Constitutional Law Commons^™

The Constitutionality Of Lengthy Term-Of-Years Sentences For Juvenile Non-Homicide Offenders, Rebecca Lowry

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Part I discusses the development of the Court's ' kids are different" decisions. Part II argues that the rationale behind Graham applies not only to life-without-parole sentences but also to lengthy term-of-years sentences for juvenile non-homicide offenders. Part III suggests a constitutional mandate as to when states must provide a meaningful opportunity for release and explores other legislative action states can employ to comply with Graham.

Suspicious Suspect Classes - Are Nonimmigrants Entitled To Strict Scrutiny Review Under The Equal Protection Clause?: An Analysis Of Dandamudi And Leclerc, John Harras

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Part I of this Note provides the background necessary to understand the different alienage classifications, equal protection jurisprudence, and the confusion in the Supreme Court's alienage equal protection precedent. Part II describes the differences of opinion among the circuit courts on the application of the Equal Protection Clause to nonimmigrants. Part III argues, in greater detail, that nonimmigrants are not a suspect class for the reasons stated above.

Constitutional Remedies: Reconciling Official Immunity With The Vindication Of Rights, Michael L. Wells

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Part I makes the crucial point that compensation is a tool and not a distinct goal of tort liability. With civil recourse theory as a guidepost, Part II argues that one of the aims of constitutional tort law is vindication of the plaintiffs rights. Civil recourse principles teach that vindication may be at least partly achieved even when immunity blocks compensation. Part III shows how the Court's failure to distinguish vindication from compensation has unnecessarily impeded the vindication of rights. Two important official immunity cases-Camreta v. Greene and Pearson v. Callahan -illustrate the missed opportunities and show how …

No Country For Old Men?: The Non-Preclusive Effect Of The Age Discrimination In Employment Act On § 1983 Age Discrimination Claims, Lauren Tauro

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note argues that the ADEA should not be interpreted to preclude § 1983 constitutional claims for age discrimination in employment. Part I of this Note discusses the history and development of the statutory schemes that provide protection for employees against age discrimination in the workplace: § 1983 of the Civil Rights Act and the ADEA. Part II reviews relevant case law explaining the arguments for and against § 1983 preclusion to illustrate the interaction between § 1983 and the ADEA. Finally, Part III provides an equitable approach for courts to use to analyze § 1983 claims for age …

Fragmenting The Community: Immigration Enforcement And The Unintended Consequences Of Local Police Non-Cooperation Policies, Natashia Tidwell

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Part I traces the historical roots of the relationship between local police and federal immigration authorities, beginning with the changes in enforcement strategy precipitated by the September 11, 2001 attacks and leading up to the launch of S-Comm. The federal government's increased reliance on local police to supplement its internal enforcement efforts has raised several Tenth Amendment concerns as the states struggle to define the proper scope of their "inherent authority" to act in immigration matters, with officials in some so-called sanctuary cities insisting that their inherent authority to enforce federal immigration law is commensurate with the sovereign right …

Regulating Drones Under The First And Fourth Amendments, Marc Jonathan Blitz, James Grimsley, Stephen E. Henderson, Joseph Thai

William & Mary Law Review

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 requires the Federal Aviation Administration to integrate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, into the national airspace system by September 2015. Yet perhaps because of their chilling accuracy in targeted killings abroad, perhaps because of an increasing consciousness of diminishing privacy more generally, and perhaps simply because of a fear of the unknown, divergent UAV-restrictive legislation has been proposed in Congress and enacted in a number of states. Given UAV utility and cost-effectiveness over a vast range of tasks, however, widespread commercial use ultimately seems certain. Consequently, it is imperative to understand …

October 23, 2015: Heidegger And The Last God, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Heidegger and the Last God“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

October 15, 2015: The Difficulty Of Reining In Money, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Difficulty of Reining in Money“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Sex Offender Residency Restrictions: Government Regulation Of Public Health, Safety, And Morality, John Kip Cornwell

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Sex offender residency restrictions have proliferated throughout the United States over the past decade. A number of commentators have likened these laws to medieval banishment, when political outcasts and undesirables are exiled to remote areas where they cannot threaten civilized society. This Article argues first that likening modern residency restrictions to “banishment” largely misconstrues this practice as it has been practiced historically. Instead, these statutory initiatives are better understood as an assertion of governments’ police power to protect public health, safety, and morality. Seen through this lens, this Article evaluates the laws’ constitutional sufficiency with attention to their allegedly punitive …

