Category Archives: Constitutional Law

Christian Turner, State Action Problems

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Brock Hankins

The state action doctrine is a mess. Explanations for why federal courts sometimes treat the private actions of private parties as public actions subject to the Constitution, as the Supreme Court did in Shelley v. Kraemer, are either vastly over-inclusive … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Rights Law, Constitutional Law | Comments Off

Hanah Metchis Volokh, Constitutional Authority Statements in Congress

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Brock Hankins

“Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: This bill is enacted pursuant to the power granted to Congress under Article I, Section 8, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution.” “Congress has the power to … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Governments and Legislation | Comments Off

Janai S. Nelson, The First amendment, Equal Protection and Felon Disenfranchisement: A New Viewpoint

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Brock Hankins

This Article engages the equality principles of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause to reconsider the constitutionality of one of the last and most entrenched barriers to universal suffrage—felon disenfranchisement. A deeply racialized problem, felon disenfranchisement is additionally … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Rights Law, Constitutional Law, First Amendment | Comments Off

Nicole Kuncl, Seeing Red: The Legal Backlash Against Red-Light Cameras in Florida

Posted on January 22, 2013 by mike814

This Note will examine Florida’s Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act, which authorizes the use of traffic infraction detectors (red-light cameras) to enforce traffic laws. Florida, like many other states, currently finds itself in the midst of a heated debate over … Continue reading →

Posted in Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law | Comments Off

Gary Lawson, No History, No Certainty, No Legitimacy . . . No Problem: Originalism and the Limits of Legal Theory

Posted on January 22, 2013 by mike814

Professor Martin H. Redish is on the warpath. Like General Sherman marching toward Atlanta (or Justin Tuck marching toward Tom Brady), Professor Redish, together with Matthew Arnould, lays waste to every constitutional theory that he encounters. Originalism, with its “belief … Continue reading →

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Martin H. Redish & Matthew B. Arnould, Judicial Review, Constitutional Interpretation, and the Democratic Dilemma: Proposing a “Controlled Activism” Alternative

Posted on January 22, 2013 by mike814

No problem generates more debate among constitutional scholars than how to approach constitutional interpretation. This Article critiques two representative theories (or families of theories), originalism and nontextualism, and offers a principled alternative, which we call “controlled activism.” By candidly acknowledging … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Judicial Systems | Comments Off