Immigration Reform Left an Orphan

    Important issues go unaddressed because political donors don’t care about them 0   By George W. Liebmann1:46 p.m. EDT, April 5, 2012   If the Obama administration proceeds to electoral doom, blame rests on its surrender to its financiers and campaign organizers: Wall Street and public employee and construction unions. A Democratic administration […]

The Role of Money in Political Campaigns

      Letter to the Editor   The role of money in political campaigns  January 24 Regarding the Jan. 18 editorial “A less-than-super fix,” on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s statement that candidates should be allowed to collect unlimited donations: Mr. Romney is right on this issue. The 1974 campaign finance legislation was a cure […]

Another Distant Warning: ‘Civil Gideon’ and Fee Shifting

                                                                                                      November 2011                               Another Distant Warning   Earlier this year, we drew attention to an impending treasury raid sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union in the form of a study proposing a massive building program for the Baltimore City public schools, to be carried out through the use of >funny financing= in the form […]

Reapportionment and Redistricting: The Great Betrayal

      The Governor has appointed a reapportionment commission of flive members: his patronage secretary;President Miller, Speaker Busch. a businessman. and a former Republican delegate. safely ‘out of the loop’ as as respects his party’s leadership, The commissionis in effect a Society for the Protection of Democratic Incumbents,   Was this the constitutional design? […]

Revisiting the ‘Three Ring Circus’

In our February 2005 issue, we reviewed three ancient and venerable lawsuits: the Bradford school financing litigation in Baltimore City, now in its tenth year; the federal special education lawsuit, now aged 21; and another ‘baby’ lawsuit, the federal court housing litigation, now also ten years old….

The Ehrlich Administration at Mid-Passage

Two of the four legislative sessions of Governor Ehrlich’s first term have passed, rendering appropriate an interim assessment of the administration’s performance on major issues facing state government. This review will necessarily pass over some important subjects such as the environment, where the administration has major successes to its credit. It will focus on four […]

The Folly of ‘Consent’

The recent consent decree relating to ‘racial profiling’ by the State Police negotiated by the Glendening administration and accepted in modified form by Governor Ehrlich appears to put a nasty controversy to rest: one which united ‘hit and run’ politics and identity politics in one toxic package. Such decrees nonetheless raise serious concerns. Policing is […]

The Menendez Menace: A Review of Wilson\’s Moral Judgment

For years, social scientists have been trying to expand their influence from beyond the small university departments where they are holed up to the real world where serious work is being done. To some degree, they have been successful. In the world of business, for example, diversity counselors with Ph.D.s now advise CEOs on how […]

Tort Reform: The Time Is Now

Tort reform, the effort to curb abuses in the civil justice system, is sweeping the country. In reaction to a public outcry against frivolous lawsuits which produce awards far in excess of actual damages (if any) suffered, more than 30 state legislatures have enacted tort reform legislation since the mid-1980s.1 In 1996, Ohio enacted comprehensive […]

David Hoffman of Baltimore: A Profile in Courage

Our Constitution guarantees a “republican form of government.” Alas, from my experience as a law professor, the meaning of “republican” appears opaque to most law students. To early generations of Americans, republicanism conveyed two clear and important concepts: one of “rights,” through popular sovereignty and governments of limited powers; the other of “responsibilities,” expressed through […]