09 Oct 2015

Four Specific Indicators to Look for (As Distinguished From Cases to Watch) This Supreme Court Term

Vikram David Amar, law professor and dean of the University of Illinois College of Law, identifies four key issues to watch in the Supreme Court’s 2015-2015 Term. As Amar discusses here, these issues center around: (1) public labor unions, (2) affirmative action, (3) abortion rights, and (4) the death penalty. Continue reading →

Posted In: Constitutional Law

More Analysis and Commentary

8 Oct 2015 Neil H. Buchanan

Budgetary Nonsense Across the Republican Landscape

George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan describes how Donald Trump’s comments about taxes and the national debt reveal that he is hardly any different from the other Republican candidates. Buchanan argues that, in fact, Trump is in line with mainstream Republican with respect to his views on taxes. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics, Tax and Economics

7 Oct 2015 Michael C. Dorf

“Shout Your Abortion” Movement Raises Questions About the “Coming Out” Analogy

Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf discusses the #ShoutYourAbortion movement intended to destigmatize abortion. Dorf describes how people “coming out” as being gay or lesbian helped destigmatize sexual orientation, and how coming out as having a disability or disease has helped destigmatize those statuses, as well. Dorf cautions that while the #ShoutYourAbortion movement could resemble these other movements, it may also be different in some important ways. Continue reading →

“Shout Your Abortion” Movement Raises Questions About the “Coming Out” Analogy [ 6:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (46)

Posted In: Reproductive Law, Technology Law

5 Oct 2015 Joseph Margulies

Dignity as an Indispensable Condition of Criminal Justice

Cornell law professor Joseph Margulies discusses the inviolable right of human dignity and its essential role as a condition of criminal justice. Continue reading →

Posted In: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Philosophy and Ethics

2 Oct 2015 John Dean

Republicans Continue Their War on Women

Former counsel to the president John W. Dean describes congressional Republicans’ continued war on women, this time as manifested in their treatment of Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics, Reproductive Law

1 Oct 2015 Marci A. Hamilton

Pope Francis Visits Philadelphia and Promises No More Secrets

Cardozo law professor Marci Hamilton comments on the recent visit by Pope Francis to Philadelphia on the ten-year anniversary of the release of the landmark Grand Jury Report on Sexual Abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. Hamilton argues that now is the time for state legislators to eliminate statutes of limitations for civil sex abuse suits and revive those claims that have expired due to short statutes of limitations. Continue reading →

Posted In: Injury Law, Speech and Religion

29 Sep 2015 Joanna L. Grossman

Hit the Gym, BorgataBabes

Hofstra University law professor Joanna Grossman discusses a recent decision by a New Jersey appellate court that she argues illustrates a pattern of courts erroneously failing to see the illegal and harmful stereotyping embodied in sex-specific dress codes. Continue reading →

Posted In: Civil Rights, Employment Law

28 Sep 2015 Ronald D. Rotunda

Marriage Litigation in the Wake of Obergefell v. Hodges

Chapman University law professor Ronald Rotunda comments on the first of a wave of litigation sparked by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Rotunda points out that in some cases, lower courts handling these cases have not adequately discussed or distinguished the relevant cases. Continue reading →

Posted In: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Speech and Religion

25 Sep 2015 Sherry F. Colb

Donald Trump’s Woman Problem

Cornell University law professor Sherry Colb discusses the sexism Donald Trump displayed during the night of the second Republican presidential debate. Colb points out that Trump’s words reveal his hateful and exploitative attitude toward women and is hopeful that people are prepared to vote accordingly. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics

24 Sep 2015 Vikram David Amar

Arizona’s SB 1070 Immigration Law Is Back in Play in the Federal Courts

University of Illinois law professor and dean Vikram David Amar comments on a recent decision by a federal district court in Arizona addressing a challenge to two parts of Arizona’s SB 1070 statute, which attempts to deal with immigration stresses in that state. Amar argues that the court’s reasoning on both claims was confused and unpersuasive and that the results should have been inverted. That is, Amar suggests that the court should have upheld the equal protection challenge to the “Show Me Your Papers” provision and rejected the First Amendment challenge to the Day Laborer provisions. Continue reading →

Posted In: Constitutional Law, Immigration Law

23 Sep 2015 Michael C. Dorf

Six Republican Presidential Candidates in Search of the Constitution

Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf discusses the second GOP presidential debate and the candidates’ varied, often concerning, interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Continue reading →

Dorf Reads Republican Debate Column [ 12:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (127)

Posted In: Constitutional Law, Politics

21 Sep 2015 Joseph Margulies

Step One in Transforming the Criminal Justice System: Articulating a New Vision

Cornell University law professor Joseph Margulies offers an overview of our current criminal justice system and proposes a philosophy essential for the implementation of its imperative transformation, improvement, and legitimacy. Continue reading →

Posted In: Criminal Law, Philosophy and Ethics

18 Sep 2015 John Dean

Will the Second Debate Confirm That “Mad as Hell” Republicans Don’t Want a Competent Presidential Candidate?

