Constitutional Law Commons^™

The Fragility Of The Free American Press, Ronnell Andersen Jones, Sonja R. West

Northwestern University Law Review

President Donald Trump has faced criticism for attacking the press and for abandoning longstanding traditions of accommodating and respecting it. This Essay argues that the national discussion spurred by Trump’s treatment of the press has fallen short of capturing the true seriousness of the situation. Trump’s assault on the custom of press accommodation follows a generation-long collapse of other major press protections. In order to fully understand the critical juncture at which American press freedom now stands, we must expand the discussion beyond talk of a rogue president’s aberrant attacks on the press and consider the increasingly fragile edifice on …

November 29, 2017: The Acting Director And The Rule Of Law, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Acting Director and the Rule of Law“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Conant V. Walters: A Misapplication Of Free Speech Rights In The Doctor-Patient Relationship, Katharine M. Mccarthy

Maine Law Review

In Conant v. Walters, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the application of the First Amendment's right of free speech to a federal policy that prohibited the recommendation of medical marijuana by physicians. This class action suit, brought by physicians and severely ill patients, successfully enjoined the federal government from enforcing its policy revoking the federal prescriptive licenses of physicians who recommend or approve of marijuana use by patients suffering from certain severe illnesses. The federal government's policy, issued in 1996 through a statement of Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control …

Sexual Misconduct And Congressional Self-Governance, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] "Over the past year, a number of prominent politicians (including President Donald Trump) have been publicly accused of serious sexual misconduct and abuse of power. The question therefore has arisen: Can these politicians either be barred from taking office or removed from office on the basis of these accusations?

There is only way to remove a sitting president: impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate. But the topic of impeaching and removing a president warrants its own column. This column will instead focus on what Congress may do when its members and members-elect face charges …

An Examination Of The Instruction Of Religion Clause Issues In Massachusetts Teacher Education Programs, Matthew E. Henry

Educational Studies Dissertations

The prevailing research, as well as reported complaints of academic, civic, personal, and social harm, indicates that public school teachers do not exhibit the professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes grounded in the religion clauses of the U.S. Constitution. This study investigated how TEPs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts document their instruction of preservice teachers on religion clause issues as they apply to grade 6-12 content area pedagogy, curriculum, and professional ethos. The institutional documents presented to preservice teachers were collected from four teacher education programs in the Commonwealth. An evaluation tool— synthesized from the leading scholarship and research on the …

November 23, 2017: David Brooks Gets The Need For Hallowed Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “David Brooks Gets the Need for Hallowed Secularism“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Collins V. State, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 88 (Nov. 22, 2017), Casey Lee

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The court determined that (1) the district court may constitutionally remove a criminal defendant from the courtroom for disrupting courtroom procedure, (2) a defendant does not have the right to appear at trial in shackles, (3) testimony about a detective’s investigation leading to the defendant’s arrest is not opinion about the defendant’s guilt, (4) the district court may decide not to instruct a jury on a lesser-included offense if no evidence on the record establishes an element of that offense, and (5) a specific cause of death is not required to find that a person’s death was caused by criminal …

Unmasking The Teen Cyberbully: A First Amendment-Compliant Approach To Protecting Child Victims Of Anonymous, School-Related Internet Harassment, Benjamin A. Holden

Akron Law Review

In proposing a new rule under the First Amendment to adjudicate anonymous Cyberbullying cases, this Article first reviews and summarizes the First Amendment precedents governing regulation of speech by minors and student speech in the school environment. Second, it reviews and discusses the prevalence of minors’ online harassment or Cyberbullying, including pre-litigation disputes reported in the press. Third, it reviews and summarizes the First Amendment precedents governing the “unmasking” of anonymous speakers. Finally, the Cyberbully Unmasking Test is proposed and applied.

