Oct

10

ACS Presentation on 2008-09 Supreme Court Opinions

Posted by: Joshua Pollack | October 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment

With the beginning of the 2009-2010 term of the Supreme Court, the Marquette Chapter of American Constitution Society for Law and Public Policy (ACS) spent a lunch-hour discussing some of the more interesting cases of the past 2008-2009 term. Leading the lunch discussion were Marquette professors Blinka, McChrystal, and Secunda.
Professor Blinka started the lunch discussion [...]

Sep

8

Constitution Day Symposium on Judicial Elections

Posted by: Jessica E. Slavin | September 8, 2009 | 4 Comments

On Saturday, I ran a 5K in Stevens Point, in support of Justiceworks, Ltd., a nonprofit organization “dedicated to the advancement of programs and practices that secure right relationships between offenders, victims, and their communities” in Portage County.  My father lives and works in that community and asked me and my sisters to participate in [...]

Sep

8

Obama’s Speech on Education

Posted by: Lisa Mazzie | September 8, 2009 | 4 Comments

At 11 a.m. central time, President Obama delivered a speech addressed to school children across the country. The hullabaloo that has preceded this event has amazed me; last week, Florida Republican party chairman Jim Greer said he was “absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology.” A Facebook poll that asked [...]

Aug

23

Town Hall Meetings and Democracy

Posted by: Edward A. Fallone | August 23, 2009 | 3 Comments

It is difficult to watch the video of the various “town hall meetings” and constituent listening sessions that have taken place during the current congressional recess.  The overwhelming feeling engendered by these scenes of screaming faces is a feeling of despair for the future of democracy itself.  After all, town hall meetings hold an important [...]

Jul

31

The Beer Summit-A Restorative Justice Experience?

Posted by: Janine P. Geske | July 31, 2009 | 3 Comments

As I listened to the political pundits argue about the “beer summit” that occurred at the White House yesterday, I am amazed by the debate as to whether President Barrack Obama, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Lieutenant James Crowley really gave us “a teachable moment.” There is no doubt in mind that they did. [...]

Jul

24

The Umpire, the Wise Latina, and the Cabinetmaker

Posted by: Edward A. Fallone | July 24, 2009 | 6 Comments

The confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor are over, and the reviews have been overwhelmingly negative.  The public tuned in expecting a discussion of the nominee’s qualifications and a debate on the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system.  What they got, instead, was a battle of metaphors.
Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee [...]

Jul

20

The Sotomayor Hearings — What We Can Agree On?

Posted by: Richard M. Esenberg | July 20, 2009 | 5 Comments

Here is something that we can all agree on. Maybe. Over at PrawfsBlawg, Howard Wasserman of Florida International says that the Sotomayor hearings have been “inane and meaningless.” This has been a widely shared reaction among liberal legal academics and lawyers. They are disappointed in (even if they are willing to excuse) her retreat into [...]

Jul

14

Politics as Total War

Posted by: Richard M. Esenberg | July 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment

A few years ago, a Department of Defense official called for a boycott of tony law firms that represented — on a pro bono basis — Guantanamo detainees. He was roundly — and I think justly — criticized.
But his view of politics as total war — something to be imported into nonpolitical walks of life [...]

Jul

4

Anatomy of an Op Ed

Posted by: Edward A. Fallone | July 4, 2009 | 4 Comments

I authored an opinion piece in support of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court that was published in the June 28, 2009 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  You can read the piece here (and you can read a “dueling” piece authored by Rick Esenberg here).
 What follows is a deconstruction of my own [...]

Jun

27

Which Declaration of Independence?

Posted by: Edward A. Fallone | June 27, 2009 | 1 Comment

When you are at your Fourth of July cookout or fireworks display this week, see if anyone mentions the Declaration of Independence.  If they do, ask “which Declaration of Independence?”  After all, there are more than one.
 In her 1997 book American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence, historian Pauline Maier describes the events leading up [...]

Jun

26

“Well, a satirical piece in the Times is one thing, but bricks and baseball bats really get right to the point.”

Posted by: Richard M. Esenberg | June 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment

So said Woody Allen (as Isaac Davis in Manhattan) in response to the suggestion that a Nazi march was “devastated” by a mocking piece in the New York Times.
In Sunday’s  Times, there was an article about a group calling themselves “The Nationalist Socialist Movement – Springfield Unit.”  It has been allowed to participate in Missouri’s adopt-a highway program. [...]

Jun

23

Reflections on Why We Fight

Posted by: Richard M. Esenberg | June 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Let’s fight about why we fight!
Or, better yet, let’s continue the intriguing discussion begun by Professor Fallone about the nature of our political divisions. There are some interesting observations in the readings he suggests (I’ve seen only the Lakoff book), but they also raise some interesting (at least to me) observations and questions.
I have not [...]

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