Constitution
Void for Vagueness
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Constitution on November 18th, 2009
One of the most difficult constitutional principles to teach, for reasons I really don’t understand, is the rule that in order to be constituional, a law must be sufficiently precise to allow citizens to know what behaviors will be sanctioned. If a law does not meet that standard, we say it is “void for vagueness.” [...]
Continue reading...Defining Our Terms
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Constitution on October 19th, 2009
I was going through a file earlier today, and came across an entry I wrote a couple of years ago for the Encyclopedia of the Constitution. My task was to define “civil liberty.” Sometimes, it’s good to remind ourselves what our civil liberties are–and why they matter.
Here’s what I wrote:
Civil liberty is the right of [...]
Civic Education, Constitutional Culture and Crazy Times
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Constitution on September 29th, 2009
Crazy times: need I elaborate? We have people showing up at Town Hall meetings with guns, and other people warning that our government wants to kill old people. We have elected officials who don’t believe in evolution and who deny the existence of climate change. We have school corporations refusing to allow students to hear [...]
Continue reading...Can We Rescue Civic Literacy?
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Constitution on September 23rd, 2009
My research focuses on something I call “Constitutional Culture.” The investigation of “constitutional culture” is considerably broader than legal analysis; it focuses upon the reciprocal relationship between our laws and legal norms and the broader culture within which those norms must be understood.
In other words, I study how constitutional values operate within a very diverse [...]
Rendering Judgment
Posted by Sheila Kennedy in Constitution on May 16th, 2009
In the wake of the Bush administration, Americans are debating the meaning and importance of the rule of law. With Justice David Souter’s resignation, that discussion has intensified.
Most legal analysts give Souter high marks, and it is worth considering why. Souter was a brilliant and accomplished legal scholar, but there are many equally brilliant lawyers [...]
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