Church Liability For Clergy Sexual Abuse: Have Time And Events Overthrown Swanson V. Roman Catholic Bishop Of Portland?, Sonia J. Buck

Maine Law Review

In Swanson v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, Albert and Ruth Swanson sued their former pastor, Father Maurice Morin, after the couple's marriage counseling sessions with Father Morin led to a sexual relationship between Father Morin and Mrs. Swanson. The Swansons brought claims against Father Morin for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent pastoral counseling. They also sued the Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, a corporation, and Bishop Joseph Gerry in his personal capacity (collectively referred to as the “Church”) for negligence in selecting, training, and supervising Father Morin. The Maine Superior Court dismissed the claims against …

Mediated Images Of Violence And The First Amendment: From Video Games To The Evening News, Clay Calvert, Robert D. Richards

Maine Law Review

In July 2004, a federal district court struck down, on First Amendment grounds, a Washington state law that restricted minors' access to video games containing “realistic or photographic-like depictions of aggressive conflict in which the player kills, injures, or otherwise causes physical harm to a human form in the game who is depicted, by dress or other recognizable symbols, as a public law enforcement officer.” The decision was anything but surprising. It followed in the footsteps of recent opinions issued by two federal appellate courts that held unconstitutional similar legislation regulating minors' access to fictional images of violence in video …

What Got Into The Court? What Happens Next?, Linda Greenhouse

Maine Law Review

We are now in the midst of an amazing Supreme Court term--more than half-way through on the calendar, far short of halfway through in terms of what has yet to be decided. It's been a roller-coaster term of sorts, beginning with the highly unusual early-September argument in the campaign finance case, followed by a rather quiet fall and winter, and then ending with an April sitting during which the Court will consider, in the context of the country's response to terrorism, cases that are likely to go quite far to define for the modern age the meaning of citizenship and, …

November 21, 2017: The Revenge Of Ruth Ann Dailey, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Revenge of Ruth Ann Dailey“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Protests In Peril, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

November 18, 2017: Resurrecting Truth At Duquesne University School Of Law, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Resurrecting Truth at Duquesne University School of Law“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Educational Equality For Children With Disabilities: The 2016 Term Cases, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Book Chapters

One of the most longstanding debates in educational policy pits the goal of equality against the goal of adequacy: Should we aim to guarantee that all children receive an equal education? Or simply that they all receive an adequate education? The debate is vexing in part because there are many ways to specify “equality” and “adequacy.” Are we talking about equality of inputs (which inputs?), equality of opportunity (to achieve what?), or equality of results (which results?)? Douglas Rae and his colleagues famously argued that there are no fewer than 108 structurally distinct conceptions of equality. And how do we …

Contra Scalia, Thomas, And Gorsuch: Originalists Should Adopt A Living Constitution, R. Randall Kelso

University of Miami Law Review

Two main approaches appear in the popular literature on constitutional interpretation: originalism and non-originalism. An originalist approach refers back to some aspect of the framers’ and ratifiers’ intent or action to justify a decision. A non-originalist approach bases the goal of constitutional interpretation in part on consideration of some justification independent of the framers’ and ratifiers’ intent or action.

What is often unappreciated in addressing the question of whether to adopt an originalist or non-originalist approach to constitutional interpretation is the complication that emerges if one concludes that the framing and ratifying generation believed in the model of a living …

@Potus: Rethinking Presidential Immunity In The Time Of Twitter, Douglas B. Mckechnie

University of Miami Law Review

President Donald Trump’s use of Twitter portends a turning point in presidential communication. His Tweets animate his base and enrage his opponents. Tweets, however, like any form of communication, can ruin reputations. In Nixon v. Fitzgerald, the Supreme Court determined that a president retains absolute immunity for all actions that fall within the “outer perimeter” of his official duties. This Article explores the “outer perimeter” of presidential immunity. It suggests the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments inform the demarcation of the “outer perimeter,” and that when a president engages in malicious defamation, his speech falls outside this perimeter and …

The Constitutionality Of Polygamy Prohibitions After Lawrence V. Texas: Is Scalia A Punchline Or A Prophet?, Joseph Bozzuti

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Finding Marriage Amidst A Sea Of Confusion: A Precursor To Considering The Public Purposes Of Marriages, Randy Lee

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Shh! State Legislators Bite Your Tongues: Semantics Dictates The Constitutionality Of Public School "Moment Of Silence" Statutes, Elizabeth Anne Walsh

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.