Abstracts » Law

Comment; institutions and interpretation: a critique of City of Boerne v. Flores

Article Abstract:

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was a legitimate exercise by Congress of its discretionary power to interpret the Bill of Rights to implement its Section Five of the 14th Amendment enforcement authority. The US Supreme Court in Boerne v. Flores did not bind itself by normal institutional constraints which should have led it to respect the decision of the representative institution of Congress in enacting RFRA. The Court's insistence upon its own prior interpretations was not justified theoretically or practically.

Analysis, Freedom of religion, Judicial power

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The faith to change: reconciling the oath to uphold with the power to amend

Article Abstract:

The responsibility to uphold the Constitution assigned to elected representatives is inconsistent in some ways with the unfettered ability to amend the Constitution without consulting higher authority. The people of the United States are often thought of as the higher authority, but citizens are rarely engaged in constitutional debates in any meaningful way. Faith in the Constitution requires placing constraints on the officials charged with interpreting and amending the Constitution.

Constitutional amendments

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Constitutional law - Treaty Clause - District Court holds that NAFTA is a valid exercise of the foreign commerce power. - Made in the USA Foundation v. United States

Article Abstract:

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama correctly ruled that NAFTA is constitutional in light of Supremacy Clause jurisprudence, but not on Treaty Clause grounds which the court relied upon to support its holding.

United States, Commercial treaties, Trade agreements, Treaty ratification

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