U.C. Davis law professor Vikram David Amar discusses the current controversy in Alabama over whether state court judges must issue same-sex marriage licenses pursuant to an order to a federal district judge sitting in that state. Continue reading →
Posted In: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Courts and Procedure
Former counsel to the president John W. Dean reflects on a visit he had with the late California Justice Mildred Lillie, who, due to gender discrimination, was denied appointment on the U.S. Supreme Court. Continue reading →
Posted In: Civil Rights, Courts and Procedure, Other Commentary
Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf discusses a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Supreme Court by Nebraska and Oklahoma against Colorado, alleging that the latter state’s legalization of marijuana undermines their ability to maintain their own prohibitions of the substance. Continue reading →
Nebraska and Oklahoma Take Colorado to the Supreme Court Over Legalized Marijuana [ 11:08 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (599)Posted In: Constitutional Law, Courts and Procedure, Government
Cardozo law professor Marci Hamilton reviews 2014 in terms of the developments (both forward and backward) in child protection issues. Hamilton concludes that while there are some good reasons to celebrate 2014, we should not slow down the fight for child protection in 2015. Continue reading →
Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Criminal Law, Injury Law, Speech and Religion
U.C. Davis Law professor Vikram David Amar explains how the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius—upholding Obamacare as a proper exercise of Congress’s tax powers and striking down a significant expansion of Medicaid—weakens the case of subsequent challengers to Obamacare in King v. Burwell. Continue reading →
Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Health Law
Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf comments on the scope and limits of prosecutorial discretion, as it relates both to President Obama’s executive action on immigration and the Michael Brown case. Continue reading →
Prosecutorial Discretion Under Fire: The Common Thread in the President’s Executive Action on Immigration and the Non-Indictment in the Michael Brown Case [ 9:19 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (738)Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Government
Chapman University law professor Ronald Rotunda comments on the purportedly random assignment of judges to cases in federal courts. Rotunda points out that particularly in the Ninth Circuit, which has been singled out as having highly unlikely results of “random” assignment, the process of case assignment is unnecessarily opaque; Rotunda argues for greater transparency to ensure fairness and justice. Continue reading →
Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Law Practice
Cornell University law professor Sherry Colb discusses whether there is a meaningful distinction between using juror testimony to invalidate the substance of a jury’s verdict and using the testimony to call into question the composition of the jury. Colb notes that a case raising that issue is before the U.S. Supreme Court this Term. Continue reading →
Posted In: Courts and Procedure
Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf discusses some of the issues that will likely arise when the U.S. Supreme Court considers the statutory challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, in the upcoming case King v. Burwell. Continue reading →
Which Justices Are in Play in the New Obamacare Case? [ 10:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (556)Posted In: Constitutional Law, Courts and Procedure, Health Law
Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf analogizes the authority of the government to enact quarantine measures to its authority (as established under Supreme Court precedents) to detain unlawful enemy combatants. Dorf argues that while courts are likely to reject the most outrageous detention policies, they are unlikely to reject policies simply for being misguided or unwise. Continue reading →
Posted In: Constitutional Law, Courts and Procedure
Former counsel to the president John Dean favorably reviews Erwin Chemerinsky’s new book The Case Against the U.S. Supreme Court. Dean praises Chemerinsky for expressing thoughtful and well-founded criticism in a way that few others have done. Continue reading →
Posted In: Book Reviews, Constitutional Law, Courts and Procedure
U.C. Davis School of Law professor Vikram David Amar describes a recent incursion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit into California’s direct democracy system. Amar explains the U.S. Supreme Court precedents that led the Ninth Circuit to its conclusion, and he calls upon the Court to cut back or overrule its prior erroneous decisions to avoid future injuries to state direct democracy systems. Continue reading →
Posted In: Constitutional Law, Courts and Procedure, Election Law
John Dean, former counsel to the president, comments on a recent case between two private parties in which the U.S. Attorney General intervened and sought dismissal, citing the “state-secrets privilege.” Dean explains the questionable history of this privilege and explains why blind adherence to it can be dangerous. Continue reading →
Posted In: Constitutional Law, Courts and Procedure, Government
Hofstra University law professor Joanna Grossman chronicles the story of the late Anna Nicole Smith, who sought to share in the estate of her husband J. Howard Marshall II but after twenty years of litigation ended up with nothing. Continue reading →
Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Family Law
Chapman University law professor Ronald Rotunda discusses on the lawsuit against President Obama and explains the issue of judicial standing to sue the President for exceeding his constitutional authority. Rotunda points to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in United States v. Windsor, the case in which the Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, as supporting standing for the new case against the President. Continue reading →
Posted In: Constitutional Law, Courts and Procedure, Politics
Cornell University law professor Sherry Colb discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Paroline v. United States, in which the Court considered how much restitution a victim of sexual abuse should be able to recover from a single perpetrator. Colb explains the reasoning used by the majority and the two diametrically opposed dissenting opinions, and she extends the discussion to an important narrative the Court’s opinions fail to consider. Continue reading →
Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Criminal Law
Chapman University law professor Ronald Rotunda discusses how various courts and bar associations treat attorneys’ uses of Facebook and other social networking sites. Rotunda describes some different rules that affect how lawyers may and may not use social networking sites to interact with witnesses, opposing parties, jurors, and clients. Continue reading →
Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Philosophy and Ethics, Technology Law
Vikram David Amar, a U.C. Davis law professor, continues his discussion of the significance of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s concurrence in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc.. Amar describes several ways in which Justice Kennedy’s concurrence can be read to limit the breadth of the Court’s holding in that case and suggests that lower courts should pay close attention to his concurring opinion when applying the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in subsequent cases. Continue reading →
Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Speech and Religion
Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf discusses two federal appeals courts’ recent diverging decisions over Obamacare subsidies. Dorf contrasts the method of statutory interpretation used by the majority of a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which struck down the subsidies, with that of the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which upheld them. Continue reading →
Federal Appeals Courts Divide Over Obamacare Subsidies—and Over “Textualism” [ 12:13 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (351)Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Health Law
John Dean, former counsel to the president, describes former President Richard Nixon’s views of, and influence on, the U.S. Supreme Court. In the process, Dean reveals some tidbits of information about Nixon that he discusses in greater depth in his upcoming book, The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It. Continue reading →
Posted In: Courts and Procedure, Politics