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Monday, February 04, 2013
Scholars’ Brief in Shelby County v. Holder Urges Fidelity to Text and History of Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments
David Gans
Comments:
The biggest concern here is that the USSC will hold that the specific use of the powers used here is not properly congruent and proportional to current needs. The general idea that Congress can address subject matter seems to me to be a major aspect of the brief, but that isn't really the biggest concern, is it?
It is that the baseline used is outdated and that more up to date and general (thus some concern that equality of the states is being violated) methods, including to address non-covered jurisdictions, should be used. I'm all for broad discretion to Congress but this is the biggest concern. Is the brief and this discussion properly focused on it?
If the Amendment was intended to invest in Congress a broad power to enforce as Congress saw appropriate then the questions of congruency and such should be left to that body, no?
I think the Court should apply something like rational basis here.
Depends on how "broad" you want "broad" to mean. Pursuant to rulings like Boerne v. Flores & NAMUNDO v. Holder, the USSC has not just left the matters to Congress.
The USSC very well might be wrong, but don't think they are going to change their minds. So, my concern would be not some general history lesson, but more emphasis on why this specific law is good enough. The PPACA also should have been upheld under the CC pursuant a rational basis test. We saw how appeals to McCulloch and the like got us there. But, I guess what should be the case can be part of the amici mix too.
Wondering if this brief might allow the reconciliation of Section 5 with City of Boerne, I reread for the first time in a while City v. Boerne. Justice Kennedy makes two points in Section III-A of the opinion: that enforcing rights protected by the Constitution is different from defining those rights; and that "congruence and proportionality" between means and ends is a hallmark of enforcement.
It is interesting that the debate among the justices was focused on the definition of the right to freedom of religion, in particular, the validity of Employment Division v. Smith. If Smith had been wrongly decided, then there would be no conflict between RFRA and the First Amendment. "Congruence and proportionality" slipped in through the side door. However, I think it is clear that Justice Kennedy has always wanted it to be a limiting principle for federal power, and that the contemporary Court so sees it. In City of Boerne, Justice Kennedy examines the "legislative record" for RFRA and finds it wanting in comparison with the Voting Rights Act. It is clear from NAMUNDO that the Court no longer respects that legislative record. Unless Justice Scalia decides that the legislative record is just legislative history writ large (he did not join Section III-A-1 of Kennedy's opinion, dealing with the legislative history of the Fourteenth Amendment, but did join Section III-B, analyzing the legislative record), there is only weak support for the preclearance remedy. However, if the scope of the Fifteenth Amendment right to vote is sufficiently ample, it can support even such strong remedies as pre-clearance. That is, is the right to vote protected from violation by a shell of derivative rights, such as a right against non-retrogression in redistricting, a right against arbitrary changes in registration and voting procedures, a right against suppression of turnout by location and quantity of polling places, etc. This issue is liable to be highlighted with the example of photo ID requirements. The Court has held these do not violate the Fourteenth Amendment in Crawford v. Marion County. (Interestingly, Scalia's opinion, joined by Thomas and Alito, sounds a lot like Employment Division v. Smith.) But the Justice Department refused to preclear Texas' photo ID requirement (which was later found to be regressive of voting rights by a three-judge court, which pretermitted the purposeful discrimination question that Scalia had found determinative). Particularly to state sovereignty adherents like Scalia and Kennedy, this differing treatment of states is abhorrent. It seems that Justice Kennedy, like the amicus brief, interprets the Civil War Amendments in pari materia. Unfortunately, he interprets them as bearing much less power than the brief. The brief is a nice try, but I don't think it will save Section 5.
The Crawford plurality held that the specific law in place did not violate the Constitution in the midst of a facial challenge. This doesn't mean ALL id laws, no matter their harshness, are acceptable.
Also, Crawford noted the record didn't provide enough proof of harm. The Administration has offered such proof (we can carp on the merits) as have other challengers. This seems to be a fact specific issue.
This is a powerfully, tightly argued brief, making its case by means of text, history and decisions of the Court, including decisions on the Voting Rights Act. The brief addresses well Boerne's refinement of McCulloch. It may be difficult for textualists/originalists on the Court to ignore the arguments in this brief. [Note: Is there available a textualist/originalism brief or article challenging this brief on text/originalism grounds?]