Author and former counsel to the president John W. Dean discusses the second GOP presidential candidate debate of September 16, 2015—a major political event of the 2016 presidential election cycle. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics

17 Sep 2015 Marci A. Hamilton

The Plight of Children at Risk in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Communities and the Failure of Government and Pandering Politicians to Protect Them

Cardozo law professor Marci Hamliton comments on the quandary of at-risk children in religious groups like the ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, and cautions against government and political rhetoric that exalts and protects such lifestyles. Continue reading →

Posted In: Constitutional Law, Speech and Religion

16 Sep 2015 Sherry F. Colb

Ohio Considers Banning Abortions Motivated by Down Syndrome

Cornell University law professor Sherry Colb discusses an Ohio bill currently under consideration that would ban abortions motivated by the presentation of Down syndrome by an embryo or fetus. Colb argues that a woman’s right to make decisions over her bodily integrity includes the right to make a decision on a basis that some or most people might find offensive. Continue reading →

Posted In: Reproductive Law

15 Sep 2015 Joanna L. Grossman

When One Door Opens, Another Closes: Parentage Law After Obergefell v. Hodges

Hofstra University law professor Joanna Grossman discusses the evolving landscape of parentage law after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Grossman argues that while Obergefell has opened up some new paths to parentage for same-sex couples, it has also closed off others that had been created as workarounds in a restrictive marriage regime. Continue reading →

Posted In: Family Law

14 Sep 2015 Ronald D. Rotunda

Women Lawyers in America—From the 17th to the 21st Century

Chapman University law professor Ronald Rotunda briefly describes the journey of women lawyers in America. Rotunda argues that while the direction has been generally forward, its progress is best described as “two steps forward, one step back.” Continue reading →

Posted In: Civil Rights, Law Practice

11 Sep 2015 Vikram David Amar

A Preview of DIRECTV v. Imburgia: An Upcoming Case Before the Supreme Court Concerning Arbitration of Consumer Disputes

University of Illinois law professor and dean Vikram David Amar discusses an upcoming Supreme Court case in which the Court will consider to what extent consumer contracts that require disputes to be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than through formal litigation, are enforceable. Continue reading →

Posted In: Consumer Law

10 Sep 2015 Neil H. Buchanan

House Republicans’ Deep Cynicism: Pay the Rich and Play Politics With Everyone Else

George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan describes two cynical tactics by House Republicans to win the political debate over the debt ceiling: (1) redefining what it means to default, and (2) singling out the rich and Social Security recipients to receive their payments in full in the event of government default. Continue reading →

Posted In: Politics, Tax and Economics

8 Sep 2015 Joseph Margulies

Demonizing #BlackLivesMatter: The Latest Challenge to Criminal Justice Reform

Cornell University law professor Joseph Margulies describes the latest challenge to criminal justice reform as the demonization of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Continue reading →

Posted In: Criminal Law, Law Enforcement

Columnists

Vikram David Amar Vikram David Amar is the Dean and Iwan Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law. Immediately prior to taking the position at Illinois, Amar served as the Senior… more

Neil H. Buchanan Neil H. Buchanan is an economist and legal scholar, a Professor of Law at The George Washington University, and a Senior Fellow at the Taxation Law and Policy Research Institute, Monash University… more

Sherry F. Colb Sherry F. Colb is Professor of Law and Charles Evans Hughes Scholar at Cornell University. Colb teaches courses in constitutional criminal procedure, evidence, and animal rights. She has published… more

John Dean John Dean served as Counsel to the President of the United States from July 1970 to April 1973. Before becoming White House counsel at age thirty-one, he was the chief minority counsel to the… more

Michael C. Dorf Michael C. Dorf is the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell University Law School. He has written hundreds of popular essays, dozens of scholarly articles, and four books on… more

Joanna L. Grossman Joanna L. Grossman is the Sidney and Walter Siben Distinguished Professor of Family Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. She is an expert in family… more

Marci A. Hamilton Marci A. Hamilton is one of the leading church/state scholars in the United States and the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. She is the author… more

David S. Kemp David S. Kemp is an attorney, writer, and editor at Justia. He received his B.A. in Psychology from Rice University and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt… more

Joseph Margulies Mr. Margulies is a Professor of Law and Government at Cornell University. He was Counsel of Record in Rasul v. Bush (2004), involving detentions at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station, and in Geren v… more

Anita Ramasastry Anita Ramasastry is the UW Law Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle, where she also directs the graduate program on Sustainable International… more

Ronald D. Rotunda Ronald D. Rotunda is the Doy & Dee Henley Chair and Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence, at Chapman University, Fowler School of Law. He joined the faculty in 2008. Before that, he was… more