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Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law Prof Blog

News, analysis, and commentary on constitutional law issues in the courts, the administration, Congress, and the states; and commentary and analysis on constitutional law scholarship.
By Steven D. Schwinn, Ruthann Robson, Nareissa L. Smith

Post Frequency: 3.1/day

Last Entry: November 04, 2020 at 10:04:25

Immigration and the Tenth Amendment

Posted on July 14, 2010
"If the federal government chooses not to exercise its powers, does it forfeit that power to the states and the people [under the Tenth Amendment]?" Chicago Tribune columnist Dennis Byrne asks the question in his op-ed in today's paper, Immigration:....

Nebraska Abortion Bill: Federal Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order

Posted on July 14, 2010
Judge Laurie Smith Camp has enjoined the enforcement of portions of the controversial abortion Nebraska bill, LB 594. In her 35 page opinion, Judge Camp provides the text of the bill, explaining it various provisions, including the extensive mental health...

Bastille Day & The French Constitution

Posted on July 14, 2010
Today is Bastille Day, the national holiday of France. The French Constitution (known as the Constitution of the Fifth Republic) begins:The French people solemnly proclaim their attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of national sovereignty as defined...

Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act: First Amendment Problems?

Posted on July 13, 2010
Judge Ronald Whyte of the District Court of Northern District of California has dismissed the indictments against Joseph Buddenberg and three other defendants under AETA, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, 18 USC 43. The pertinent parts of AETA provide:(a) Offense...

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Connecticut Campaign Finance Decisions from Second Circuit: Green Party v. Garfield

Posted on July 13, 2010
In two related opinions today, the Second Circuit ruled on challenges to Connecticut?s Campaign Finance Reform Act (CFRA). In Green Party v. Garfield (Green Party I) the Second Circuit panel affirmed the district court ruling that certain discrete components of...

FCC's Fleeting Expletives Policy is Unconstitutionally Vague

Posted on July 13, 2010
A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit ruled today that the FCC's "fleeting expletives" policy for broadcast television is unconstitutionally vague. The ruling follows a remand from the Supreme Court last year. In that case, the Supreme Court overturned the...

Kagan Vote Delayed

Posted on July 13, 2010
Politico just reported that the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed for a week its vote on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan after Republicans on the Committee moved for the delay. The Committee had scheduled an Executive Business Meeting for today to...

Detainee's Five-Year Delay Does not Violate Right to Speedy Trial

Posted on July 13, 2010
Judge Lewis Kaplan (S.D.N.Y.) ruled yesterday that former Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani's five-year period of custody with the CIA and Department of Defense before presentation for trial in federal court did not violate his Sixth Amendment right to a...

Assistant AG Perez on Restoring the Civil Rights Agenda

Posted on July 12, 2010
Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, will talk Monday evening at an American Constitution Society function on issues important to the Division and efforts to strengthen civil rights enforcement around the country. The event runs from...

Cornyn, Kagan on Congressional Treaty Power

Posted on July 12, 2010
Among Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan's written responses to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee released on Friday was this exchange with Senator Cornyn on congressional power to enact legislation implementing a treaty: [Question 4] Missouri v...

Kagan on Mark Tushnet and Harold Koh: Post Confirmation Hearing Responses to Senators Questions

Posted on July 10, 2010
Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan has submitted her written responses to post-testimony "Questions Submitted for the Record" from Senators Jeff Sessions, Chuck Grassley, Jon Kyl, Lindsay Graham, John Cornyn, and Tom Coburn. These have been added to the materials from...

Injunction Against Deepwater Drilling Moratorium Affirmed: Judicial Financial Investments Cause Continuing Questions

Posted on July 09, 2010
In a very brief opinion, a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed District Judge Martin Feldman's preliminary injunction of Secretary of the Interior Salazar's six month moratorium on deep water drilling issued May 28, 2010, after a...

DOMA Unconstitutional: Massachusetts Federal District Judge Finds Section 3 of Defense of Marriage Act Unconstitutional

Posted on July 08, 2010
In two decisions today, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. HHS and Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, United States District Judge Joseph Tauro held section 3 of the Defense of Mariage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. Section 3 of DOMA, 1 USC section....

Cato Debate on Electoral College

Posted on July 08, 2010
The Cato Institute is hosting a policy forum today on the electoral college featuring Tara Ross, author of Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College and John Koza, the founder of the National Popular Vote Plan. The forum is...

Georgia District Judge Finds Georgia Legislature Violated Equal Protection Clause by Terminating a Transgendered Employee

Posted on July 07, 2010
In an extensive opinion, United States District Judge Richard Story of the Northern District of Georgia has granted summary judgment in favor of a former employee of the Georgia General Assembly on the basis of the Equal Protection Clause of...

