Constitutional Law Commons^™

Redevelopment In The Golden State: A Study In Plenary Power Under The California Constitution, Daniel S. Maroon

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

On January 20, 2011, California Governor Jerry Brown issued a proclamation reaffirming the fiscal emergency that had been declared by his predecessor administration. In response to the fiscal emergency, the state Legislature enacted two measures that were intended to stabilize school funding by reducing or eliminating the diversion of property tax revenues from school districts to the state's community redevelopment agencies. The California Redevelopment Association, the League of California Cities, and other affected parties immediately brought suit, seeking direct relief from the Supreme Court of California on grounds that the statutes violated various portions of the California Constitution.

This note …

A Familial Privacy Right Over Death Images: Critiquing The Internet-Propelled Emergence Of A Nascent Constitutional Right That Preserves Happy Memories And Emotions, Clay Calvert

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In May 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit broke new constitutional ground in Marsh v. County of San Diego when it held that the constitutional right to privacy encompasses "the power to control images of a dead family member." This article provides an overview of Marsh. It then discusses the historical common law right to familial privacy over death images. In addition, it explores both judicial and legislative recognition of the Internet's power as a force in the battle to preserve privacy. Next, it illustrates how these twin forces-the preexisting common law right to familial …

More Than A Quick Glimpse Of The Life: The Relationship Between Victim Impact Evidence And Death Sentencing, Jerome Deise, Raymond Paternoster

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In striking down the use of victim impact evidence ("VIE") during the penalty phase of a capital trial, the Supreme Court in Booth v. Maryland and South Carolina v. Gathers argued that such testimony would appeal to the emotions of jurors with the consequence that death sentences would not be based upon a reasoned consideration of the blameworthiness of the offender. After a change in personnel, the Court overturned both decisions in Payne v. Tennessee, decided just two years after Gathers. The majority in Payne were decidedly less concerned with the emotional appeal of VIE, arguing that it would only …

Letting The Fox Guard The Hen House: Why The Fourth Amendment Should Not Be Applied To Interviews Of Children In Child Abuse Cases, Yourtz, Rachael

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

This note argues that the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement should not apply to interviews of potential child abuse victims during the course of investigations to assess their safety. The article argues that, in such cases, children are witnesses, not perpetrators, taking them outside the scope of traditional Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. Alternatively, if the Fourth Amendment is applicable, situations where children are potentially victimized by their parents present an extenuating circumstance where procuring a warrant would run counter to the objectives of the Constitution and the State's interest in protecting these children. Finally, the note argues that a warrant requirement would …

When One Is Not Enough, But Two Is A Company Union: A First Amendment Analysis Of The National Labor Relations Board's Restrictions On Employee Involvement At The Nonunion Workplace, Mark J. Mahoney

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In this article it is argued that the National Labor Relations Board's longstanding application of Section 8(a)(2) of the 1935 Wagner Act, as amended, violates the First Amendment. It is argued that the principal constitutional defect with the Board's application of this section, which prohibits employers from "dominat[ing] or interfer[ing] with the formation or administration of any labor organization or contribut[ing] financial or other support to it," is that it largely eliminates the most effective means by which employers and nonunion employees can communicate regarding terms and conditions of employment: group discussion.

It is argued that the restrictions that the …

Restoring The Vote: Former Felons, International Law, And The Eighth Amendment, John Ghaelian

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

The right to vote is a right that many Americans cherish. But for over five million Americans the right to vote is something different. It is merely a dream because they are denied the right. Considered fundamental by the courts and the people, the United States contrarily stands alone in its refusal to allow many former felons the right to vote. The denial of the right to vote leaves a large swath of the population voiceless in matters ranging from the election of the president to who should sit on their child's school board.

This article begins by chronicling the …

Arizona V. Winn: Negative Implications For First Amendment Proponents And Possibly For Our Nation's Schoolchildren, Adam F. Sloustcher

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In a 5-4 decision in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, the U.S. Supreme Court drastically curtailed American taxpayers' ability to challenge the constitutionality of certain government expenditures. At issue in Winn was the constitutionality of a tax credit provision that offered a tax break to individuals who donated money to organizations that support religious schools. The Court ruled that taxpayers could not challenge the constitutionality of the tax credit provision because they lacked legal standing to do so.

This note will first present the background of the Winn decision and the history of taxpayer standing. Second, it will …

The Muddled State: California's Application Of Confrontation Clause Jurisprudence In People V. Dungo And People V. Lopez, Mark K. Hanasono

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

Crawford v. Washington revitalized the Confrontation Clause by addressing the admissibility of testimonial hearsay by declarants whom defendants never previously had the opportunity to cross-examine. Courts continue to review Confrontation Clause challenges in a variety of contexts. How should courts determine the admissibility of forensic analyses introduced through witnesses who were not personally involved with them?

Most recently in California, the state supreme court decided People v. Dungo and People v. Lopez, limiting Confrontation Clause protection to testimonial hearsay statements contained in forensic analyses, which were made (1) with formality, and (2) for the primary purpose of criminal prosecution. As …

What Is Really So Bad About A Different Rule Of Law: The Afghan Legal System Reanalyzed, Dana Cook-Milligan

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

"Rule of Law" is a principle that politicians often discuss to evaluate the stability and progressive nature of another state. From the Western point of view-where Rule of Law is most commonly discussed-Rule of Law is predicated on sovereign, supreme, predictable, and fair legal systems. Failure to satisfy this formulation suggests that a state lacks Rule of Law. Rule of Law's absence, in turn, evokes negative connotations and is often synonymous with a lack of democracy. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is war-torn, decentralized, and corrupt-but can it still have Rule of Law? Are these concepts mutually exclusive? Must Afghanistan's …

