Category Archives: Constitutional Law

R. George Wright, Electoral Lies and the Broader Problems of Strict Scrutiny

Posted on May 1, 2012 by mike814

States often attempt to regulate political speech in the form of deliberate lies related to ballot initiatives, referenda, candidates, or their political positions. Some courts focus on the various harms of electoral lies, while others focus more on the risks … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, First Amendment | Comments Off

Meghan J. Ryan, The Missing Jury: The Neglected Role of Juries in Eighth Amendment Punishments Clause Determinations

Posted on May 1, 2012 by mike814

A recent study of death penalty cases has revealed that judges, who are ordinarily thought of as the guardians of criminal defendants‘ constitutional rights, often impose harsher punishments than jurors. This may be unsettling in its own right, but it … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Federal Courts | Comments Off

Abigail R. Moncrieff, Safeguarding the Safeguards: The ACA Litigation and the Extension of Indirect Protection to Nonfundamental Liberties

Posted on May 1, 2012 by mike814

As the lawsuits challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) have evolved, one feature of the litigation has proven especially rankling to the legal academy: the courts‘ incorporation of substantive libertarian concerns into their structural federalism analyses. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Governments and Legislation, Healthcare Law | Comments Off

Jocelyn Ho, Bullied to Death: Cberbullying and Student Online Speech Rights

Posted on May 1, 2012 by mike814

In the age of online social networking, photo and video sharing, blogs, text messaging, and other forms of communication technology, bullying among teenagers has reached a whole new level. It has transcended the traditional schoolyard context and crossed into cyberspace, … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, First Amendment | Comments Off

William W. Berry III, Practicing Proportionality

Posted on May 1, 2012 by mike814

At the heart of the Eighth Amendment‘s Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause are two concepts of proportionality—absolute and relative. Absolute proportionality (“cruel”) asks whether the sentence is commensurate with the state‘s purposes of punishment. Relative proportionality (?unusual?), by contrast, asks … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure | Comments Off

Rebecca E. Zietlow, Popular Originalism? The Tea Party Movement and Constitutional Theory

Posted on March 13, 2012 by mike814

The U.S. Constitution is currently the subject of a heated political debate. Tea Party activists have invoked the Constitution as the foundation of their conservative political philosophy. These activists are engaged in “popular originalism,” using popular constitutionalism—constitutional interpretation outside of … Continue reading →

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