Rethinking Presidential Eligibility,
2016
George Mason University
Rethinking Presidential Eligibility, Eugene D. Mazo
Fordham Law Review
Many aspiring American Presidents have had their candidacies challenged for failing to meet the Constitution’s eligibility requirements. Although none of these challenges have ever been successful, they have sapped campaigns of valuable resources and posed a threat to several ambitious men. This Article examines several notable presidential eligibility challenges and explains why they have often been unsuccessful. The literature on presidential eligibility traditionally has focused on the Eligibility Clause, which enumerates the age, residency, and citizenship requirements that a President must satisfy before taking office. By contrast, very little of it examines how a challenge to one’s candidacy impacts a …
Reforming The Contested Convention: Rethinking The Presidential Nomination Process,
2016
Barry University School of Law
Reforming The Contested Convention: Rethinking The Presidential Nomination Process, Michael T. Morley
Fordham Law Review
The presidential nomination process could be substantially improved through a few minor tweaks that would reduce unnecessary uncertainty, bolster its democratic underpinnings, and improve the connections among its various components. First, certain fundamental rules governing national conventions should be determined well in advance of the presidential nominating process, before any primaries or caucuses are held or delegates selected, and not be subject to change or suspension at the convention itself. Second, parties should enhance the democratic moorings of their national conventions by requiring presidential candidates to win a greater number of presidential preference votes to be placed into nomination. Third, …
“Natural Born” Disputes In The 2016 Presidential Election,
2016
Pepperdine University School of Law
“Natural Born” Disputes In The 2016 Presidential Election, Derek T. Muller
Fordham Law Review
The 2016 presidential election brought forth new disputes concerning the definition of “natural born Citizen.” The most significant challenges surrounded the eligibility of Senator Ted Cruz, born in Canada to a Cuban father and an American mother. Unlike challenges to President Barack Obama’s eligibility, which largely turned on conspiratorial facts, challenges to Cruz’s eligibility turned principally on the law and garnered more serious attention concerning a somewhat cryptic constitutional clause. Understandably, much attention focused on the definition of “natural born citizen” and whether candidates like Cruz qualified. Administrative challenges and litigation in court revealed deficiencies in the procedures for handling …
Election Law And The Presidency: An Introduction And Overview,
2016
Fordham University School of Law
Election Law And The Presidency: An Introduction And Overview, Jerry H. Goldfeder
Fordham Law Review
Americans now fully appreciate that presidential candidates are vying for a majority of the Electoral College votes, rather than the individual votes of constituents. Modern campaigns are organized around this goal, and commentators are focused on this reality. As a result, there has been an increased cry to reform the electoral process. After all, if every other public official in the land is elected by receiving more votes than their competitors, why should the President of the United States be elected in this apparently undemocratic fashion? The process appears even more unusual in that electors are chosen pursuant to state …
Third-Party And Independent Presidential Candidates: The Need For A Runoff Mechanism,
2016
Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Third-Party And Independent Presidential Candidates: The Need For A Runoff Mechanism, Edward B. Foley
Fordham Law Review
Consider what 2016 might have looked like if this better electoral system had been in place. Bloomberg then could have entered the race without risking being a spoiler. In a three-way race—Bloomberg, Clinton, and Trump—Bloomberg might have fizzled out, leaving a two-way race between Clinton and Trump. Since that is essentially how the election ended up anyway, the country would have been no worse off for having had a chance to consider Bloomberg as an alternative. But suppose, however, with Trump’s candidacy spinning out of control in a series of unacceptable comments (as it appeared to do in early August),11 …
Ramshackle Federalism: America’S Archaic And Dysfunctional Presidential Election System,
2016
Drake University Law School
Ramshackle Federalism: America’S Archaic And Dysfunctional Presidential Election System, Anthony J. Gaughan
Fordham Law Review
Accordingly, this Article proposes five sensible and achievable reforms to modernize the presidential election system. Each requires Congress and the federal government to play a much more proactive role in the presidential election system. The Constitution may be founded on federalist principles, but excessive decentralization is not serving us well in presidential election administration. In an age of tumultuous and accelerating change, the presidential election system must be modernized to meet the needs of twenty-first century America.
