In October, the Illinois Legislature passed the Bivens Act, which provides new state-level protections for individuals interacting with Illinois courts, hospitals, schools, and child-care centers during civil immigration enforcement activities. Writing at Justia Verdict, Professors Jason Mazzone and Vikram Amar praise the law as “an important and innovative law in keeping with the proudest tradition of federalism”; […]
The U.S. Supreme Court granted review in Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections on a preliminary question of whether the parties who brought suit had standing under Article III of the Constitution to invoke the power of the federal courts in the first place. Writing at Justia Verdict, Professors Jason Mazzone and Vikram Amar […]
One of the cases before the U.S. Supreme Court in its latest term is already moot, Professors Jason Mazzone and Vikram Amar argue in a new editorial published at Justia Verdict. Little v. Hecox present the justices with the question of whether laws to protect women’s and girls’ sports by limiting participation based on sex assigned […]
In the wake of an executive order asking the Department of Justice to prioritize enforcement of criminal and civil laws against desecration of the United States flag, Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone examine some relevant cases decided by the Supreme Court and others. Writing at Justia Verdict, they conclude “singling out flag desecration would remain […]
Should the Supreme Court extend its practice of granting “cert. (or certiorari) before judgement,” in which it may rule on the merits after a decision by the district court, but without the benefit of review and judgment by the court of appeals? In a new article at Justia Verdict, Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone […]
In response to protests in Los Angeles and the subsequent responses by local and federal officials, Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone put their constitutional law expertise to work to take another look at the principles of federalism and why they matter. “To conclude states must agree with the President before any kind of federalized military forces […]
The case of Umphress v. Hall is ripe with teachable moments, and Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone gladly took the bait in a recent two-part series of articles published at Justia Verdict. The case involves a judge in Texas who is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the Fifth Circuit because he refuses to perform same-sex […]
Executive orders from the White House targeting law firms have disrupted Big Law firms; however, many firms have negotiated deals with the administration so as to be removed from its blacklist. Professors Jason Mazzone and Vikram Amar write at Justia Verdict that there is not “much doubt that the executive orders are blatant violations of […]
Writing at Justia Verdict, Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone describe the Fourteenth Amendment as perhaps the most important piece of law enacted anywhere in the world over the last two centuries. In their defense of the birthright citizenship clause, the authors suggest that criticisms of the clause in support of President Trump’s executive order […]
Are state executive officials in Pennsylvania are allowed, under the state constitution, to decline to enforce a statutory provision if the executive officials conclude that the provision violates the state’s highest law, the state constitution? That’s the primary concern of a new article by Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone. Writing at Justia Verdict, the pair […]