Participatory Democracy Theorists: Panel of Interest

Posted on July 07, 2010
This panel discussion (evening of July 8 in NYC) should be of interest to ConLawProfs whose work includes notions of participatory democracy. From the panel description: The fantasy of participation is a powerful one, postulating, as it does, the invitation...

DOJ Files Complaint Against Arizona SB 1070 Alleging Statute Unconstitutional: Analysis

Posted on July 07, 2010
As anticipated, the Department of Justice has filed a complaint in Arizona federal court seeking a declaration and injunction that Arizona SB 1070, the controversial statute signed into law April 23 regarding immigration is unconstitutional. The DOJ complaint has three...

Federalists' Supreme Court Round-Up

Posted on July 06, 2010
Former Solicitor General Gregory Garre will deliver the Federalist Society's 2010 Supreme Court Round Up this Friday, July 9, from noon to 2:00 p.m. at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. Register here for $45, including lunch. The Federalists report...

Supreme Court Review Panel: American Constitution Society

Posted on July 05, 2010
American Constitution Society Panel: Supreme Court Term 2009-2010 with Moderator, Thomas C. Goldstein, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LL, and panelists: Paul Butler, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Carville Dickinson Benson Research Professor of Law, George Washington...

Cato's Take on Congressional Response to Citizens United

Posted on July 05, 2010
The Cato Institute last week issued its free-market analysis of the DISCLOSE Act, Senator Schumer and Representative Van Hollen's response to Citizens United, the Supreme Court's decision invalidating federal restrictions on direct corporate spending on campaign ads under the First...

NYT Editorial on Roberts Court Activism

Posted on July 05, 2010
The New York Times editorializes on the Roberts' Court "activism": We do not argue that precedent must be worshiped and upheld at all costs. If that were the case, as Justice Roberts noted, segregation would still be legal and minimum-wage...

Declaration of Independence Thoughts: Kagan Hearing and (White Male) Philosophers

Posted on July 04, 2010
Adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is the foundational text for the July Fourth "Independence Day" national holiday in the United States. Among the discussions of the document this year, two stand out...

D.C. Circuit Rules Against Government in Guantanamo Detainee Appeal

Posted on July 04, 2010
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit ruled that the government failed to support its argument that Guantanamo detainee Belkacem Bensayah was part of al Qaeda, but the panel gave the government a second bite at the apple by remanding...

State Supreme Court Rejects Pleading Standard under Iqbal, Twombly

Posted on July 03, 2010
The Washington Supreme Court last week declined to apply the "plausibility" pleading standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Washington Court in McCurry v. Chevy Chase Bank ruled that the heightened pleading standard under the Supreme Court's decisions in...

Limit on Medical Malpractice Yields to Separation of Powers in Washington State

Posted on July 02, 2010
The Washington Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a key provision of the state's efforts to control medical malpractice suits violated state constitutional separation-of-powers principles. (Thanks to Carla Tachau Lawrence for the heads-up. We previously posted on the court's ruling that...

Feds Send Virgin Island Constitution Back for Reconsideration

Posted on July 01, 2010
President Obama on Wednesday signed Senate Joint Resolution 33, which sends the proposed constitution the U.S. Virgin Islands back to the USVI Constitutional Convention for reconsideration in light of Justice Department concerns about it. We previously posted on those concerns--and...

Cert Granted in Arizona Employer Sanction of Hiring of Undocumented Workers

Posted on June 29, 2010
The Court granted certiorari yesterday in Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Candelaria, a case challenging the Legal Arizona Workers Act, Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. � 23-211 et seq., that sanctions employers for knowingly or intentionally employing "unauthorized...

Patheos Interviews on Christian Legal Society v. Martinez

Posted on June 29, 2010
Patheos posted a set of brief interviews with Michael McConnell, counsel for the Christian Legal Society, David French, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defense Fund, and Marci Hamilton, con law prof at Cardozo, on the meaning of the Court's decision...

OLC: Emoluments Clause Not Applicable to Nongovernmental Members of ACUS

Posted on June 29, 2010
The Office of Legal Counsel released a memorandum last week that opined that the Emoluments Clause does not apply to nongovernmental members of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS)--that nongovernmental members do not hold an "Office of ...

Spatial Inequality

Posted on June 28, 2010
Welcome Back Feminist Law Professors Blog! After a brief hiatus, Feminist Law Professors Blog is back with a new look. Cyber-space is not quite as "equal" without the blog's perspectives, including its famous "where are the women?" feature that calls...

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