Justice Thomas, as I speculated in any earlier comment, just might be a swing vote. Thomas' life has experienced the efforts of states with Jim Crow laws impacting the rights of African-Americans under the 15th Amendment. While Thomas has yet to demonstrate on the Court what Justice Thurgood Marshall brought to the Court with his experiences as an African American and as a lawyer helping pave the way for Thomas to be appointed to the Court via educational benefits springing from Brown v. Bd. of Educ. and the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s), at some point Thomas has to be concerned with how history will treat his time and role on the Court. This case may be a future Dred Scott if the Court limits Section 2 of the 15th Amendment and decimates the Voting Rights Act. From the standpoint of originalism, much more information is available on how the Reconstruction Amendments came into being. There is repetition in this brief that makes it even more effective. Its arguments are supported in great detail, sort of like belt, suspenders and jockstrap. For those who cannot, will not take the time to read the entire brief, take a peek at the paragraph beginning at the bottom of page 27 and continuing on page 28 for a taste.
The brief is not available at the link provided. A search of available amicus briefs has me coming up empty handed. Can anyone help me out with this? I'd love to review it.
Never mind. Found it here: http://www.naacpldf.org/document/brief-constitutional-accountability-center-and-constitutional-law-scholars
But indeed, the original link in the blog post does not link to the brief.
Doug Kendall's recent post at this Blog "The Deafening Silence of Conservative Stars on the Constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act" does not provide for comments, although comments can be made at his post at Text and History.
In my earlier comment I included this question: "[Note: Is there available a textualist/originalism brief or article challenging this brief on text/originalism grounds?]" Doug's post seems to answer "No." But "Why"? Perhaps it is Brown v. Bd. of Educ. that no one seems prepared to directly challenge. Brown was unanimous, with one opinion. Over time, alas too much time, Brown has been accepted. Some originalists have opined that originalism supports Brown. But it took a long time, too long, for the acceptance of Brown. Brown has become foundational in ConLaw. Brown, as noted, is no longer subject to direct challenge. The textualism/originalism case for the Voting Rights Act is much, much stronger than it was for Brown. Perhaps this accounts for the deafening silence Doug refers to. It is of course possible that SCOTUS may determine that cert should not have been granted and get rid of the case. If not, what might be the impact of a majority upholding Shelby County? What might be the impact on textualism/originalism? If SCOTUS sustains the lower court decision, thus upholding the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, what if it is not unanimous with one or more dissents, or even if unanimous with one or more concurring opinions, what might be the impact? Might Shelby County v. Holder be considered a latter day Dred Scott? Might CJ Roberts display the skills of CJ Warren in Brown? When Brown came down in 1954, I was finishing up law school at the age of 23. I recall well what happened as Brown was challenged on the ground and in Congress, even after the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s. I recall well Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy in the 1968 presidential campaign, remnants of which continue to this day. I recall well the treatment of Pres. Obama by conservatives from day one and continuing even with his reelection. This is a time for CJ Roberts to lead. Enough!
I neglected to include in the closing paragraph of my preceding comment this:
"I wonder how old the conservatives named by Doug in his post were in 1954 when Brown came down?"
Sam Tanenhaus' The New Republic essay (Feb. 10, 2013) "Original Sin - Why the GOP is and will continue to be the party of white people" includes some of what I recall from the days post-Brown v. Bd. of Educ. that I referenced in my earlier comment on Doug Kendall's recent related post at this Blog. I learned of this essay from Paul Krugman's NYTimes blog entry yesterday that provides a link and a comment about his view of the GOP in his "Conscience of a Liberal.".
Finley Peter Dunne's Mr. Dooley many generations ago sometimes commented on the Supreme Court following the election returns. Perhaps its conservative members also read "tea leaves." Tanenhaus makes no reference to the Shelby County appeal but read between the lines.
Why is the number of senators and representatives who supported the extension of the VRA of any significance in the debate? If Congress passes a law by the barest minimum in each chamber it is just as valid a law, yet this blog and several of the amici seem to feel that the size of the majorities should somehow make a difference in the legal argument.
Loyal Opposition apparently has more confidence in the unelected 5-4 judiciary than the elected, representative, branches. Why, especially when the elected branches do so overwhelmingly over time, including recently? Perhaps Loyal Opposition is suffering from Lindsey Graham-itis.
