Constitutional law - Tenth Amendment - Ninth Circuit holds interim enforcement provisions of the Brady Bill constitutional - Mack v. United States, 66 F.3d 1025 (9th Cir. 1995), petition for cert. filed, 64 U.S.L.W. 3642 (U.S. Mar. 15, 1996)(No. 95-1478)
Article Abstract:
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit erred in ruling in Mack v. United States that provisions in the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that required sheriffs to process handgun sale approvals did not violate the Tenth Amendment. Review of US Supreme Court jurisprudence on the extent to which the federal government can require state agencies to carry out federal programs suggests that imposing this bureaucratic burden on local officials would not promote political accountability. The Ninth Circuit also failed to distinguish between mandates aimed at judicial bodies and those that influence executive agencies.
Publication Name: Harvard Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0017-811X
Year: 1996
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Constitutional law - equal protection - Seventh Circuit permits use of racial classifications in promotion decisions at a prison boot camp. - Wittmer v. Peters, 87 F.3d 916 (7th Cir.), petition for cert. filed, 65 U.S.L.W. 3416 (U.S. Nov. 22, 1996) (No. 96-852)
Article Abstract:
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found in Wittmer v. Peters that a prison boot camp's race-based promotion of a correctional officer did not violate the equal protection rights of white officers not promoted. Writing for the Court, Chief Judge Richard A. Posner took advantage of the US Supreme Court failure to identify correction of historical discrimination as the sole justification for race-based employment decisions. He found that the need for African-Americans in positions of authority in prisons with substantial African-American populations was a compelling government interest.
Publication Name: Harvard Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0017-811X
Year: 1997
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Constitutional law - Commerce Clause - Second Circuit upholds the Child Support Recovery Act of 1992. - United States v. Sage, 92 F.3d 101 (2d Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 1996 WL 722917 (U.S. Jan. 21, 1997) (No. 96-7034)
Article Abstract:
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit failed to follow the Commerce Clause mandates of United States v. Lopez in upholding the Child Support Recovery Act (CSRA) in United States v. Sage. The US Supreme Court called for heightened attention to whether federal statutes actually regulate interstate commerce. The Second Circuit accepted that enforcement of child support orders was related to interstate commerce. Under Lopez, the Court should have employed the substantial effects test and found the statute unconstitutional.
Publication Name: Harvard Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0017-811X
Year: 1997
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- Abstracts: Constitutional law - First Amendment - Ninth Circuit invalidates Arizona Constitution's official English requirement - Yniguez v. Arizonans for Official English, 69 F.3d 920 (9th Cir. 1995)(en banc), cert. granted, 64 U.S.L.W. 3635 (U.S. Mar. 26, 1996)(No. 95-974)
- Abstracts: Mediation, arbitration square off; the majority of in-house counsel surveyed prefer mediation to binding arbitration, a significant change from three years ago
- Abstracts: Receipt of options under consulting agreement does not prevent qualification as outside director under s. 162(m)
- Abstracts: A roomful of comments; Ethics 2000 Commission asks for input on the Model Rules - and gets plenty. From death's door
- Abstracts: In the recently passed appropriations bill, Congress clarified when lenders and fiduciaries are liable under CERCLA for cleanup of property held as collateral