Constitutional Law Commons^™

February 6, 2014: Religion Is A Lie, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

February 2, 2014: The California Drought, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

Online Terms Of Service: A Shield For First Amendment Scrutiny Of Government Action, Jacquelyn E. Fradette

Notre Dame Law Review

Part I of this Note will canvas popular opinions and perceptions about First Amendment rights on the Internet using examples of public outcry over recent instances of speech limitation. It will also discuss the state action doctrine generally and how the presence of this doctrine most likely renders certain popular public constitutional intuitions about the First Amendment erroneous.

Part II will provide an overview of how courts have taken an expansive and protective view of private ordering between online parties. It will discuss how courts have developed a robust freedom to contract jurisprudence in the Internet context. Because courts essentially …

Tyranny By Proxy: State Action And The Private Use Of Deadly Force, John L. Watts

Notre Dame Law Review

The Article begins in Part I with a discussion of the Supreme Court’s opinion and holding in Tennessee v. Garner. It then describes the continuing application of the fleeing felon rule to private actors despite the Court’s holding in Garner.

Part II describes the state action doctrine, examines its history, and clarifies its purpose. It explains why the Court’s early focus on enhancing individual autonomy and federalism as the purpose of the state action doctrine was only partially correct. In fact, the doctrine enhances many of the familiar constitutional strategies for the prevention of tyranny including: separation of powers, democratic …

Weathering Wal-Mart, Joseph A. Seiner

Notre Dame Law Review

In Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2531 (2011), the Supreme Court held that a proposed class of over a million women that had alleged pay and promotion discrimination against the nation’s largest retailer could not be certified. According to the Court, the plaintiffs had failed to establish a common thread in the case sufficient to tie their claims together. The academic response to Wal-Mart was immediate and harsh: the decision will serve as the death knell for mass employment litigation, undermining the workplace protections provided by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). …

The Unitary Executive And The Plural Judiciary: On The Potential Virtues Of Decentralized Judicial Power, Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr.

Notre Dame Law Review

The federal judiciary features a highly decentralized system of courts. The Supreme Court of the United States reviews only a few dozen cases each year. Meanwhile, regional U.S. courts of appeals operate independently of each other; district courts further divide and separate the exercise of federal judicial power. The role of the state courts in enforcing federal law further subdivides responsibility for the adjudication of federal law claims. Indeed, the Office of Chief Justice itself incorporates and reflects this vesting of the judicial power of the United States exclusively in collegial institutions—literally in a multiplicity of hands—effectively precluding its unilateral …

Federalism And Subnational Political Community, James A. Gardner

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Same-Sex Divorce, Tracy A. Thomas

Akron Law Faculty Publications

Same-sex marriage is now legal in seventeen states and sixteen countries. The question increasingly being asked is how these couples can divorce. For those who remain in their home state or in a marriage equality state, the divorce process should be the same as for any other marriage. The problem arises because people are transient; couples often relocate for jobs or family, or they initially traveled out of their home state for the marriage. “In a highly mobile society, state bans on same-sex marriage have in many cases made untying the knot far harder than tying it in the first …

Plausible Absurdities And Practical Formalities: The Recess Appointments Clause In Theory And Practice, David Frisof

Michigan Law Review

The recent controversy surrounding President Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while the Senate was holding pro forma sessions illustrates the need to reach a new understanding of the Recess Appointments Clause of the Constitution. For the Recess Appointments Clause to be functional, it must fulfill two essential constitutional purposes: it must act as a fulcrum in the separation of powers, and it must ensure the continued exercise of the executive power. Achieving this functionality depends not only on the formal constructions of the Clause but also on the ways in …

Should Minnesota Recognize A State Constitutional Right To A Criminal Appeal?, Stan Keillor

Hamline Law Review

abstract

January 29, 2014: God And Truth, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

Burwell V. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.: Brief Of Amici Curiae Historians And Legal Scholars Supporting Neither Party, William J. Novak

Appellate Briefs

Amici are scholars of history and law with an important interest in the question presented and particularly in the traditional treatment of corporations under American law.

Much of the research in this brief is drawn from papers by amici, developed through several meetings of the ongoing "Corporations and American Democracy" research initiative undertaken by the Tobin Project, a non-profit research organization.

Because amici have not examined the factual questions relating to the particular corporations at issue in these consolidated cases, they file this brief in support of neither party.

A Bridge Too Far: The Limits Of The Political Process Doctrine In Schuette V. Coalition To Defend Affirmative Action, Christopher E. D'Alessio

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

This commentary previews an upcoming Supreme Court case, Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, in which the Court will consider whether Michigan violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by amending its constitution to prohibit race-based preferential treatment in public-university admissions decisions.

In Connection With What?: Chadbourne & Parke Llp V. Troice And The Applicability Of The Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, John W. Messick

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

This commentary previews an upcoming Supreme Court case, Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, in which the Court will clarify whether the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act precludes a state law class action alleging a scheme of fraud involving misrepresentations about transactions in covered-securities.

Reconciling Originalism With The Father Of Conservatism: How Edmund Burke Answers The Disruption Dilemma In N.L.R.B. V. Noel Canning, Brad Masters

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

January 26, 2014: How The Christian Story Works, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

Axelrod V. State, Asher Grunis, Miriam Naor, Elyakim Rubinstein

Translated Opinions

The petition urges the Court to compel the Knesset to legislate the matter of marriages between those who cannot (as in cases of intermarriage) or wish not to marry under religious law and are therefore excluded from marrying in Israel. Holding that the Court cannot order the Legislature to legislate outside of correcting a constitutional flaw in existing statutes, President Grunis and Deputy President Naor declined to intervene. In his concurrence, Justice Rubinstein finds that as current marriage laws exclude large portions of the population, the State cannot continue to ignore this reality and violate citizens' right to marry. He …

January 21, 2014: Is Evil Real?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

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

All For One, And One For All-Comers! University Nondiscrimination Policies In Light Of Hosanna-Tabor And The Ministerial Exception, Zach Tafoya

Pepperdine Law Review

In light of the more recent Hosanna-Tabor decision, this Comment seeks to answer these questions by extending the reasoning behind the ministerial exception to the university context in order to build a foundation upon which a future exception can be built to ensure that religious student groups are sufficiently free to choose their own leaders. Part II sets forth a brief history of the ministerial exception and its application in the circuit courts. Part III addresses two recent Supreme Court cases, Martinez and Hosanna-Tabor, and their practical effect on religious liberty, as well as the public’s perception of both cases. …

Once We Were Slaves, Now We Are Free: Legal, Administrative, And Social Issues Raised By Passover Celebrations In Prison, Aviva Orenstein

Pepperdine Law Review

“Once we were slaves, now we are free” is a central line from the Jewish Passover Seder, a ritual meal in which participants retell the story of liberation from Pharaoh’s oppression. In prison, many Jewish inmates request access to a Seder and to kosher-for-Passover food for the eight-day holiday. Prisoners’ requests to celebrate Passover provide a rich example for exploring the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act (RLUIPA), and raise a host of tough questions regarding cost, safety, equal treatment of prisoners, and establishment of religion. Because kosher-for-Passover meals are more expensive and generally of higher quality than regular …