Matthew J. Brauer, Barbara Forrest and Steven G. Gey
On several occasions during the last eighty years, states have attempted to either prohibit the teaching of evolution in public school science classes or counter the teaching of evolution with mandatory references to the religious doctrine of creationism. The Supreme Court struck down examples of the first two generations of these statutes, holding that they violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. A third generation of creationist legislation is…
Federal criminal defendants almost always prefer a jury trial to a bench trial, but it is unclear why. Statistically, federal judges are significantly more likely to acquit than a jury is—over a recent 14 year period, for example, the jury trial conviction rate was 84%, while the bench conviction rate was a mere 55%. Moreover, while the conviction rate for juries has remained nearly constant for many years, the judicial…
This Article is the first effort to bridge the scholarly divide by means of a conceptual comparison of state sovereignty here and abroad. To be clear, this Article does not claim that the substance of state sovereignty is the same in all respects for states as it is for nations. The states and nation-states are obviously vastly different creatures, with vastly different powers and rights. However, their claims to sovereignty,…