The United States is extremely diverse religiously and, not infrequently, individuals sincerely contend that they are unable to act in accord with law as a matter of conscience. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the free exercise of religion and the United States Supreme Court has issued many decisions exploring the depth and breadth of those protections. This book addresses the Court’s free exercise jurisprudence, discussing what counts as religion and the pro...

‘When put to the test, most people have difficulty identifying what justice is, especially when there is tension between proper process and a desired result. Due process is inherent in our conception of justice. But bad process can yield the right result, just as good process can produce the wrong result. The legal system is designed to produce justice. We call it the justice system — sometimes un-selfconsciously, sometimes with bitter irony. It is designed to produce justice according to ...

For Richard Posner, legal formalism and formalist judges--notably Antonin Scalia--present the main obstacles to coping with the dizzying pace of technological advance. Posner calls for legal realism--gathering facts, considering context, and reaching a sensible conclusion that inflicts little collateral damage on other areas of the law.

This book explains our right to freedom of expression, its limits, and how Canadian courts draw the line.Freedom of expression is a fundamental right protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is part of the Constitution of Canada and, as such, the highest law of the land. But it has limits. Peacefully picketing an abortion clinic, so long as patients can come and go, is a protected right, but shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theatre to cause a stampede is...

The Cultural Defense of Nations presents a timely, thought-provoking thesis on some of the most pressing issues of our time-global immigration, majority groups, and national identity. Never in human history has so much attention been paid to human movement. Global migration yields demographic shifts of historical significance, profoundly shaking up world politics-as has been seen in the refugee crisis, the Brexit referendum, and the 2016 U.S. election. The Cultural Defense of ...

This interdisciplinary collection presents a scholarly treatment of how the constitutional politics of federalism affect governments and citizens, offering an accessible yet comprehensive analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s federalism jurisprudence and its effect on the development of national and state policies in key areas of constitutional jurisprudence. The contributors address the impact that Supreme Court federalism precedents have in setting the parameters of national law and polic...

Questions of religious liberty have become flashpoints of controversy in virtually every area of life around the world. Despite the protection of religious liberty at both national and supranational levels, there is an increasing number of conflicts concerning the proper way to recognize it – both in modern secular states and in countries with an established religion or theocratic mode of government.This book provides an analysis of the general concept of religious liberty along wi...

"A definitive study of an extremely important, though curiously neglected, Supreme Court decision, Pierce v. Society of Sisters."---Robert O'Neil, Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Virginia School of Law"A careful and captivating examination of a dramatic and instructive clash between nationalism and religious pluralism, and of the ancient but ongoing struggle for control over the education of children and the formation of citizens."---Richard W. Garne...

Human reason is limited. Given the scarcity of reason, how should the power to make constitutional law be allocated among legislatures, courts and the executive, and how should legal institutions be designed? In Law and the Limits of Reason, Adrian Vermeule denies the widespread view, stemming from Burke and Hayek, that the limits of reason counsel in favor of judges making "living" constitutional law in the style of the common law. Instead, he proposes and defends a "codified con...

This book argues that human dignity and law stand in a privileged relationship with one another. Law must be understood as limited by the demands made by human dignity. Conversely, human dignity cannot be properly understood without clarifying its interaction with legal institutions and legal practices. This is not, then, a survey of the uses of human dignity in law; it is a rethinking of human dignity in relation to our principles of social governance. The result is a revisionist account ...

In the past few years, constitutional courts have been presented with new challenges. The world financial crisis, the new wave of terrorism, mass migration and other country-specific problems have had wide-ranging effects on the old and embedded constitutional standards and judicial constructions. This book examines how, if at all, these unprecedented social, economic and political problems have affected constitutional review in Europe. As the courts’ response must conform with EU law and ...

Judicial independence, integrity and impartiality are crucial to public trust in the judiciary. Justice must also be seen to be dispensed fairly and without fear or favour. In the context of themes and perspectives as well as comparative theories of independence, this book provides a contemporary analysis of the role and independence of judges in fifteen countries in the Asia-Pacific. Expert analyses include countries that are governed by authoritarian governments or are beset by dramatic ...