Does The Constitution Provide More Ballot Access Protection For Presidential Elections Than For U.S. House Elections?,
2016
Ballot Access News
Does The Constitution Provide More Ballot Access Protection For Presidential Elections Than For U.S. House Elections?, Richard Winger
Fordham Law Review
Both the U.S. Constitution and The Federalist Papers suggest that voters ought to have more freedom to vote for the candidate of their choice for the U.S. House of Representatives than they do for the President or the U.S. Senate. Yet, strangely, for the last thirty-three years, the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts have ruled that the Constitution gives voters more freedom to vote for the candidate of their choice in presidential elections than in congressional elections. Also, state legislatures, which have been writing ballot access laws since 1888, have passed laws that make it easier for minor-party and …
Time To End Presidential Caucuses,
2016
Federal Election Commission
Time To End Presidential Caucuses, Sean J. Wright
Fordham Law Review
Following the 2016 election cycle, there will be a great opportunity to implement reform. A major change should be to move away from presidential caucuses. They persist with, in the words of John Oliver, “complex, opaque rules.” These complex rules, which include participating in person for over an hour, negatively impacts participation in the electoral process. For example, in 2012, “participation rates in the Republican Party’s caucuses averaged 3 percent.” 3 percent. Compellingly, PolitiFact has observed that “[c]aucuses and delegate math can be incredibly confusing, and the arcane party structures don’t reflect how most people assume presidential selection works.” Yet, …
Newsroom: Horwitz On The Trump Effect 12-1-2016,
2016
Providence Journal
Newsroom: Horwitz On The Trump Effect 12-1-2016, Amanda Milkovits, Roger Williams University School Of Law
Life of the Law School (1993- )
No abstract provided.
The Lawyers' War: Counterterrorism From Bush To Obama To Trump,
2016
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
The Lawyers' War: Counterterrorism From Bush To Obama To Trump, Dawn E. Johnsen
Articles by Maurer Faculty
No abstract provided.
Separation Of Powers, Executive Authority, And Suspension Of Disbelief,
2016
Florida State University College of Law
Separation Of Powers, Executive Authority, And Suspension Of Disbelief, Nat Stern
Scholarly Publications
The growth of federal executive power to a magnitude not foreseen at the Constitution's adoption has been largely enabled by favorable rulings by the Supreme Court. Though not invariably sustaining executive prerogative, the Court has rejected challenges to executive power on a scale sufficient to afford the Executive enormous latitude to carry out and shape federal policy. In assessing whether the Executive has overstepped its bounds in particular cases, scholars and Justices alike frequently debate whether a formalist or functional approach more faithfully implements the Constitution's system of separation of powers. Transcending these two schools of interpretation, however, is a …
Presidential Constitutional Interpretation, Signing Statements, Executive Power And Zivotofsky,
2016
University of Richmond
Presidential Constitutional Interpretation, Signing Statements, Executive Power And Zivotofsky, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.
