Download or read book Unfree Speech written by Samantha Sellinger and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-02-09 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time when campaign finance reform is widely viewed as synonymous with cleaning up Washington and promoting political equality, Bradley Smith, a nationally recognized expert on campaign finance reform, argues that all restriction on campaign giving should be eliminated. In Unfree Speech, he presents a bold, convincing argument for the repeal of laws that regulate political spending and contributions, contending that they violate the right to free speech and ultimately diminish citizens' power. Smith demonstrates that these laws, which often force ordinary people making modest contributions of cash or labor to register with the Federal Election Commission or various state agencies, fail to accomplish their stated objectives. In fact, they have worked to entrench incumbents in office, deaden campaign discourse, burden grassroots political activity with needless regulation, and distance Americans from an increasingly professional, detached political class. Rather than attempting to plug "loopholes" in campaign finance law or instituting taxpayer-financed campaigns, Smith proposes a return to core First Amendment values of free speech and an unfettered right to engage in political activity. Smith finds that campaign contributions have little corrupting effect on the legislature and shows that an unrestrained system of contributions and spending actually enhances equality. More money, not less, is needed in the political system, Smith concludes. Unfree Speech draws upon constitutional law and historical research to explain why campaign finance regulation is doomed and to illustrate the potentially drastic costs of efforts to make it succeed. Whatever one thinks about the impact of money on electoral politics, no one should take a final stand without reading Smith's controversial and important arguments.

Download or read book Keeping Faith with the Constitution written by Goodwin Liu and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-08-05 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chief Justice John Marshall argued that a constitution "requires that only its great outlines should be marked [and] its important objects designated." Ours is "intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs." In recent years, Marshall's great truths have been challenged by proponents of originalism and strict construction. Such legal thinkers as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argue that the Constitution must be construed and applied as it was when the Framers wrote it. In Keeping Faith with the Constitution, three legal authorities make the case for Marshall's vision. They describe their approach as "constitutional fidelity"--not to how the Framers would have applied the Constitution, but to the text and principles of the Constitution itself. The original understanding of the text is one source of interpretation, but not the only one; to preserve the meaning and authority of the document, to keep it vital, applications of the Constitution must be shaped by precedent, historical experience, practical consequence, and societal change. The authors range across the history of constitutional interpretation to show how this approach has been the source of our greatest advances, from Brown v. Board of Education to the New Deal, from the Miranda decision to the expansion of women's rights. They delve into the complexities of voting rights, the malapportionment of legislative districts, speech freedoms, civil liberties and the War on Terror, and the evolution of checks and balances. The Constitution's framers could never have imagined DNA, global warming, or even women's equality. Yet these and many more realities shape our lives and outlook. Our Constitution will remain vital into our changing future, the authors write, if judges remain true to this rich tradition of adaptation and fidelity.

Download or read book The American Civil Liberties Union written by Samuel Walker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-03-19 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since its founding after World War I, the American Civil Liberties Union has become an integral part of American society. The history of the ACLU parallels the extension of civil rights and liberties in the United States. With a total of 1454 entries spanning almost three quarters of a century, this annotated bibliography provides an important research tool for scholars, attorneys, and policy analysts. The author has organized the work into six chapters: general works concerning the ACLU, the history of the organization, contemporary and related civil liberties issues, ACLU leaders, and resources to guide scholars.

Download or read book Guns Democracy and the Insurrectionist Idea written by Joshua Horwitz and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2009-04-29 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrectionist Idea recasts the gun debate by showing its importance to the future of democracy and the modern regulatory state. Until now, gun rights advocates had effectively co-opted the language of liberty and democracy and made it their own. This book is an important first step in demonstrating how reasonable gun control is essential to the survival of democracy and ordered liberty." ---Saul Cornell, Ohio State University When gun enthusiasts talk about constitutional liberties guaranteed by the Second Amendment, they are referring to freedom in a general sense, but they also have something more specific in mind---freedom from government oppression. They argue that the only way to keep federal authority in check is to arm individual citizens who can, if necessary, defend themselves from an aggressive government. In the past decade, this view of the proper relationship between government and individual rights and the insistence on a role for private violence in a democracy has been co-opted by the conservative movement. As a result, it has spread beyond extreme militia groups to influence state and national policy. In Guns, Democracy, and the Insurrectionist Idea, Joshua Horwitz and Casey Anderson set the record straight. They challenge the proposition that more guns equal more freedom and expose Insurrectionism as a true threat to freedom in the United States today. Joshua Horwitz received a law degree from George Washington University and is currently a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Casey Anderson holds a law degree from Georgetown University and is currently a lawyer in private practice in Washington, D.C.

