Keeping Faith with the Constitution

Keeping Faith with the Constitution
Author: Goodwin Liu
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2010-08-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0199752834

Chief Justice John Marshall argued that a constitution "requires that only its great outlines should be marked [and] its important objects designated." Ours is "intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs." In recent years, Marshall's great truths have been challenged by proponents of originalism and strict construction. Such legal thinkers as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argue that the Constitution must be construed and applied as it was when the Framers wrote it. In Keeping Faith with the Constitution, three legal authorities make the case for Marshall's vision. They describe their approach as "constitutional fidelity"--not to how the Framers would have applied the Constitution, but to the text and principles of the Constitution itself. The original understanding of the text is one source of interpretation, but not the only one; to preserve the meaning and authority of the document, to keep it vital, applications of the Constitution must be shaped by precedent, historical experience, practical consequence, and societal change. The authors range across the history of constitutional interpretation to show how this approach has been the source of our greatest advances, from Brown v. Board of Education to the New Deal, from the Miranda decision to the expansion of women's rights. They delve into the complexities of voting rights, the malapportionment of legislative districts, speech freedoms, civil liberties and the War on Terror, and the evolution of checks and balances. The Constitution's framers could never have imagined DNA, global warming, or even women's equality. Yet these and many more realities shape our lives and outlook. Our Constitution will remain vital into our changing future, the authors write, if judges remain true to this rich tradition of adaptation and fidelity.

How the Irish Became White

How the Irish Became White
Author: Noel Ignatiev
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2012-11-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1135070695

'...from time to time a study comes along that truly can be called ‘path breaking,’ ‘seminal,’ ‘essential,’ a ‘must read.’ How the Irish Became White is such a study.' John Bracey, W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies, University of Massachussetts, Amherst The Irish came to America in the eighteenth century, fleeing a homeland under foreign occupation and a caste system that regarded them as the lowest form of humanity. In the new country – a land of opportunity – they found a very different form of social hierarchy, one that was based on the color of a person’s skin. Noel Ignatiev’s 1995 book – the first published work of one of America’s leading and most controversial historians – tells the story of how the oppressed became the oppressors; how the new Irish immigrants achieved acceptance among an initially hostile population only by proving that they could be more brutal in their oppression of African Americans than the nativists. This is the story of How the Irish Became White.

Reducing Gun Violence in America

Reducing Gun Violence in America
Author: Daniel W. Webster
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2013-01-28
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1421411113

Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Magazine The staggering toll of gun violence—which claims 31,000 U.S. lives each year—is an urgent public health issue that demands an effective evidence-based policy response. The Johns Hopkins University convened more than 20 of the world's leading experts on gun violence and policy to summarize relevant research and recommend policies that are both constitutional and have broad public support. Collected for the first time in one volume, this reliable, empirical research and legal analysis will help lawmakers, opinion leaders, and concerned citizens identify policy changes to address mass shootings, along with the less-publicized gun violence that takes an average of 80 lives every day. Selected recommendations include: • Background checks: Establish a universal background check system for all persons purchasing a firearm from any seller. • High-risk individuals: Expand the set of conditions that disqualify an individual from legally purchasing a firearm. • Mental health: Focus federal restrictions on gun purchases by persons with serious mental illness on the dangerousness of the individual. • Trafficking and dealer licensing: Appoint a permanent director to ATF and provide the agency with the authority to develop a range of sanctions for gun dealers who violate gun sales or other laws. • Personalized guns: Provide financial incentives to states to mandate childproof or personalized guns. • Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines: Ban the future sale of assault weapons and the future sale and possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines. • Research funds: Provide adequate federal funds to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and National Institute of Justice for research into the causes and solutions of gun violence. The book includes an analysis of the constitutionality of many recommended policies and data from a national public opinion poll that reflects support among the majority of Americans—including gun owners—for stronger gun policies.

Congress and the Nation 2013-2016, Volume XIV

Congress and the Nation 2013-2016, Volume XIV
Author: David Hosansky
Publisher: CQ Press
Total Pages: 745
Release: 2019-10-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1544350651

Chronicling the polarized partisan environment during the President Barack Obama’s second term, Congress and the Nation 2013-2016, Vol. XIV is the most authoritative reference on congressional lawmaking and trends during the 113th and 114th Congresses. The newest edition in this award-winning series documents the most fiercely debated issues during this period, including: The unprecedented federal government shutdown, The strike down of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional, End of the filibuster for most executive and judicial branch nominees, Changes to the Dodd–Frank Act, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Pope Francis address joint sessions, Sexual Assault Survivors′ Rights Act passed, overhauling rape kit processing and establishment of victim bill of rights, SPACE Act passed, allowing commercial exploration of space. No other source guides readers seamlessly through the policy output of the national legislature with the breadth, depth, and authority of Congress and the Nation. This is a landmark series is a must-have reference for all academic libraries and meets the needs of the full spectrum of users, from lower-level undergraduates through researchers and faculty.

Core Concepts in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice

Core Concepts in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
Author: Kai Ambos
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 507
Release: 2020-01-16
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1108483399

A comparative and collaborative study of the foundational principles and concepts that underpin different domestic systems of criminal law.

Handbook for Georgia County Commissioners

Handbook for Georgia County Commissioners
Author: Betty J. Hudson
Publisher: University of Georgia, Carl Vinson Institute of Government
Total Pages: 604
Release: 2010
Genre: County government
ISBN: 9780898542301

"Published in cooperation with the Association County Commissioners of Georgia."

Summary of Enactments

Summary of Enactments
Author: Ohio. General Assembly. Legislative Service Commission
Publisher:
Total Pages: 208
Release: 1985
Genre: Legislation
ISBN:

State Violence and Punishment in India

State Violence and Punishment in India
Author: Taylor C. Sherman
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2010-01-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1135224862

Exploring violent confrontation between the state and the population in colonial and postcolonial India, this book is both a study of the ways in which governments in India used collective coercion and state violence against the population, and a cultural history of how acts of state violence were interpreted by the population.