Constitutional Law Commons^™

By Any Other Name: Rational Basis Inquiry And The Federal Government's Fiduciary Duty Of Care, Gary S. Lawson, Guy I. Seidman

Faculty Scholarship

Under modern law, federal legislation is subject to “rational basis review” under the doctrinal rubric of “substantive due process.” That construction of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause is notoriously difficult to justify as a matter of original constitutional meaning. Something very similar to substantive due process, however, is easily justifiable as a matter of original constitutional meaning once one understands that the Constitution, for interpretative purposes, is best seen as a kind of fiduciary instrument. Fiduciary instruments operate against a background of legal norms that notably include a duty of care on the part of agents. All federal actors …

Confronting Crawford: Justice Scalia, The Judicial Method, And The Adjudicative Limits Of Originalism, Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

If you conduct an online search for something like “Justice Scalia’s most important opinions” or “Justice Scalia’s most influential opinions,” you will (or at least I did) almost always end up with a list that is top-heavy with dissents. That is not surprising. Dissenting opinions gave Justice Antonin Scalia the most freedom to exercise his considerable skills as a writer and were therefore more likely to produce memorable one-liners. They were also the best occasions for him to express his views can­didly and forcefully and thus served as the best vehicles for elaboration of his jurisprudential and doctrinal positions. Majority …

Original Foreign Affairs Federalism, Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

Two of the most doctrinally bewildering topics in American constitutional law are federalism and foreign affairs. Put the two together and it requires the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon to navigate, never mind make sense of, the judicial and political accommodations that have arisen over the course of more than two centuries concerning the relative roles of the national, state, and local governments in matters that implicate American involvement with foreign countries and citizens. I will not go so far as to say that Mike Glennon and Rob Sloane’s new book, Foreign Affairs Federalism: The Myth of …

R. V. Safarzadeh-Markhali: Elements And Implications Of The Supreme Court's New Rigorous Approach To Construction Of Statutory Purpose, Marcus Moore

All Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Safarzadeh-Markhali holds great significance, beyond Criminal Law, in the area of Statutory Interpretation: in Markhali, the Court decisively endorses a new rigorous approach to construing legislative purpose. Previously, while legislation itself was long-interpreted utilizing rigorous approaches, legislative purpose was typically construed ad hoc while providing only summary justification. Markhali’s new framework is distinct from prior approaches in at least four ways: (1) It expressly acknowledges the critical importance of purpose construction in many cases; (2) It is conscious of how a less-than-rigorous approach risks being self-defeating of larger legal analyses in which the …

Telling Stories In The Supreme Court: Voices Briefs And The Role Of Democracy In Constitutional Deliberation, Linda H. Edwards

Scholarly Works

On January 4, 2016, over 112 women lawyers, law professors, and former judges told the world that they had had an abortion. In a daring amicus brief that captured national media attention, the women “came out” to their clients; to the lawyers with or against whom they practice; to the judges before whom they appear; and to the Justices of the Supreme Court.

The past three years have seen an explosion of such “voices briefs,” 16 in Obergefell and 17 in Whole Woman’s Health. The briefs can be powerful, but their use is controversial. They tell the stories of non-parties—strangers …

The Due Process Bona Fides Of Executive Self-Pardons And Blanket Pardons, Peter Brandon Bayer

Scholarly Works

Contrary to much commentary and possibly some seemingly settled law, this essay argues that an American President (or a similarly situated state officer or office) may issue individual and "blanket"-or mass-clemency benefiting classes of named or unnamed individuals, and in addition may pardon himself, but only if doing so comports with the principles of fundamental fairness that define due process of law under the Constitution's Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Accordingly, the Constitution permits acts of clemency to foster mercy, compassion, and forgiveness, or to promote the purported best interests of the nation, or even to further an executive's political advantages, …

Deontological Originalism: Moral Truth, Liberty, And, Constitutional Due Process: Part I - Originalism And Deontology, Peter Brandon Bayer

Scholarly Works

This article offers what has been needed but lacking in modern legal commentary: thorough, meticulous and timely proof that, pursuant to principles of Originalism, the Constitution - the highest law of the United States - mandates that any governmental act is unconstitutional if it is immoral.

