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Starr on Morse v. Frederick (Bong Hits 4 Jesus)

By Lawrence Solum

Kenneth W. Starr (Pepperdine University - School of Law) has posted Our Libertarian Court: Bong Hits and the Enduring Hamiltonian-Jeffersonian Colloquy (Lewis & Clark Law Review, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2008) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

The Supreme Court's decision in Morse v. Frederick, otherwise known as the Bong Hits 4 Jesus case, highlights the non-realization of Chief Justice Roberts's goal of greater cohesion and unanimity among the nine Justices. Bong Hits is an example of the Chief Justice appearing increasingly among the majority, Justice Stevens speaking vigorously for the minority, and Justice Thomas's iconoclastic approach to constitutional issues. Importantly, the case also reveals a trend of alliance between Justices Kennedy and Alito and their shared Hamiltonian skepticism of local power, as well as Chief Justice Roberts' unsuccessful attempts to limit constitutional questions to narrow grounds of decision. This Essay explores the divided factions of the Court through the lens of Bong Hits and offers further insight into the Justices' constitutional jurisprudence.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on April 22, 2009 (boomark / email).