Download or read book SCOTUS 2020 written by Morgan Marietta and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-11-07 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each year, the Supreme Court of the United States announces new rulings with deep consequences for our lives. This third volume in Palgrave’s SCOTUS series describes, explains, and contextualizes the landmark cases of the US Supreme Court in the term ending 2020. With a close look at cases involving key issues and debates in American politics and society, SCOTUS 2020 tackles the Court’s rulings on LGBT discrimination, abortion regulation, subpoenas of the Trump administration, the Electoral College, DACA and presidential power, Native rights, cross-border rights, the Second Amendment, church and state, separation of powers, criminal justice, and more. Written by notable scholars in political science and law, the chapters in SCOTUS 2020 present the details of each ruling, its meaning for constitutional debate, and its impact on public policy or partisan politics. Finally, SCOTUS 2020 offers an analysis of the current state of ideological and interpretive divisions on the Court.

Download or read book Revoked written by Allison Frankel and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "[The report] finds that supervision -– probation and parole -– drives high numbers of people, disproportionately those who are Black and brown, right back to jail or prison, while in large part failing to help them get needed services and resources. In states examined in the report, people are often incarcerated for violating the rules of their supervision or for low-level crimes, and receive disproportionate punishment following proceedings that fail to adequately protect their fair trial rights."--Publisher website.

Download or read book The Positive Second Amendment written by Joseph Blocher and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-13 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides the first comprehensive post-Heller account of the Second Amendment as constitutional law - dispelling many myths along the way.

Download or read book A Well regulated Militia written by Saul Cornell and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading constitutional historian argues that the Founding Fathers viewed the right to bear arms as neither an individual nor a collective right, but rather an obligation a citizen owed to the government to arm themselves and participate in a well-regulated militia.

Download or read book Gun Violence in America written by Alexander DeConde and published by UPNE. This book was released on 2003 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth analysis of the folklore surrounding gun use and the state of the debate in today's political climate.

Download or read book Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book In Pursuit of Justice written by Richard B. Zabel and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, there has been much controversy about the proper forum in which to prosecute and punish suspected terrorists. Some have endorsed aggressive use of military commissions; others have proposed an entirely new "national security court." However, as the nation strives for a vigorous and effective response to terrorism, we should not lose sight of the important tools that are already at our disposal, nor should we forget the costs and risks of seeking to break new ground by departing from established institutions and practices. As this White Paper shows, the existing criminal justice system has proved successful at handling a large number of important and challenging terrorism prosecutions over the past fifteen years-without sacrificing national security interests, rigorous standards of fairness and due process, or just punishment for those guilty of terrorism-related crimes.

Download or read book Redefining Federalism written by Douglas T. Kendall and published by Environmental Law Institute. This book was released on 2004 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If federalism is about protecting the states, why not listen to them? In the last decade, the Supreme Court has reworked significant areas of constitutional law with the professed purpose of protecting the dignity and authority of the states, while frequently disregarding the states'' views as to what federalism is all about. The Court, according to the states, is protecting federalism too much and too little. Too much, in striking down federal law where even the states recognize that a federal role is necessary to address a national problem. Too little, in inappropriately limiting state experimentation. By listening more carefully to the States, the Supreme Court could transform its federalism jurisprudence from a source of criticism and polarization to a doctrine that should win broad support from across the political spectrum. In this important book, six distinguished authors redefine federalism and reaffirm Justice Louis Brandeis's vision of states and localities as the laboratories of democracy.

Download or read book The Public Domain written by James Boyle and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-11-25 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this insightful book you will discover the range wars of the new information age, which is today's battles dealing with intellectual property. Intellectual property rights marks the ground rules for information in today's society, including today's policies that are unbalanced and unspupported by any evidence. The public domain is vital to innovation as well as culture in the realm of material that is protected by property rights.

Download or read book History of the Common Law written by John H. Langbein and published by Aspen Publishers. This book was released on 2009-08-14 with total page 1194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This introductory text explores the historical origins of the main legal institutions that came to characterize the Anglo-American legal tradition, and to distinguish it from European legal systems. The book contains both text and extracts from historical sources and literature. The book is published in color, and contains over 250 illustrations, many in color, including medieval illuminated manuscripts, paintings, books and manuscripts, caricatures, and photographs.

