Constitutional Law
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Constitutional Law, Utah
Utah Invokes Eminent Domain Against the Federal Government
This is the kind of story that sounds unbelievable — until you realize that it’s dealing with the people who run Utah. The WSJ Law Blog reports: Utah Governor Gary Herbert on Saturday authorized the use of eminent domain to take some of the U.S. government’s most valuable parcels. A state is invoking the Takings […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Constitutional Law, Contests, Sandra Day O'Connor, Video games
The ATL 'Do I Have A Right?' Challenge:Congratulations from Justice O'Connor
In December we announced a contest for ATL readers. We called upon you to play Do I Have A Right?, one of the educational video games launched by Our Courts. Today we’re pleased to announce the winners. In case you’re not familiar with it, Our Courts is “a web-based education project designed to teach students […] - Sponsored
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Boutique Law Firms, Constitutional Law, Sandra Day O'Connor, Video games
The ATL 'Do I Have A Right?' Challenge
Back in October, we wrote a piece for the Washington Post about retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s new educational video games. She’s spearheading a project called Our Courts, which seeks to improve civic education in middle schools. One game, Supreme Decision, lets the kiddies weigh in on a First Amendment case in the […]
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American Constitution Society (ACS), Conferences / Symposia, Constitutional Law, Federal Judges, Thomas Goldstein
At the ACS National Convention: Keeping Faith With the Constitution
We’re quite talented at bringing you last week’s news. See, e.g., our ridiculously extensive coverage of the Battle of the Law Firm Bands. The main reason for our D.C. visit was not the Battle of the Bands, but the national convention of the American Constitution Society (ACS) — the left’s answer to the Federalist Society. […] -
Constitutional Law, SCOTUS
No Constitutional Right to DNA Evidence for Criminals
Today, the Supreme Court ruled that convicted criminals do not have a constitutional right to possibly exculpatory DNA evidence. The Court decided District Attorney’s Office v. Osborne by a 5 – 4 margin. SCOTUSblog reports Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion: The task of writing rules to control access to DNA evidence “belongs primarily” to […] -
Conspiracy Theories, Constitutional Law, Credit Crisis, Laurence Tribe
Bill of Attainder? Communist Revolution? Fire Bad?
Let’s take a closer look at the torches and pitchforks the U.S. Congress is brandishing. As you have undoubtedly heard, Congress overwhelming passed the 90% tax on “things we don’t like.” 85 Republicans joined the fracas, so this is a bipartisan ex post facto effort. Our sister site, Dealbreaker, has already weighed in on the […] -
Barack Obama, Constitutional Law, John Roberts, Screw-Ups
Obama's Oath of Office, Take Two
The second time was a charm. Constitutional crisis averted. Okay, it was hardly a “constitutional crisis.” But it was probably wise to take a mulligan on the oath, to avoid crackpot claims of illegitimacy. In the words of law professor Jonathan Turley, who recommended retaking the oath: He should probably go ahead and take the […] -
Barack Obama, Constitutional Law, John Roberts, Reader Polls, Screw-Ups
Whoops. How does that Constitution go?
As we type this, our fingers are still thawing from standing in the cold on the National Mall during today’s inauguration. The number of people willing to brave the cold was impressive. Every time President Barack Obama appeared on a jumbotron screen, the crowd went crazy with shouts of “O-bam-a” and “Yes, we did.” The […] - Sponsored
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Bad Ideas, Constitutional Law, Crime
Another Reason To Be Suspicious of Psychotherapy
The 10th Circuit had an ugly case on its hands last week. While all psychotherapy seems mildly sadistic, this case is especially bad. Per Wikipedia, psychotherapy is supposed to “increase an individual’s sense of well-being and reduce subjective discomforting experience.” A Kansas couple running a home for the mentally ill had a slightly different approach. […] -
Constitutional Law, Wall Street
A Little Bit Of Knowledge Is A Hilarious Thing
The market may have already discounted the $700 billion ($840 B) bailout bill, but the legal profession hasn’t even begun to get its hands around this thing. But while we wait for serious actions to arise from the market implosion, at least we have this crazy dude from “reenactment of 1776” to help us pass […] -
Conspiracy Theories, Constitutional Law, Election Law
Is There Any Way to "Fix" The Electoral College?
