Role of the Judiciary

Judge Neil Gorsuch: A Reply to Nicholas Bamforth

Judge Neil Gorsuch: A Reply to Nicholas Bamforth

At the start of March, Nick Bamforth wrote a blog post for this site examining Judge Neil Gorsuch’s ‘Academic Pedigree’. With the hearings on Gorsuch underway, I thought it might...
Judge Gorsuch’s Academic Pedigree

Judge Gorsuch’s Academic Pedigree

In articles published on 4th February 2017, the Times and Guardian newspapers drew attention to the intellectual influence of Oxford legal theorist John Finnis on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge...
China’s New Circuit Tribunals Allow Tighter Control of Judiciary

China’s New Circuit Tribunals Allow Tighter Control of Judiciary

China’s new system of circuit tribunals makes access to the justice system more convenient for ordinary citizens. But the new tribunals also make sure that the Communist Party retains firm...
The U.S. Constitution, Constitutional Conventions, and President Trump

The U.S. Constitution, Constitutional Conventions, and President Trump

What is most concerning about the conduct of Donald Trump during and since the 2016 presidential campaign is not any potential violations of the U.S. Constitution. Most concerning are his...
Triggering Article 50: R (Miller and others) v Secretary of State for the Exiting of the European Union

Triggering Article 50: R (Miller and others) v Secretary of State for the Exiting of the European Union

The High Court in London is currently hearing a challenge to the position of the UK Government that it can trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union...
Judging Abortion in Northern Ireland: Facing the Challenges, Taking the Opportunities

Judging Abortion in Northern Ireland: Facing the Challenges, Taking the Opportunities

The Northern Ireland legal system and, more specifically, Northern Irish courts have been thrust into the national spotlight this week following the prosecution of a 21 year old woman who...
Scalia’s Record on Labour Rights as Human Rights – Justice Denied

Scalia’s Record on Labour Rights as Human Rights – Justice Denied

During Justice Scalia’s nearly thirty-year term, the Court decided nineteen private-sector labour cases in which the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was a party. Three cases concerned whether the Court/NLRB/President...
Justice Scalia’s Terribly Few Words on Education Rights

Justice Scalia’s Terribly Few Words on Education Rights

Justice Scalia was a wordsmith whose informal, pithy style and wit forced smiles from even his staunchest critics. His influence on the Supreme Court came through the sheer effect of...
Blog: Scalia’s Influence on the Religion Clauses: Part II

Blog: Scalia’s Influence on the Religion Clauses: Part II

During the last thirty years, Justice Scalia was a key figure in the Supreme Court’s steady movement away from separationist readings of the Establishment Clause in state funding of religious...
Justice Scalia and the Fair Housing Act: A Textualist Approach Honed in Oral Argument

Justice Scalia and the Fair Housing Act: A Textualist Approach Honed in Oral Argument

Justice Antonin Scalia’s output in the area of housing rights, and Fair Housing Act (FHA) law specifically, is deceptively sparse, if judged by authored opinions. Assessing his impact on these...
Justice Scalia, Challenges to the Affordable Care Act, and a Missed Opportunity to Meaningfully Engage the Right to Healthcare

Justice Scalia, Challenges to the Affordable Care Act, and a Missed Opportunity to Meaningfully Engage the Right to Healthcare

Justice Antonin Scalia was known for his polarising opinions on fundamental issues in American policy. Yet, his recent dissents in major legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are...
Justice Scalia’s Legacy on Gender Equality: No Need to “Remember the Ladies” 

Justice Scalia’s Legacy on Gender Equality: No Need to “Remember the Ladies” 

Despite Justice Scalia’s well-known friendship with the most feminist Justice on the United States Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Scalia was no friend to feminist legal efforts. Indeed, he was...

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