Interpreting Initiatives
By Michael D. Gilbert. Full text here. Judges claim to resolve ambiguities in initiatives by identifying and giving force to “voter intent,” but scholars reject that on the ground that such intent does not exist. This Article argues otherwise. We can understand the search for voter intent to be a search for the majoritarian interpretation. The…
Continue ReadingThe Political Morality of Voting in Direct Democracy
By Michael Serota and Ethan J. Leib. Full text here. The voting levers in candidate elections and in direct democracy elections are identical. The political obligations that bind the citizens that pull them are not. This Essay argues that voters in direct democracy elections, unlike their counterparts in candidate elections, serve as representatives of the people…
Continue ReadingWhen Common Wisdom Is Neither Common nor Wisdom: Exploring Voters’ Limited Use of Endorsements on Three Ballot Measures
By Craig M. Burnett & Mathew D. McCubbins. Full text here. Ballot measures offer voters the opportunity to shape policy decisions directly. It remains unclear, however, if direct democracy asks too much of voters. Do voters have the capacity to make informed decisions on ballot measures that have important and far-reaching policy consequences? The common wisdom…
Continue ReadingForeword, Minnesota Law Review Symposium
By Tom Pryor. Full text here.
Continue ReadingNote: Death by Arugula: How Soil Contamination Stunts Urban Agriculture, and What the Law Should Do About It
By Steven A. Platt. Full text here. More and more people are growing food in urban environments. The benefits of urban farming are well documented. The government sees increased economic activity, society enjoys new social and educational opportunities and blight reduction, and the individuals farming eat inexpensive, fresh, locally sourced food. However, cities have fostered and…
Continue ReadingNote: Healthy Compromise: Reconciling Wellness Program Financial Incentives with Health Reform
By Heather Baird. Full text here. Soaring health care expenditures coupled with plummeting insurance coverage suggest something is seriously wrong with the American health care system. One way that the ACA proposes to control health care costs is through support for employee wellness program initiatives. Wellness programs with financial incentives based upon health status risk create…
Continue ReadingHow Business Fares in the Supreme Court
By Lee Epstein, William M. Landes, & Richard A. Posner. Full text here. A number of scholars, journalists, and at least one member of Congress claim that the current Supreme Court (the “Roberts Court”) is more favorable to business than previous Supreme Courts have been. Other commentators disagree, while acknowledging that the Roberts Court is “less…
Continue ReadingResponse: The Social and Cultural Aspects of Climate Change Winners
By Robin Kundis Craig. Full text here. In this Article, Professor Craig responds to Professor J.B. Ruhl’s Article The Political Economy of Climate Change Winners.
Continue ReadingState Enforcement of National Policy: A Contextual Approach (with Evidence from the Securities Realm)
By Amanda M. Rose. Full text here. This Article addresses a topic of contemporary public policy significance: the optimal allocation of law enforcement authority in our federalist system. Proponents of “competitive federalism” have long argued that assigning concurrent enforcement authority to states and the federal government can lead to redundant expense, policy distortion, and a loss…
Continue ReadingThe Duty to Capture
By Jens David Ohlin. Full text here. The duty to capture stands at the fault line between competing legal regimes that might govern targeted killings. If human-rights law and domestic law-enforcement procedures govern these killings, the duty to attempt capture prior to lethal force represents a cardinal rule that is systematically violated by these operations. On…
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