By Ana Choi On April 28, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that could finally and conclusively bring marriage equality to all states. Public attention is mostly focused on what the Supreme Court will decide and how they will reach their decision, but this case also brings up interesting questions about the role of lawyers in cases that involve controversial public policy issues. A New York Times article has recently reported that no major law firms …
Religion and Marriage Equality Statutes
To mark the release of Volume 9.1, Notice & Comment will be highlighting each of the articles in its own blog post. Today's featured article: Professor Nelson Tebbe's Religion and Marriage Equality Statutes. Professor Tebbe, a visiting professor at Cornell Law School, writes: To date, every state statute that has extended marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples has included accommodations for actors who oppose such marriages on religious grounds. Debate over those accommodations has …
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What Really Happened in Indiana?
By Allison Schultz On March 26th, Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law. Unlike the federal RFRA and most other state RFRAs, Indiana’s law explicitly stated that it could be invoked as a defense in private litigation — lawsuits in which the government is not a party. As the national media quickly pointed out, this meant that Indiana’s RFRA could be used as a defense in, for example, lawsuits alleging discrimination on the basis of sexual …
Same-Sex Marriage: A View from Virginia
The following is a question-and-answer with Stuart Raphael, the Solicitor General of Virginia. Virginia has filed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges, a Supreme Court case challenging state same-sex marriage bans. Virginia's same-sex marriage ban was struck down by a federal court last year in Bostic v. Schaefer. Q: Virginia’s amicus brief in Obergefell v. Hodges focuses extensively on refuting the “narrowest historical context” approach. Can you give us a brief …
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No More Midterms: Let’s Amend the Constitution and Elect the Federal Government Every Four Years
By Michael Pierce This month, members of Congress have shown themselves paralyzed when it comes to protecting victims of sex trafficking, yet perfectly capable of acting to embarrass the President (or, as Obama argues, themselves). Less than two years ago, budget negotiations between Democrats and Republicans deteriorated so far that the Federal Government actually shut down, costing the country $2,000,000,000 in lost productivity. The Washington status quo is unacceptable. But don't give up …
Thinking About an Agenda for a New Supreme Court, Part II
By Mark Tushnet The first post on this topic briefly discussed what a new Supreme Court might do about campaign finance regulation. I suggested that the best course would be to go back to the beginning, rather than try to work within the framework developed over the past forty years. Doing so would allow a new Court both to eliminate much of the doctrinal complexity in the field and, far more important, to place the constitutional analysis of campaign finance regulation on a firmer …
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