A backdoor to policy making: the use of philosophers by the Supreme Court
Article Abstract:
Courts should not use philosophical arguments to make legal decisions. Philosophers work in a theoretical realm that is not concerned with institutional boundaries or legal precedent. Judicial decisions have practical implications within a political system that has cultural references and historical imperatives. The US Supreme Court was correct to disregard a brief filed by six notable American philosophers arguing for a constitutional right to die when the Court upheld a state's right to ban assisted suicide in Vacco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg.
Publication Name: University of Chicago Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0041-9494
Year: 1998
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Sympathy, community, and promising: Adam Smith's case for reviving moral consideration
Article Abstract:
Adam Smith espoused a theory of emotion and reason by which gratuitous promises supported by moral consideration would be legally enforceable. Moral consideration refers to the love and affection that are the usual basis for donative promises between family members. Under traditional contract law, promises supported only by moral consideration are not legally enforceable. Smith's argument that gratuitous promises engender expectations that the law ought to enforce is a bold challenge to the modern orthodoxy.
Publication Name: University of Chicago Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0041-9494
Year: 1999
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The Court of International Trade's political party diversity requirement: unconstitutional under any separation of powers treaty
Article Abstract:
The President may not appoint more than five members of the nine-member Court of International Trade from a single political party. This provision is unconstitutional under either of two theories of separation of powers.
Publication Name: University of Chicago Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0041-9494
Year: 2001
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