Constitutional Law Commons^™

Newsroom: Yelnosky On Passing Of Justice Scalia 02-24-2016, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

A Constitutional Right To Discovery? Creating And Reinforcing Due Process Norms Through The Procedural Laboratory Of Arbitration, Imre Stephen Szalai

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article explores an overlooked dynamic between arbitration and the more formal court system. As developed in more detail below, this article's thesis is that arbitration can help define and reinforce due process norms applicable in court, and a due process-like norm regarding discovery is beginning to develop. Courts often review arbitration agreements for fairness, and through this judicial review, courts have developed a body of law discussing and defining whether certain procedures (or the lack thereof) violate fairness norms in connection with the resolution of a particular dispute. Through this body of law exploring procedural fairness, one can identify …

February 21, 2016: So How Come Trump Is Still Around?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “So How Come Trump is Still Around?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Thomas A. Bowden, Petitioner V. Steve Meinberg, Et Al., Respondents: Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari, Patricia E. Roberts, Tillman J. Breckenridge

Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic

No abstract provided.

Newsroom: Margulies On Apple V. Fbi Standoff 02-18-2016, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Democratic Dissolution: Radical Experimentation In State Takeovers Of Local Governments, Michelle Wilde-Anderson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

While state interventions to stabilize the finances of struggling municipalities date back to the Great Depression, the current fiscal crisis has brought a startling escalation in the powers granted to state intervention authorities. Aptly observed by Abby Goodnough in The New York Times, cities and states have tried “myriad ways of righting their fiscal ships as the recession plods on,” but until very recently, “locking the mayor out of City Hall [was] generally not one of them.” In 2010 and 2011, Michigan and Rhode Island, which have been watched closely by other states, dramatically reformed their laws governing state receiverships …

Padilla V. Kentucky: Sound And Fury, Or Transformative Impact, Steven Zeidman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Realizing Padilla’S Promise: Ensuring Noncitizen Defendants Are Advised Of The Immigration Consequences Of A Criminal Conviction, Yolanda Vàzquez

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Will The Real Lawmakers Please Stand Up: Congressional Standing In Instances Of Presidential Nonenforcement, Bethany R. Pickett

Northwestern University Law Review

The Take Care Clause obligates the President to enforce the law. Yet increasingly, presidents use nonenforcement to unilaterally waive legislative provisions to serve their executive policy goals. In doing so, the President’s inaction takes the practical form of a congressional repeal—a task that is solely reserved for Congress under the Constitution. Presidential nonenforcement therefore usurps Congress’s unique responsibility in setting the national policy agenda.

This Note addresses whether Congress has standing to sue in instances of presidential nonenforcement to realign and reaffirm Congress’s unique legislative role. In answering this question, this Note examines legislative standing precedent and argues that the …

Opinions I Should Have Written, Judge Nancy Gertner (Ret.)

Northwestern University Law Review

In 1991, the Chicago law firm of Pope & John Ltd. established a lecture series at Northwestern University School of Law. The Pope & John Lecture on Professionalism focuses on the many dimensions of a lawyer’s professional responsibility, including legal ethics, public service, professional civility, pro bono representation, and standards of conduct. The Northwestern University Law Review is pleased to present the November 12, 2014 Pope & John Lecture by Judge Nancy Gertner.

The Curious Case Of Cell Phone Location Data: Fourth Amendment Doctrine Mash-Up, Monu Bedi

Northwestern University Law Review

Police surveillance ability and information gathering capacity have a dynamic relationship with technology. Greater advancements in technology make it easier for the police to surveil individuals and collect information. This state of affairs leads to heightened concerns over Fourth Amendment protection. This issue has most recently played out in the context of police collecting cell phone location data. Courts disagree on whether and to what extent this data garners Fourth Amendment protection. Underlying this disagreement rests a hitherto overlooked tension between two interrelated Fourth Amendment doctrines—the third-party and the public disclosure doctrines. While both vitiate privacy protection and are commonly …

February 16, 2016:Does The Constitution Protect The Right To Have More Than One Child?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Does the Constitution Protect the Right to Have More than One Child?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Domestic Violence And The Politics Of Self-Help, Elizabeth L. Macdowell

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Self-help programs are conceptualized as alternatives to attorney representation that can help both courts and unrepresented litigants. The rhetoric of self-help also typically includes empowering unrepresented individuals to help themselves. But how do self-help programs respond to litigants’ efforts at self-advocacy? This Article reports findings from a study of courthouse self-help programs assisting unrepresented litigants applying for protection orders. The central finding is that self-help staff members were not neutral in the provision of services despite a professed ethic of neutrality. Using the sociological concept of demeanor, this Article shows that staff members rewarded protection order applicants who conformed to …

The Administrative Constitution In Exile, Mila Sohoni

William & Mary Law Review

For decades, the aspiration of administrative law has been to develop legal structures that would constrain and legitimate the exercise of agency power. The fruition of that hope was the complex internal blueprint that has made modern administrative governance both successful and legitimate the framework for executive action that many have hailed as the administrative constitution. Today, however, novel exercises of administrative power are crowding out old and familiar varieties, making the conventional forms of administrative action less and less relevant to the conduct of government.

This Article examines how the administrative constitution has changed over time and how that …

Neutral Principles And Some Campaign Finance Problems, John O. Mcginnis

William & Mary Law Review

This Article has both positive and normative objectives. As a positive matter, it shows that the Roberts Court’s campaign finance regulation jurisprudence can be best explained as a systematic effort to integrate that case law with the rest of the First Amendment, making the neutral principles refined in other social contexts govern this more politically salient one as well. It demonstrates that the typical Roberts Court majority in campaign finance cases follows precedent, doctrine, and traditional First Amendment theory, while the dissents tend to carve out exceptions at each of these levels.

As a normative matter, it argues that following …

Newsroom: A True Original(Ist) 02-15-2016, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

February 14, 2016: Was Scalia A Great Justice?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Was Scalia a Great Justice?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Conservative Movement V. Be'er Sheva Religious Council, Elyakim Rubinstein, Miriam Naor, Salim Joubran

Translated Opinions

Facts: An appeal of an administrative judgment finding that there was no defect in the decision of the Beer Sheva Religious Council to prevent the Masorti (Conservative) Movement and the Movement for Progressive (Reform) Judaism from using the mikve [ritual bath – plural: mikvaot] in its jurisdiction for the purpose of their conversion ceremonies.

Held: The Court (per Deputy President E. Rubinstein, Justice S. Joubran and President M. Naor concurring) granted the appeal, holding as follows:

Inasmuch as a number of local councils that permit the immersion of converts from the official conversion system in their mikvaot, the question of …

The Effect Of Rluipa’S Land Use Provisions On Local Governments, Alan C. Weinstein

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Occupy The Parks: Restoring The Right To Overnight Protest In Public Parks, Udi Ofer

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.