December 9, 2014: There Was A Moment,
2014
Duquesne University
December 9, 2014: There Was A Moment, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “There Was a Moment“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
December 6, 2014: The Death Of Meaning In Law And Life,
2014
Duquesne University
December 6, 2014: The Death Of Meaning In Law And Life, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “The Death of Meaning in Law and Life“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
Prediction Theories Of Law And The Internal Point Of View,
2014
William & Mary Law School
Prediction Theories Of Law And The Internal Point Of View, Michael S. Green
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Jury Voting Paradoxes,
2014
Princeton University
Jury Voting Paradoxes, Jason Iuliano
Michigan Law Review
The special verdict is plagued by two philosophical paradoxes: the discursive dilemma and the lottery paradox. Although widely discussed in the philosophical literature, these paradoxes have never been applied to jury decision making. In this Essay, I use the paradoxes to show that the special verdict’s vote-reporting procedures can lead judges to render verdicts that the jurors themselves would reject. This outcome constitutes a systemic breakdown that should not be tolerated in a legal system that prides itself on the fairness of its jury decision-making process. Ultimately, I argue that, because the general verdict with answers to written questions does …
November 30, 2014: More Reasons The Democratic Party Coalition Collapsed,
2014
Duquesne University
November 30, 2014: More Reasons The Democratic Party Coalition Collapsed, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “More Reasons the Democratic Party Coalition Collapsed“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
November 26, 2014: Pope Tells Haggard Europe That It Is In Need Of Cultural Renewal,
2014
Duquesne University
November 26, 2014: Pope Tells Haggard Europe That It Is In Need Of Cultural Renewal, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “Pope Tells Haggard Europe that it is in Need of Cultural Renewal“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
Closing The Doors To Justice: A Critique Of Pimentel V. Dreyfus And The Application Of Legal Formalism To The Elimination Of Food Assistance Benefits For Legal Immigrants,
2014
Seattle University School of Law
Closing The Doors To Justice: A Critique Of Pimentel V. Dreyfus And The Application Of Legal Formalism To The Elimination Of Food Assistance Benefits For Legal Immigrants, Hannah Zommick
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment contends that the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Pimentel v. Dreyfus employed a legal formalist approach and that by applying this framework, the court prevented legal immigrants, who were caught between the strict eligibility restrictions of welfare reform, from asserting their rights through the justice system. The legal formalist approach “treats the law as a set of scientific formulae or principles that are derived from the study of case law. These principles create an internal analytical framework which, when applied to a set of facts, leads the decision maker, through logical deduction, to the correct outcome in a case.” …
November 21, 2014: The Secular Death Penalty,
2014
Duquesne University
November 21, 2014: The Secular Death Penalty, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “The Secular Death Penalty“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
November 20, 2014: Not Serving The Interests Of The Country,
2014
Duquesne University
November 20, 2014: Not Serving The Interests Of The Country, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “Not Serving the Interests of the Country“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
Freedom, Benefit And Understanding: Reflections On Laurence Claus's Critique Of Authority,
2014
Notre Dame Law School
Freedom, Benefit And Understanding: Reflections On Laurence Claus's Critique Of Authority, John M. Finnis
Journal Articles
Written for a symposium in the University of San Diego Law School in September 2013 on Laurence Claus, Law’s Evolution and Human Understanding (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), this article appears in the final issue of volume 52 of the San Diego Law Review. With new illustrations and considerations suggested by the book, the article argues for a number of theses: “Because I/we say so” is never a reasonable ground or formulation of authoritative acts such as enactments or parental or other orders. The moral authority of rule makers is never peremptory in a binary (all or nothing) as …
November 16, 2014: A Beautiful Movie,
2014
Duquesne University
November 16, 2014: A Beautiful Movie, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “A Beautiful Movie“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
November 13, 2014: The Climate Deal With China,
2014
Duquesne University
November 13, 2014: The Climate Deal With China, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “The Climate Deal with China“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
November 9, 2014: How Destructive Is Capitalism?,
2014
Duquesne University
November 9, 2014: How Destructive Is Capitalism?, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “ How Destructive Is Capitalism?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
November 6, 2014: An Election Of Anxiety,
2014
Duquesne University
November 6, 2014: An Election Of Anxiety, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “An Election of Anxiety“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
November 2, 2014: Today’S Papers,
2014
Duquesne University
November 2, 2014: Today’S Papers, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “Today’s Papers“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
The Scope Of Precedent,
2014
Notre Dame Law School
The Scope Of Precedent, Randy J. Kozel
Michigan Law Review
The scope of Supreme Court precedent is capacious. Justices of the Court commonly defer to sweeping rationales and elaborate doctrinal frameworks articulated by their predecessors. This practice infuses judicial precedent with the prescriptive power of enacted constitutional and statutory text. The lower federal courts follow suit, regularly abiding by the Supreme Court’s broad pronouncements. These phenomena cannot be explained by—and, indeed, oftentimes subvert—the classic distinction between binding holdings and dispensable dicta. This Article connects the scope of precedent with recurring and foundational debates about the proper ends of judicial interpretation. A precedent’s forward- looking effect should not depend on the …
October 31, 2014: Pennsylvania Doings,
2014
Duquesne University
October 31, 2014: Pennsylvania Doings, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “Pennsylvania Doings“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
Deal Leaves Court Issues Unresolved,
2014
Duquesne University
Deal Leaves Court Issues Unresolved, Bruce Ledewitz
Ledewitz Papers
Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals
October 25, 2014: In Our Dark Time,
2014
Duquesne University
October 25, 2014: In Our Dark Time, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “ In Our Dark Time“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
October 22, 2014: The Panic Over Ebola,
2014
Duquesne University
October 22, 2014: The Panic Over Ebola, Bruce Ledewitz
Hallowed Secularism
Blog post, “The Panic Over Ebola“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.