'Lonesome Road': Driving Without The Fourth Amendment, Lewis R. Katz

Faculty Publications

American states and municipalities have so many minor traffic regulations that every time a driver gets behind the wheel of a car he or she is likely to commit multiple violations. The violation of any traffic regulation empowers police officers to stop the vehicle, ticket and, in some states, arrest the motorist. Police are physically unable to stop and ticket, let alone arrest, every motorist committing a traffic violation. Instead, police are vested with unlimited discretion when choosing which motorists to stop, warn, ticket, or arrest. So long as there is probable cause for a traffic violation, courts will not …

A Question Important To Investors (Whether They Realize It Or Not): Is Realization A Constitutional Requirement For Income Taxation?, Erik M. Jensen

Faculty Publications

This article considers whether realization continues to be a constitutional requirement for an accession to wealth to be included in the base of the federal income tax. Most commentators had thought that the Supreme Court’s 1920 decision in Eisner v. Macomber, which treated realization as central to the meaning of “taxes on incomes” in the Sixteenth Amendment, was deadwood, or close to it. In 2012, however, in his controlling opinion in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, Chief Justice Roberts cited Macomber favorably on a point critical to the resolution of that case. If realization still has constitutional legs, …

Supreme Court Leaks And Recusals: A Response To Professor Steven Lubet’S Scotus Ethics In The Wake Of Nfib V. Sebelius, 47 Val. U. L. Rev. 925 (2013), Kevin Hopkins

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

As Professor Steven Lubet notes in his article, Stonewalling, Leaks, and Counter-Leaks: SCOTUS Ethics in the Wake of NFIB v. Sebelius, the ethical conduct of Supreme Court Justices has once again gained national attention. This time, however, the context for public outcry is due to actions of an in-house source who released confidential information to a member of the press concerning the voting behavior and the overall sentiments of members of the Court's minority in one of the most significant and controversial rulings of the year: NFIB v. Sebelius (the "Affordable Care Act"). Professor Lubet uses this leaking of significant …

Lafler And Frye: A New Constitutional Standard For Negotiation, Rishi Batra

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

The Sixth Amendment guarantees "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense." In 1984 the Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington established the standard for ineffective assistance of counsel that is a violation of this right. In a pair of decisions handed down in 2012, Lafler v. Cooper and Missouri v. Frye, the Supreme Court extended the holding in Strickland to cover ineffective assistance by defense counsel in the plea-bargaining phase. Recognizing that pleas account for ninety-five percent of all criminal convictions, the court stated that "the negotiation …

Evaluating High School Students' Constitutional And Civic Literacy: A Case Study Of The Washington, D.C. Chapter Of The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, Maryam Ahranjani, Caleb Medearis, Jeff Shook

Scholarly Works

The United States maintains a reputation as a vibrant, participatory democracy. Yet, paradoxically, formal civics education has essentially disappeared from America's public high schools, particularly urban public schools serving low-income and minority students. The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, which is offered at almost zero cost to public schools and districts, developed as a response to the need for civics education in high schools and as a way to train future lawyers in public speaking, leadership, and counseling. To support the growth of the Marshall-Brennan project all over the country, the authors of this Essay came together to study the Marshall-Brennan …

Random, Suspicionless Searches Of Students' Belongings: A Legal, Empirical, And Normative Analysis, Jason P. Nance

University of Colorado Law Review

This Article provides a legal, empirical, and normative analysis of an intrusive search practice used by public school officials to prevent school crime: random, suspicionless searches of students' belongings. First, it argues that these searches are not permitted under the Fourth Amendment unless schools have particularized evidence of a substance abuse or weapons problem. Second, it provides a normative evaluation of strict security measures in schools, especially when they are applied disproportionately to minority students. Third, drawing on recent restricted data from the U.S. Department of Education's School Survey on Crime and Safety, this Article provides empirical findings that raise …

Byron White-Hero And Scholar: Reflections About Punishment, Political Speech, And Public Liability, Justice John Paul Stevens

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conversation With Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Misguided Patent Reform: The Questionable Constitutionality Of First-To-File, Andrew L. Sharp

University of Colorado Law Review

American cigarette warning labels are lackluster compared to others around the world. To address this inadequacy, the FDA created nine graphic-image cigarette warning labels that were scheduled to appear on all cigarette packages sold in the US beginning in 2012. However, before they debuted, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck the labels down in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. FDA, holding that they constituted compelled commercial speech in violation of the First Amendment. This Note argues that the R.J. Reynolds decision conflicts with the Supreme Court's commercial speech jurisprudence. Historically, the Supreme Court has applied limited First Amendment protection …

Grutter's Denouement: Three Templates From The Roberts Court, Ellen D. Katz

Articles

Precedent from the Roberts Court shows the Justices taking three distinct approaches to precedent they dislike. Each provides a template for the Court to criticize race-based affirmative action in higher education, as Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin is widely expected to do. Most narrowly, the Court might use Fisher to issue a warning, much like it did in 2009 when it sidestepped a constitutional challenge to the Voting Rights Act; under this approach, the opinion would spell out why the Justices think the diversity celebrated in Grutter v. Bollinger no longer provides sufficient justification for the use of …

Sentencias Trascendentales Del Tribunal Supremo De Los Estados Unidos. Pasos Hacia La Igualdad Del Matrimonio Para Parejas Del Mismo Sexo, Julie A. Davies

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

In 2013, the United States Supreme Court decided two major cases on marriage equality – U.S. v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry. These cases paved the way for the Court’s eventual decision in 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges, that the Constitution requires that states permit same-sex marriage. This article analyzes those precedents for an audience of Spanish-speaking legal professionals and academics seeking to understand the basis for the Court’s decisions.