutional Law In A Crisis Of Judicial Legitimacy, William Baude

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

On Teaching Constitutional Law: Challenges And Opportunities, Christopher W. Schmidt

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Teaching Constitutional Change, Carolyn Shapiro

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

From Constitutional Law To Constitutional Change, Steven D. Schwinn

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Power To The People: Finding Solutions To Partisan Gerrymandering In A Post-Rucho World Through Independent Redistricting Commissions, Paul T. Ansani

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You? Assessing The Damage Associated With The Rise Of Reality Tv Policing And Proposing Avenues For Accountability And Reform, Danielle Taylor

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Teaching Law Amidst Convulsive Doctrinal Change, Harold J. Krent

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.