Constitutional Law Commons^™

A Pragmatic Republic, If You Can Keep It, William R. Sherman

Michigan Law Review

These things we know to be true: Our modern administrative state is a leviathan unimaginable by the Founders. It stands on thin constitutional ice, on cracks between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It burdens and entangles state and local governments in schemes that threaten federalism. And it presents an irresolvable dilemma regarding democratic accountability and political independence. We know these things to be true because these precepts animate some of the most significant cases and public law scholarship of our time. Underlying our examination of administrative agencies is an assumption that the problems they present would have been bizarre …

Taking States (And Metaphysics) Seriously, Sanford Levinson

Michigan Law Review

Sotirios A. Barber has written many incisive and important books, in addition to coediting an especially interesting casebook on constitutional law and interpretation. He is also a political theorist. An important part of his overall approach to constitutional theory is his philosophical commitment to “moral realism.” He believes in the metaphysical reality of moral and political truths, the most important of which, for any constitutional theorist, involve the meanings of justice and the common good. He not only believes in the ontological reality of such truths — that is, that these truths are more than mere human conventions or social …

March 28, 2014: Nihilism At The Heart Of Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Nihilism at the Heart of Secularism“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission V. U.S., Katelyn J. Hepburn

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, on remand from the Supreme Court, reconsidered whether temporary increased dam-releases resulting in downstream flooding, constituted a physical taking under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Applying the Supreme Court’s more complex balancing test, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Court of Federal Claims’ decision holding that temporary government-induced flooding can qualify as a Fifth Amendment taking. The court upheld an award of damages in excess of $5.7 million.

Improving Rights, Nancy Leong

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Courts and commentators regularly assume that a single avenue for rights-making is both sufficient and unproblematic. For example, it is enough if a Fourth Amendment claim may be litigated either in suppression hearings or in civil suits under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In previous work, I presented original quantitative and qualitative evidence that challenged this assumption, arguing that litigation in a single context tends to flatten and distort constitutional rights.

In this Article, I build on this critique by introducing cognitive psychology research explaining why judicial rights-making is better undertaken simultaneously in multiple contexts. For example, on this view, Fourth …

March 25, 2014: What’S Going To Happen In The Hobby Lobby Case?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “What’s Going to Happen in the Hobby Lobby Case?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The Difference Prevention Makes: Regulating Preventive Justice, David Cole

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States and many other countries have adopted a ‘‘paradigm of prevention,’’ employing a range of measures in an attempt to prevent future terrorist attacks. This includes the use of pre textual charges for preventive detention, the expansion of criminal liability to prohibit conduct that precedes terrorism, and expansion of surveillance at home and abroad. Politicians and government officials often speak of prevention as if it is an unqualified good. Everyone wants to prevent the next terrorist attack, after all. And many preventive initiatives, especially where they are not coercive and …

March 22, 2014: Death, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

Evaluating Candidacy Restrictions: The Implications Of New York's Modified Approach, Brian Hodgkinson

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mcmanus V. Horn: The Legality Of Setting A Single Form Of Bail, Maureen Wynne

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

One Less Juror: A Defendant's Right To Juror Substitution, Luzan Moore

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

"But My Attorney Didn't Tell Me I'D Be Deported!"--The Retroactivity Of Padilla, Tara M. Breslawski

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Are You Satisfied With Your Representation?--The Sixth Amendment Right To Effective Assistance Of Counsel, Dean M. Villani

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Effective But Unreported Application Of Lafler & Frye, Christopher M. Gavin

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Choose Your Own Path: A Defendant's Constitutional Right To Legal Representation, Luzan Moore

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conflicting Confrontation Clause Concerns: The Admissibility Of Hospital Records Versus A Defendant's Right To Confrontation, Susan Barlow

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Admissibility Of Field Test Results At Trial To Prove Intoxication, Vincent J. Costa

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Federal Retreat From Protecting Defendants From Tainted Show-Up Identifications And The Superiority Of New York's Approach, Stephan Josephs

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Prearraignment Lineup Procedures: Are Multiple Lineups Unduly Suggestive Or Sufficiently Reliable?, Jared R. Artura

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is New York Achieving More Reliable And Just Convictions When The Admissibility Of A Suggestive Pretrial Identification Is At Issue?, Matthew Gordon

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.