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The general idea that Congress can address subject matter seems to me to be a major aspect of the brief, but that isn't really the biggest concern, is it?
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Books by Balkinization Bloggers
Stephen M. Griffin, Long Wars and the Constitution (Harvard University Press, 2013) Andrew Koppelman, The Tough Luck Constitution and the Assault on Health Care Reform (Oxford University Press, 2013)
James E. Fleming and Linda C. McClain, Ordered Liberty: Rights, Responsibilities, and Virtues (Harvard University Press, 2013) Balkinization Symposium on Ordered Liberty: Rights, Responsibilities, and Virtues
Andrew Koppelman, Defending American Religious Neutrality (Harvard University Press, 2013)
Brian Z. Tamanaha, Failing Law Schools (University of Chicago Press, 2012)
Sanford Levinson, Framed: America's 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance (Oxford University Press, 2012)
Linda C. McClain and Joanna L. Grossman, Gender Equality: Dimensions of Women's Equal Citizenship (Cambridge University Press, 2012)
Mary Dudziak, War Time: An Idea, Its History, Its Consequences (Oxford University Press, 2012)
Jack M. Balkin, Living Originalism (Harvard University Press, 2011)
Jason Mazzone, Copyfraud and Other Abuses of Intellectual Property Law (Stanford University Press, 2011)
Richard W. Garnett and Andrew Koppelman, First Amendment Stories, (Foundation Press 2011)
Jack M. Balkin, Constitutional Redemption: Political Faith in an Unjust World (Harvard University Press, 2011)
Gerard Magliocca, The Tragedy of William Jennings Bryan: Constitutional Law and the Politics of Backlash (Yale University Press, 2011)
Bernard Harcourt, The Illusion of Free Markets: Punishment and the Myth of Natural Order (Harvard University Press, 2010)
Bruce Ackerman, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic (Harvard University Press, 2010) Balkinization Symposium on The Decline and Fall of the American Republic
Ian Ayres. Carrots and Sticks: Unlock the Power of Incentives to Get Things Done (Bantam Books, 2010)
Mark Tushnet, Why the Constitution Matters (Yale University Press 2010)
Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff: Lifecycle Investing: A New, Safe, and Audacious Way to Improve the Performance of Your Retirement Portfolio (Basic Books, 2010)
Jack M. Balkin, The Laws of Change: I Ching and the Philosophy of Life (2d Edition, Sybil Creek Press 2009)
Brian Z. Tamanaha, Beyond the Formalist-Realist Divide: The Role of Politics in Judging (Princeton University Press 2009)
Andrew Koppelman and Tobias Barrington Wolff, A Right to Discriminate?: How the Case of Boy Scouts of America v. James Dale Warped the Law of Free Association (Yale University Press 2009)
Jack M. Balkin and Reva B. Siegel, The Constitution in 2020 (Oxford University Press 2009)
Heather K. Gerken, The Democracy Index: Why Our Election System Is Failing and How to Fix It (Princeton University Press 2009)
Mary Dudziak, Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall's African Journey (Oxford University Press 2008)
David Luban, Legal Ethics and Human Dignity (Cambridge Univ. Press 2007)
Ian Ayres, Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-By-Numbers is the New Way to be Smart (Bantam 2007)
Jack M. Balkin, James Grimmelmann, Eddan Katz, Nimrod Kozlovski, Shlomit Wagman and Tal Zarsky, eds., Cybercrime: Digital Cops in a Networked Environment (N.Y.U. Press 2007)
Jack M. Balkin and Beth Simone Noveck, The State of Play: Law, Games, and Virtual Worlds (N.Y.U. Press 2006)
Andrew Koppelman, Same Sex, Different States: When Same-Sex Marriages Cross State Lines (Yale University Press 2006)
Brian Tamanaha, Law as a Means to an End (Cambridge University Press 2006)
Sanford Levinson, Our Undemocratic Constitution (Oxford University Press 2006)
Mark Graber, Dred Scott and the Problem of Constitutional Evil (Cambridge University Press 2006)
Jack M. Balkin, ed., What Roe v. Wade Should Have Said (N.Y.U. Press 2005)
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