Constitutional Law Commons^™

Political And Non-Political Speech And Guns, Gregory P. Magarian

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Deliberative-Privacy Principle: Abortion, Free Speech, And Religious Freedom, B. Jessie Hill

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Epistemic Function Of Fusing Equal Protection And Due Process, Deborah Hellman

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The fusion of equal protection and due process has attracted significant attention with scholars offering varied accounts of its purpose and function. Some see the combination as productive, creating a constitutional violation that neither clause would generate alone. Others see the combination as merely strategic, offered to make a claim acceptable at a particular historical moment but not genuinely necessary. This Article offers a third alternative. Judges have and should bring both equal protection and due process together to learn what each clause independently requires. On this Epistemic vision of constitutional fusion, a focus on equality helps judges learn what …

Four Responses To Constitutional Overlap, Michael Coenen

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Sometimes government action implicates more than one constitutional right. For example, a prohibition on religious expression might be said to violate both the Free Speech Clause and the Free Exercise Clause, a rule regarding same-sex marriage might be said to violate both equal protection and substantive due process, an exercise of the eminent domain power might be said to violate both procedural due process and the Takings Clause, a disproportionate criminal sentence based on judge-found facts might be said to violate both the defendant’s right to trial by jury and that defendant’s right against cruel and unusual punishment, and so …

Doctrinal Dynamism, Borrowing, And The Relationship Between Rules And Rights, Joseph Blocher, Luke Morgan

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The study of “Rights Dynamism,” exemplified in Timothy Zick’s new book on the First Amendment’s relationship with the rest of the Bill of Rights, can enrich our understanding of constitutional rights. It also opens a door to another potentially fruitful arena: what we call “Doctrinal Dynamism.” Constitutional rights often interact and generate new meanings and applications by way of importing and exporting one another’s doctrinal rules, even when the rights themselves do not intersect directly in the context of a single case. Focusing on these doctrinal exchanges can illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of various rules, the specific interests underlying …

The Conscience Of The Baker: Religion And Compelled Speech, Ashutosh Bhagwat

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Daniel Pule And Others V Attorney General And Others Selected Judgment No. 60 Of 2018, James Kayula

SAIPAR Case Review

No abstract provided.

Is The Establishment Clause Asymmetrical?, Sam Foer

Senior Honors Projects

Through numerous Establishment Clause cases, the Supreme Court has concluded that when public educators promote or denigrate religious views in the K-12 classroom, they violate the First Amendment. The Court has found that the protection of ‘freedom of conscience’ is embedded in the purpose of the Establishment Clause, which applies most strictly to the public school setting. This is because the sphere of conscience is most vulnerable to invasion in developing minds, and children are in a captive environment at school - they cannot escape from State instruction. Thus, states, school systems, and teachers who impose their religious beliefs onto …

The New Maternity, Courtney Megan Cahill

Scholarly Publications

Constitutional law has long assumed that mothers andfathers are fundamentally different. Maternity, that law posits, is certain, obvious, and monolithic - consolidated in an easily identifiable person who is at once a biological, social, and legal parent. Paternity, in contrast, is construed as uncertain, nonobvious, relative, and often unclear. Over time, constitutional law has grown more insistent about the obviousness of motherhood. It also has cemented its idea of maternity into a fundamental principle of sex equality law that applies in settings - like transgender rights - that have nothing to do with certain mothers and uncertain fathers.

Constitutional law's …

Chishimba Kambwili V Attorney General 2019/Cc/009, O'Brien Kaaba, Pamela T. Sambo

SAIPAR Case Review

The Constitutional Court on 18th February 2020 rendered its judgment in the case of Chishimba Kambwili v Attorney General 2019/CCZ/009. The petitioner, then an estranged Member of Parliament for the ruling Patriotic Front (PF), had his seat declared vacant in February 2019 by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Patrick Matibini, on the ground that by acting as a consultant for an opposition party (under which he was not elected to Parliament), he had crossed the floor.

The Constitutional Court found the action of the Speaker to have been unconstitutional as the office is not vested with power to interpret …

Federalism And The Military Power Of The United States, Robert Leider

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article examines the original meaning of the constitutional provisions governing the raising and organization of military forces. It argues that the Framers carefully divided the military between the federal and state governments. This division provided structural checks against the misuse of military power and made it more difficult to use offensive military force. These structural checks have been compromised by the creation of the U.S. Army Reserve, the dual enlistment of National Guard officers and soldiers, and the acceptance of conscription into the national army, all of which have enhanced federal military power beyond its original constitutional limits.

