Texas Review of Law & Politics

Preface

Wisconsin's Own: Some Thoughts On the Legacy of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist

Clement presents his personal observations on Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. To go along with this incredible command of the Courtroom, the Chief Justice also had a legendary command of the material. It was as if every case decided in the United States Reports was part of his personal database.

Chief Justice Rehnquist and the Search for Judicially Enforceable Federalism

Althouse presents her personal reflections on Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Chief Justice Rehnquist revived federalism in his early years on the Court and led the Court through an elaborate and conscientious struggle about how the Court might enforce the benefits of federalism.

A Remarkable Man

Olson presents his reflections on Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Chief Justice Rehnquist served on the Court for almost thirty-four years; fifteen as Associate Justice and nineteen as Chief Justice. That is a remarkable tenure. He served longer as Chief Justice than all but two of the Chief Justices.

Personal Reflections On the Chief

Garnett presents his views on Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Running through Rehnquist's opinions on any number of issues, from assisted suicide to abortion to Christmas displays to campaign finance, is a commitment to the notion that the Constitution leaves the hard questions, generally speaking, to the people.

An Unwavering Man and Judge

Leitch presents his comments on Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Brilliance, efficiency, economy and clarity of language, and an enthusiasm for life were all aspects of Rehnquist's personality that Leitch admired.

Restoring Self-Government On Abortion: A Federalism Amendment

Based on decisions in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey and Stenberg v. Carhart it can still be said that there are at least five votes on the Court that support Roe. Only two Justices have expressly supported overturning Roe. Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito have taken no public position; while they might be reasonably expected to uphold regulations of abortion, their position on Roe itself is unknown. It is safe to say that they will be under enormous pressure ...

Thou Shalt Not Post the Ten Commandments? Mccreary, Van Orden, and the Future of Religious Display Cases

After discussing the relevant facts and lower court opinions of McCreary County v. ACLU and Van Orden v. Perry, this Article examines and evaluates the Supreme Court's Ten Commandments decisions, with particular attention given to the Court's use of the Founding Fathers and to the unannounced doctrinal alterations made in Establishment Clause jurisprudence. The Article also speculates as to how the Supreme Court might decide future Ten Commandments cases and other religious display cases in l...

The Florida Supreme Court Vs. School Choice: A 'Uniformly' Horrid Decision

This Article is about the first statewide attempt to fix education problems by offering government-funded vouchers to students in failing public schools and about what happened to that program when it landed before the Florida Supreme Court. In rejecting vouchers, the court departed from logic, precedent, and principle and acted more like a third branch of the Florida legislature than a court of law.

The Non-Political Branch

Upon becoming the seventeenth Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts argued that the seventy-eight to twenty-two Senate vote to confirm him to the Court demonstrated "what is for me a bedrock principle, that judging is different from politics." Lee Epstein and Jeffrey Segal would most vehemendy disagree, as would most political scientists who study the aptly named "judicial politics" subfield. Not only is judging politics, in that it represents a means of distributing societal benef...

Do Federal Firearms Laws Violate the Second Amendment by Disarming the Militia?

In recent years, through the work of several noted constitutional scholars, the conclusion that the Second Amendment's Framers intended to protect an individual right to possess and carry firearms, as opposed to an amorphous "states' right" to arm state militias or the National Guard, has been widely accepted by legal academics of all stripes. This paper examines what restrictions on gun rights the Amendment allows.

Essay

If I Were a Corporation, I'd Be a Constitutional Person, Too

Since the decision of the US Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade that unborn children are not persons within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, the question arises why an artificial legal entity called a corporation acquires constitutional rights that a natural human being cannot. This essay explores how corporations attained constitutional protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and identifies the various legal tests developed by judges that must be passed before personhood is conferred.