Law Faculty Publications
This Article explores whether the President should interpret the Constitution aggressively and, if so, whether the President should act on such aggressive interpretations. Part I examines whether the presidential oath and other constitutional duties obligate the President to interpret the Constitution. Part II considers constitutional signing statements as the manifestation of an aggressive approach to presidential constitutional interpretation. Part III considers whether the Constitution is a legal document or a political document, and how that determination might affect how aggressive the President should be when interpreting the Constitution. Part IV considers how the Supreme Court's and Congress's constitutional interpretations might …
Standing Up For Legislators: Reevaluating Legislator Standing In The Wake Of Kerr V. Hickenlooper,
2016
Northwestern University School of Law
Standing Up For Legislators: Reevaluating Legislator Standing In The Wake Of Kerr V. Hickenlooper, William D. Gohl
Northwestern University Law Review
Hornbook constitutional law establishes that Congress and state legislatures are bodies of limited, enumerated powers, and common sense suggests they should get their act together and exercise them more often. But should legislators be permitted to sue in order to exercise their powers when another branch of government infringes on them unconstitutionally, or the body they represent unconstitutionally limits them? This Note argues that, at least in certain circumstances, they should. Following on the heels of the Tenth Circuit’s recent treatment of the issue in its Kerr v. Hickenlooper decisions, this Note proposes a redefinition of the legislator standing doctrine …
Without Unnecessary Delay: Using Army Regulation 190–8 To Curtail Extended Detention At Sea,
2016
Northwestern University School of Law
Without Unnecessary Delay: Using Army Regulation 190–8 To Curtail Extended Detention At Sea, Meghan Claire Hammond
Northwestern University Law Review
This Note analyzes instances of U.S. detention of suspected terrorists while at sea as an alternative to Guantánamo, and how this at-sea detention fits in the interplay of U.S. statutory law, procedural law, and applicable international law. Of particular interest is the dual use of military and civilian legal regimes to create a procedural-protection-free zone on board U.S. warships during a detainee’s transfer from their place of capture to the U.S. court system. The Note concludes that U.S. Army Regulation 190–8 contains language of which the purpose and intent may be analogized to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requirements …
War By Legislation: The Constitutionality Of Congressional Regulation Of Detentions In Armed Conflicts,
2016
Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, U.S. Naval War College
War By Legislation: The Constitutionality Of Congressional Regulation Of Detentions In Armed Conflicts, Christopher M. Ford
Northwestern University Law Review
In this essay, Ford considers provisions of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which place restrictions on the disposition of detainees held in Guantánamo Bay. These provisions raise substantial separation of powers issues regarding the ability of Congress to restrict detention operations of the Executive. These restrictions, and similar restrictions found in earlier NDAAs, specifically implicate the Executive's powers in foreign affairs and as Commander in Chief. Ford concludes that, with the exception of a similar provision found in the 2013 NDAA, the restrictions are constitutional.
The Obama War Powers Legacy And The Internal Forces That Entrench Executive Power,
2016
Boston University
The Obama War Powers Legacy And The Internal Forces That Entrench Executive Power, Rebecca Ingber
Faculty Scholarship
In exploring the Obama war powers legacy, this essay examines the systemic forces inside the executive branch that influence modern presidential decision-making and, barring a total reimagining of the executive branch, will operate on administrations to come. These mechanisms and norms fall broadly within two categories: (1) features that favor continuity and hinder presidents from effecting change, including both novel assertions of executive power and attempts to dial back that power; and (2) features that incrementally aggrandize such power claims. Together, these two sets of forces operate as a one-way ratchet, slowly expanding and ultimately entrenching executive branch power.
New Judicial Review In Old Europe,
2016
Yale University
New Judicial Review In Old Europe, Alyssa S. King
Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law
No abstract provided.
A New Power?: Civil Offenses And Presidential Clemency,
2016
Yale Law School
A New Power?: Civil Offenses And Presidential Clemency, Noah A. Messing
Buffalo Law Review
No abstract provided.
Water, Water Everywhere, But Just How Much Is Clean?: Examining Water Quality Restoration Efforts Under The United States Clean Water Act And The United States-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement,
2016
University of Georgia School of Law
Water, Water Everywhere, But Just How Much Is Clean?: Examining Water Quality Restoration Efforts Under The United States Clean Water Act And The United States-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Jill T. Hauserman
Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law
No abstract provided.
The Price Of United States Noncompliance With United Nations Rhodesian Sanctions,
2016
University of Georgia School of Law
The Price Of United States Noncompliance With United Nations Rhodesian Sanctions, Evita A. Paschall
Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law
No abstract provided.