My new colleague over at Dealbreaker has written a somewhat modest proposal. John Carney proposes creating an auction market for Electoral College votes, so that states which are traditionally overlooked during presidential elections (like New York) can recoup some political relevance in the free market. Among general concerns about the fundamental nature of democracy, I’m […] -
Constitutional Law
Freedom to Dance Erotically Protected by the First Amendment
The legislative and judicial branches are going head to head in Texas, over a “pole tax.” Sounds noble, right? Not exactly… since the referenced “poles” are those found in strip clubs. Texas State Rep. Ellen Cohen wants to charge strip club patrons a $5 tax, with proceeds funding programs for the betterment of society. Don’t […] -
Constitutional Law, Health Care / Medicine, Laurence Tribe, Law Professors
Larry Tribe Has A Brain Tumor
No, that’s not some insult hurled at the distinguished constitutional law professor by a right-wing zealot; it’s a fact. From a memorandum that went out to Harvard Law School students this morning: In order to help you plan your spring schedules, I need to let you know that Professor Laurence Tribe’s class this spring is […]
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Affirmative Action, Celebrities, Constitutional Law, Environment / Environmental Law, Morning Docket, Murder, Sentencing Law
Morning Docket: 12.19.06
* Affirmative action not gone quite yet for Michigan schools. [AP via How Appealing] * Convicted debutante killers not so happy at sentencing. [CNN] * Nebraska corporate farming ban violates dormant commerce clause; Nebraska will appeal to the Supreme Court. [Jurist] * Dracula Jr.’s a lawyer. [WSJ Law Blog] * 13 States and DC sue […]
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Blogging, Books, Charles Fried, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Gay Marriage, Neal Katyal, Politics, SCOTUS, Sentencing Law, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court
The Breyer-Fried Discussion: Some Highlights (Part 2)
This is a continuation of our prior post about an event we recently attended at Georgetown Law School, “On Liberty: A conversation between Justice Stephen Breyer and Professor Charles Fried.” For more background about the event, click here. For the conclusion to our write-up, keep on reading. We bring you a “true confession” from Justice […] -
Charles Fried, Constitutional Law, Fashion, Hair, Neal Katyal, SCOTUS, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court
The Breyer-Fried Discussion: Some Highlights (Part 1)
As we mentioned earlier, on Friday we headed downtown to Georgetown Law School for “On Liberty: A conversation between Justice Stephen Breyer and Professor Charles Fried,” of Harvard Law School. We were invited to this event by Georgetown Law Professor Neal Katyal (whom we thank for his hospitality). Yesterday we shared with you our photos […] -
Constitutional Law, Weirdness, White People
How Would Scalia and Breyer Decide This One?
A quirky and fun story in the Saturday New York Times (which nobody reads except us) describes the legal crusade of one John Lagana. He’d like to ride his WaveRunner around the shores of East Hampton, but can’t, thanks to the wealthy beach town’s ban on water scooters. So like any good American, Lagana is […] -
Andrew Sullivan, Antonin Scalia, Constitutional Law, Dahlia Lithwick, John Roberts, Media and Journalism, SCOTUS, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court
The Nino-Breyer Smackdown (Part 4)
We agree with Andrew Sullivan: Dahlia Lithwick did a superb job in her write-up of the Scalia-Breyer debate, which took place Tuesday night at the Capital Hilton. We attended as guests of the ACS, whom we thank for their hospitality. For our fourth and final post about the evening — prior posts here, here, and […] -
Antonin Scalia, Constitutional Law, Dahlia Lithwick, Media and Journalism, SCOTUS, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court
The Nino-Breyer Smackdown (Part 3)
Question: Now that the Supreme Court is hearing hardly any cases these days, how are the justices spending all their free time? Answer: On constitutional law road shows, in which they debate the proper way to go about interpreting that foundational document. What fun! On Tuesday, Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Stephen G. Breyer held […] -
Affirmative Action, Anthony Kennedy, Constitutional Law, John Roberts, Paul Clement, Racism, SCOTUS, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court
Dispatch from One First Street: The Race in Public School Cases
Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases concerning the use of race as a factor in assigning students to public schools: Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District #1, out of the Ninth Circuit, and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, out of the Sixth Circuit. It appears that […]