Download or read book Cato Supreme Court Review written by Trevor Burrus and published by Cato Institute. This book was released on 2020-10-01 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in its 20th year, the Cato Supreme Court Review brings together leading legal scholars to analyze key cases from the Court's most recent term, plus cases coming up. Topics in the 2020-2021 edition include public disclosure of charitable donations (Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta), the off-campus speech (Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.), union access onto agribusiness land (Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid), police acting as "community caretakers" and warrantless police entries (Caniglia v. Strom), and Arizona's new voting laws (Brnovich v. DNC).

Download or read book The Future of Affirmative Action written by Richard D. Kahlenberg and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the United States experiences dramatic demographic change--and as our society's income inequality continues to rise--promoting racial, ethnic, and economic inclusion at selective colleges has become more important than ever. At the same time, however, many Americans--including several members of the U.S. Supreme Court--are uneasy with explicitly using race as a factor in college admissions. The Court's decision in Fisher v. University of Texas emphasized that universities can use race in admissions only when "necessary," and that universities bear "the ultimate burden of demonstrating, before turning to racial classifications, that available, workable race-neutral alternatives do not suffice." With race-based admission programs increasingly curtailed, The Future of Affirmative Action explores race-neutral approaches as a method of promoting college diversity after Fisher decision. The volume suggests that Fisher might on the one hand be a further challenge to the use of racial criteria in admissions, but on the other presents a new opportunity to tackle, at long last, the burgeoning economic divisions in our system of higher education, and in society as a whole. Contributions from: Danielle Allen (Princeton); John Brittain (University of the District of Columbia) and Benjamin Landy (MSNBC.com); Nancy Cantor and Peter Englot (Rutgers-Newark); Anthony P. Carnevale, Stephen J. Rose, and Jeff Strohl (Georgetown University); Dalton Conley (New York University); Arthur L. Coleman and Teresa E. Taylor (EducationCounsel LLC); Matthew N. Gaertner (Pearson); Sara Goldrick-Rab (University of Wisconsin-Madison); Scott Greytak (Campinha Bacote LLC); Catharine Hill (Vassar); Richard D. Kahlenberg (The Century Foundation); Richard L. McCormick (Rutgers); Nancy G. McDuff (University of Georgia); Halley Potter (The Century Foundation); Alexandria Walton Radford (RTI International) and Jessica Howell (College Board); Richard Sander (UCLA School of Law); and Marta Tienda (Princeton).

Download or read book National Rifle Association written by Josh Sugarmann and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2010-04-19 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Rifle Association is the most powerful and feared lobby in America. It has tens of millions of dollars, millions of well-armed members and influence at the highest levels of government. Sugarmann, a leading expert on firearms violence, gun control and the NRA, is nationally recognized as an innovative and insightful voice in America's gun control debate. This is the first in-depth account of how the NRA uses fear, intimidation and cash to promote firearms sales and derail gun controls. The byzantine world of the gun lobby is explored: NRA internal power struggles and scandals; competing pro-gun organizations; the warm and longstanding ties between the NRA and the firearms industry; and the power and influence of the Second Amendment fundamentalists, alert to any infringement on their "right" to own any weapon they choose. To boost firearms sales and increase its membership, the NRA has teamed up with the industry to stakeout new markets: women, children and black Americans. Preying on Americans' fears, the NRA promises that true security can only come from the barrel of a gun. On Capitol Hill and in state legislatures, the NRA cherishes its reputation for brass-knuckle political power. The result is that intimidation--including death threats--from NRA members is not uncommon. Faced recently with a litany of unpopular issues to defend--cop-killer bullets, plastic "terrorist special" handguns and assault weapons--today's NRA is increasingly out of step with the American public, the majority of gun owners and police. As a result, the NRA is at a crossroads. Will it retreat to its traditional activities of target shooting, hunting and safety training? Or will it regroup and rearm, ready to wage war on the increasing number who dare question its unyielding pro-gun stance? NRA: Money, Firepower & Fear chronicles the past, present and uncertain future of this uniquely American institution and its role in the gun control wars. Tossing aside accepted stereotypes, it reveals an NRA that will shock gun owners and non-gun owners alike. The NRA's original vision of a coonskin-capped "citizen-soldier" has turned into a national nightmare of violence and death. NRA: Money, Firepower & Fear tells why.--From publisher description.