Specifically, this article returns fundamental constitutional jurisprudence to where it rightly was until roughly a century ago; and, where, recently, it has been returning in the form of Supreme Court substantive due process precedents based on human dignity. The overarching concept, which I call Deontological Originalism, asserts that both the Founders of this Nation …

Deontological Originalism: Moral Truth, Liberty, And, Constitutional Due Process: Part Ii - Deontological Constitutionalism And The Ascendency Of Kantian Due Process, Peter Brandon Bayer

Scholarly Works

This article offers what has been needed but lacking in modern legal commentary: thorough, meticulous and timely proof that, pursuant to principles of Originalism, the Constitution - the highest law of the United States - mandates that any governmental act is unconstitutional if it is immoral.

Specifically, this article returns fundamental constitutional jurisprudence to where it rightly was until roughly a century ago; and, where, recently, it has been returning in the form of Supreme Court substantive due process precedents based on human dignity. The overarching concept, which I call Deontological Originalism, asserts that both the Founders of this Nation …

The Prisonization Of America's Public Schools, Maryam Ahranjani

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Justice Scalia, The Establishment Clause, And Christian Privilege, Caroline Mala Corbin

Articles

No abstract provided.

Social Media Accountability For Terrorist Propaganda, Alexander Tsesis

Faculty Publications & Other Works

Terrorist organizations have found social media websites to be invaluable for disseminating ideology, recruiting terrorists, and planning operations. National and international leaders have repeatedly pointed out the dangers terrorists pose to ordinary people and state institutions. In the United States, the federal Communications Decency Act's § 230 provides social networking websites with immunity against civil law suits. Litigants have therefore been unsuccessful in obtaining redress against internet companies who host or disseminate third-party terrorist content. This Article demonstrates that § 230 does not bar private parties from recovery if they can prove that a social media company had received complaints …

12/29/2016: Doing The Right Thing/Doing The Wrong Thing, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Doing the Right Thing/Doing the Wrong Thing“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Separation Of Church And State Or Disparate Treatment? An Analysis Of The Religious Freedom And Discrimination Concerns In Trinity Lutheran Church Of Columbia, Inc. V. Pauley, Michael Petherick

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Roe V. Wade: The Case That Changed Democracy, Adam Lamparello, Cynthia Swann

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Bad, The Ugly, And The Uglier: How Fear And Misconceptions Are Flushing Away Equal Rights And Treatment For Transgender People, Laura Falco

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

Our country has gone through multiple social changes over the years, and now we find ourselves in the middle of another change—one involving the transgender community. This community is and has been continuously fighting for equal rights and treatment. It is 2016 and the fight for equal rights in our country is at a tipping point. A tip in one direction would constitute a huge step in the fight for equal rights, but a tip in the other direction could result in unprecedented effects on transgender individuals and the rest of the LGBTQ community. The LGBTQ community just wants the …

Unraveling The Inequitable Nature Of The Model Minority: Asian-Americans Deserve Affirmative Action, Christopher Atlee F. Arcitio

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

12/25/2016: Christmas, 2016—Secular Hope, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Christmas, 2016—Secular Hope“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

December 20, 2016: Faithless Calls For Faithless Electors, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Faithless Calls for Faithless Electors“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Difficult Questions For The Senate Minority, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

This column is the first in a biweekly Constitutional Connections series that will examine the constitutional implications of various topics in the news. The author, John Greabe, teaches constitutional law and related subject at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He also serves on the board of trustees of the New Hampshire Institute for Civics Education.

December 17, 2016: I Don't Understand Charles Krauthammer, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “I Don't Understand Charles Krauthammer“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.