While lawyers, political scientists and others recognize the more explicitly religious components of America?s current polarization, we fail to appreciate the extent to which conflicting policy preferences are rooted in religiously-shaped normative frameworks. Much like the blind men and the elephant, we encounter different parts of the animal. We see a tree, a wall, a snake?but we fail to apprehend the size, shape and power of the whole elephant.
Continue reading “Religious Paradigms and the Rule of Law: Thinking in Red and Blue”
Category Archives: Academic Papers
Tilting the Level Playing Field
Normative notions of fairness are shaped by—and reflected in—a nation’s legal system. The idea of equality is a bedrock element of the American legal and political systems; we strive for a meritocracy and affirm the obligation of government to treat similarly situated citizens equally. The ‘level playing field’ is a favorite metaphor.
Continue reading “Tilting the Level Playing Field”
Back To School
[W]hile school districts across the nation have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on safety and safety technologies, there is very little data about the relative effectiveness of these measures. While concern for student safety is certainly warranted, sound public policy should be based upon evidence of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of these technologies, as well as their congruity with basic constitutional principles.
Continue reading “Back To School”
Charitable Choice: First Results from Three States
Interim findings from a three-year, three-state study of implementation of the Charitable Choice provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).
Continue reading “Charitable Choice: First Results from Three States”
The Digital Divide
The American legal system evolves far more slowly than the new technologies that present almost daily challenges to rules framed for a simpler time.
Continue reading “The Digital Divide”