Incorporation, Total Incorporation, And Nothing But Incorporation?, Christopher R. Green

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Kurt T. Lash’s The Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges and Immunities of American Citizenship (2014) defends the view that the Fourteenth Amendment’s “privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” cover only rights enumerated elsewhere in the Constitution. My own book, however, Equal Citizenship, Civil Rights, and the Constitution: The Original Sense of the Privileges or Immunities Clause (2015), reads the Clause to guarantee equality broadly among similarly situated citizens of the United States. Incorporation of an enumerated right into the Fourteenth Amendment requires, I say, national consensus such that an outlier state’s invasion of the right would produce …

Habeas Corpus Petitions In Federal And Tribal Courts: A Search For Individualized Justice, Carrie E. Garrow

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Adjusting The Benefits And Burdens Of Economic Life For The Public Good: The Aca's Medical Loss Ratio As A Constitutional Regulation Of Health Insurance Companies, Susanne Cordner

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Revival Or Revolution: U.S. Trust's Role In The Contracts Clause Circuit Split, Michael Cataldo

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note argues that U.S. Trust's Contracts Clause test created ambiguities that have spawned varying and conflicting approaches in the circuits. This Note also argues that U.S. Trust's failure to advance the Framers' original intent and departure from precedent has created the doctrinal disagreement that feeds the circuit split. Part I presents the history of the Contracts Clause from the Constitutional Convention up to the decision in U.S. Trust. Part II emphasizes the negative consequences of U.S. Trust's novel approach by detailing the varying approaches the circuits have taken in applying the ambiguous dual standards set out in …

Reexamining School Liability And The Viability Of A Special Relationship Claim In The Aftermath Of Deshaney V. Winnebago County Department Of Social Services, Anita Binayifaal

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note focuses on whether a school deprives a student of a constitutional due process right to bodily integrity and security and thus violates section 1983-when the school fails to adequately protect the student from harm. At the center of this discussion is the special relationship exception that DeShaney carved out. Part I briefly discusses the Fourteenth Amendment, due process, and section 1983 claims. It then examines the facts and holding of DeShaney, which have shaped the boundaries of school system liability.3 1 Part II discusses the majority approach taken by circuit courts in determining the proper duty …

October 11, 2015: Liberals Fooling Themselves About Political Money, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Liberals Fooling Themselves About Political Money“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

October 7, 2015: The Pretty Small University, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Pretty Small University“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

October 3, 2015: Is Litigation The Way To Stop Global Warming?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Is Litigation the Way to Stop Global Warming?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

How To Avoid Constitutional Challenges To State Based Climate Change Initiatives: A Case Study Of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union V. Corey And New York State Programs, Lauren Baron

Pace Environmental Law Review

Considering the decision in Rocky Mtn. v. Corey and the EPA's actions in accordance with the President's Plan, this comment will outline best practices states can use in creating climate initiatives based on the challenges California faced in Rocky Mtn. v. Corey. Part II of this comment will analyze the reasoning in Rocky Mtn. v. Corey. Although certiorari was denied in the case, Part II will analyze recent Supreme Court dormant Commerce Clause jurisprudence to determine which cases are relevant to consider when analyzing a dormant Commerce Clause challenge to state based climate initiatives. Part III will discuss the current …

Interpreting Force Authorization, Scott M. Sullivan

Florida State University Law Review

This Article presents a theory of authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) that reconciles separation of power failures in the current interpretive model. Existing doctrine applies the same text-driven models of statutory interpretation to AUMFs that are utilized with all other legal instruments. However, the conditions at birth, objectives, and expected impacts underlying military force authorizations differ dramatically from typical legislation. AUMFs are focused but temporary corrective interventions intended to change the underlying facts that prompted their passage. This Article examines historical practice and utilizes institutionalist principles to develop a theory of AUMF decay that eschews text in …

Presidential Control Across Policymaking Tools, Catherine Y. Kim

Florida State University Law Review

Over the past quarter century, administrative law scholars have observed the President’s growing control over agency policymaking and the separation-of-powers concerns implicated by such unilateral exercises of power. The paradigmatic form of agency policymaking—notice-and-comment rulemaking—mitigates these concerns by ensuring considerable oversight by the courts, Congress, and the public at large. Agencies, however, typically have at their disposal a variety of policymaking tools with which to implement White House goals, including the issuance of guidance documents and the strategic exercise of enforcement discretion. While commentators have drawn attention to the risk that agencies will circumvent the extensive checks associated with rulemaking …