Tag: philosophy of law

Theories of Constitutional Interpretation and How to Think About Upcoming Constitutional Cases

I. Introduction Anytime a constitutional case intersects with the culture wars, you can bet your bottom dollar that everyone on social media will magically become a constitutional scholar–in their own minds anyway. Yes, folks, merely believing something is sufficient for it being true. But I digress (already)… In this post, I’m going to give an […]

Read More Theories of Constitutional Interpretation and How to Think About Upcoming Constitutional Cases

Mercy, Revenge, Victims’ Rights, and Restorative Justice

Mercy, Revenge, Victims’ Rights, and Restorative JusticePreamble:This is my proto-term paper for what has been a life-changing seminar I took this semester on retribution and punishment.  The paper needs to be ‘academicized’ (sources cited, address objections in the literature, given a half-coherent organizational structure, etc..) but I wanted to get my thoughts out first.  Also, […]

Read More Mercy, Revenge, Victims’ Rights, and Restorative Justice

Constitutional Interpretation: Dworkin’s Response to Scalia

Notes and Thoughts on A Response to Scalia by DworkinOverviewNote, some of the content in the article–as you might expect–refers back to the Scalia posts.Dworkin agrees with Scalia that the Constitution should be interpreted according to original textual meaning but distinguishes two approaches.  The first is semantic originalism: the idea that clauses ought to be […]

Read More Constitutional Interpretation: Dworkin’s Response to Scalia

Constitutional Interpretation: Originalism and Textualism (Scalia) Part 1

Notes and Thoughts on Interpreting the Constitution by Antonin Scalia I apologize for typos and such, I haven’t had time to thoroughly proof read this post yet.PreambleSo, I’m writing my philosophy of law paper on constitutional interpretation; “originalism” in particular.  At first, I thought the whole idea of originalism kind of silly, but after doing some […]

Read More Constitutional Interpretation: Originalism and Textualism (Scalia) Part 1

Separation of Church and State Part 2: The Establishment Clause and Accommodationist Position

Notes and Thoughts on the Legal Issues Surrounding the Separation of Church and State in the Context of the Establishment ClauseOverviewSo, what’s the establishment clause?  It’s the part of the first part of the first amendment that says “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion”.  The free exercise clause follows it […]

Read More Separation of Church and State Part 2: The Establishment Clause and Accommodationist Position

Crashing your Car and Eating it Too: Part 2. Tort Law and No-Fault Car Insurance

Notes and Thoughts on “Tort Law and No-Fault Car Insurance” by Murphy and ColemanRecapIn the last post we were talking about tort laws and how they might apply to car accidents/the insurance industry.  Recall that tort laws are laws about legal liability.  The proposal is that a no-fault system better meets our standards for justice […]

Read More Crashing your Car and Eating it Too: Part 2. Tort Law and No-Fault Car Insurance

Crashing your Car and Eating it Too: Tort Law and No-Fault Car Insurance

Notes and Thoughts on “Tort Liability and Corrective Justice” by Murphy and ColemanOverviewSuppose you’re a baby and you’re driving my car because the Beatles’ song told you too.  You crash the car and destroy someone’s beautiful pink flamingo lawn ornaments.  Who should pay to replace the flamingos?  Most reasonable people would say it’s the baby’s […]

Read More Crashing your Car and Eating it Too: Tort Law and No-Fault Car Insurance