ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society

Stories:

• "Businesses have been seeking, and increasingly courts have been granting, preemption of state regulatory and common-law safeguards, regardless of whether Congress anticipated or intended any such results," writes Simon Lazarus and Harper Jean Tobin in a guest blog post discussing Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Association. 
• How should the Supreme Court decide hard cases? In a series of six articles, Geoffrey R. Stone, a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and member of ACS' Board of Directors, explores his vision "constitutionalism."
• Simon Lazarus asks whether the Supreme Court is “repealing the 20th century” in his latest article published in The American Prospect.
• The Economist eulogizes Lieutenant Milo Radulovich, a victim of the Red Scare, and draws comparisons to today.
• The difficulties encountered by individuals convicted of crimes and later exonerated by DNA evidence.
• Judges are issuing sealed orders in response to secret government requests that ask cell phone providers to provide real-time tracking data on customers absent a showing of probable cause and in violation of internal Department of Justice guidelines.
• Stephanie Coontz asks "why do people – gay or straight – need the state's permission to marry?"
• An attorney who revealed that his deceased client committed a murder – so as to exonerate another man who has served 21 years in prison – may lose his law license.

Resources:

• An issue brief entitled "Guantanamo is Here: The Military Commissions Act and Noncitizen Vulnerability," by Muneer I. Ahmad, professor of law at American University Washington College of Law.
• Video from a panel discussion entitled "Voter ID Laws: Preventing Fraud or Suppressing the Vote?"