This …

Intended Injury: Transferred Intent And Reliance In Climate Change Fraud, Wes Henricksen

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Masterpiece's Equal Treatment Of The Religious And Expressive Freedoms Under The First Amendment, Hwi Won Kim

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims at examining the validity of free speech claims for religious exemptions on the one hand and reviewing the Masterpiece Court's holdings on the current complex entanglement of religious exemption theories, on the other hand; and finally, it also provides a possible suggestion for co-existing between two constitutional values without an all-or-nothing solution.

As to the free speech argument, the Court would likely decide that a compelled speech argument should succeed if, and only if, the vendor’s good or service is expressive under the Free Speech Clause. For a baker, the Court would protect making a custom cake …

Diploma Privilege And The Constitution, Claudia Angelos, Sara Berman, Mary Lu Bilek, Carol Chomsky, Andrea A. Curcio, Marsha Griggs, Joan W. Howarth, Eileen Kaufman, Deborah Jones Merritt, Patricia E. Salkin, Judith Wegner

SMU Law Review Forum

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdowns are affecting every aspect of society. The legal profession and the justice system have been profoundly disrupted at precisely the time when there is an unprecedented need for legal services to deal with a host of legal issues generated by the pandemic, including disaster relief, health law, insurance, labor law, criminal justice, domestic violence, and civil rights. The need for lawyers to address these issues is great but the prospect of licensing new lawyers is challenging due to the serious health consequences of administering the bar examination during the pandemic.

State Supreme Courts are …

Executive Privilege - With A Catch: How A Crime-Fraud Exception To Executive Privilege Would Facilitate Congressional Oversight Of Executive Branch Malfeasance In Accordance With The Constitution's Separation Of Powers, Anthony W. Wassef

Cornell Law Review

A crime-fraud exception to assertions of executive privilege in response to congressional subpoenas would help level the playing field between the two branches in those moments when Congress is most needed to serve as a check and balance on the executive branch. A crime-fraud exception would signal to executive branch officials that executive privilege will not conceal their malfeasance; would counteract hyperpartisanship as a force that insulates executive branch officials from the consequences of their actions; and would rein in the expansive reach of protective assertions of executive privilege. For years, Congress has surrendered power to the executive branch. A …

Can We Have Our Cake And Eat It Too?: What Masterpiece Cakeshop And Religious Refusals Mean For Texas’S Adoption Bill, Nadeen Abou-Hossa

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

The Common Law As A Force For Women, Bridget J. Crawford

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This essay introduces a collection of Symposium Essays examining Anita Bernstein's book, The Common Law Inside the Female Body (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Professor Bernstein explores the common law's recognition of both rights and liberties, highlighting in particular negative liberties such as the right to be left undisturbed. The Symposium Essays test and explore Professor Bernstein's thesis as applied to the right to be free from rape and unwanted pregnancies. Grounded in perspectives informed by the study of tort law, legal history, intellectual property, constitutional law, and critical race theory, these Essays--together with Professor Bernstein's book--suggest that the common law …

The Canadian Anti-Doping Program And The Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, Kate Scallion

LLM Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP) and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. First, the CADP is explored in depth, including the origins of anti-doping in Canada generally, how Canada's anti-doping regime aligns with international anti-doping regimes, and how the CADP functions in practice. Next, whether or not the Charter applies to the CADP is analyzed, looking at whether the administrator of the CADP, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (CCES), meets the criteria of a "government actor," as well as determining if the CADP itself would be considered a government action and thus …

George Peter Mwanza And Melvin Beene V Attorney General Appeal No. 153/2016 Sc Selected Judgment No. 33 Of 2019, Ellah T.M. Siang’Andu

SAIPAR Case Review

On the 9th December 2019, the Supreme Court of Zambia delivered a landmark decision changing the human rights jurisprudence in the context of protecting and preserving the fundamental human rights of prisoners. The appellants were HIV positive and were both in custody at the Lusaka Central Prison. They petitioned the High Court contending breach of their rights to life and protection from inhuman treatment contrary to the Republican Constitution. The argument of the appellants was that the State’s failure to consider their dietary and health needs, due to the budgetary and logistical restraints, fell short of all prescribed standards for …

Law Association Of Zambia And Chapter One Foundation Limited V Attorney General 2019/Ccz/0013/0014, Pamela T. Sambo, O'Brien Kaaba

SAIPAR Case Review

The Constitutional Court of Zambia on 29th November 2019 rendered its highly anticipated (abridged) judgment in the case of Law Association of Zambia and Chapter One Foundation Limited v Attorney General 2019/CCZ/0013/0014. In June 2019 the Minister of Justice introduced into the National Assembly the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 10 (generally referred to as Bill 10) intended to extensively amend the Constitution. The Bill had been criticized by many stakeholders as it is seen as an attempt to enhance executive powers and undermine constitutionalism. In August 2019, the Law Association of Zambia and Chapter One Foundation Limited commenced …