Kent Greenfield
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Articles by Kent Greenfield
Choice and the Free Market
*** CHOICE AND THE FREE MARKET ADAPTED FROM "THE MYTH OF CHOICE: PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN A WORLD OF LIMITS" *** By Kent Greenfield *** The Montréal Review, January 2012 *** "A fascinating account of the constraints on personal choice, and the consequences of those constraints for sexuality, religion, politics, law, and everyday life." -Geoffrey R.
The Supreme Court is as divided as we are
The Supreme Court’s term came to an end, as is typical, in the last days of June. What is not typical, however, is for the Court’s year to wrap up in a week that ends with the country’s 250th birthday. I wish one of those made me feel better about the other. But the opposite is true. The Fourth has made me feel worse about the Court, and the Court has made me feel worse about the Fourth. The Fourth of July is supposed to be a time of celebration of what binds us as a country.
The intellectual empathy of David Souter
This article is part of a series on the legacy and jurisprudence of the late Justice David Souter. Kent Greenfield is Professor of Law and Dean’s Distinguished Scholar at Boston College. He clerked for Justice Souter during the 1994 Term. Most of the many lovely tributes penned lately by those who had the good fortune to know David Souter have mentioned his ability to see people around him as genuine human beings worthy of attention.
A message to my law students: 'Fight for our democracy'
This essay was first published by WBUR, a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. The piece is an edited version of Kent Greenfield's final lecture this spring to his first-year constitutional law students. Today completes my 30th year teaching law. You’ve been wonderful this semester. Thank you. But it has been a difficult time to teach constitutional law, and it must have been a difficult time to learn it. We are in a dangerous moment.
A message to my law students: 'Fight for our democracy'
Editor's note: Kent Greenfield is a professor of law at Boston College Law School. The essay below is an edited version of his final lecture, delivered this spring, to his first-year constitutional law students. Usually, he offers an upbeat summation and send-off, but this year his final lecture had a decidedly different tone. — Kate Neale Cooper Today completes my 30th year teaching law. You’ve been wonderful this semester. Thank you.
How the Supreme Court can save itself - and the rest of us
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Trump’s appeal of a Colorado ruling disqualifying him from the 2024 ballot on the basis of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That provision, passed just after the Civil War, bars anyone from holding an “office … under the United States” if they had “previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution” and later “engaged in insurrection” or “gave comfort” to those who did. If you have never pondered the meaning of Section 3, no reason to be embarrassed.
What the college presidents got wrong about the First Amendment
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What the college presidents got wrong about the First Amendment
The recent controversy concerning the presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT and their statements at a congressional hearing about antisemitism at their universities, has re-ignited long-simmering conflicts over speech on campus. To summarize briefly: In answer to a query about whether a student advocating for the genocide of Jews could be disciplined, the presidents gave legalistic and terse answers as if they had been coached by a law firm (which they apparently had).
How the First Amendment can save affirmative action
It wasn't until 2008 that the Supreme Court for the first time struck down a gun control law, ruling the 2nd Amendment protected the "right of law-abiding, responsible citizens" to keep a handgun at home for self-defense. Last year, the court went a step further and said an "ordinary law-abiding citizen" also has a right to a state permit to carry a concealed weapon in public for self-defense. Now the justices face a new frontier: Do gun rights extend to dangerous people and dangerous weapons?
How the First Amendment can save affirmative action
A day after the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority gutted affirmative action in college admissions by equating it with discrimination, the same justices broadened the First Amendment right of religious business owners to choose whom they will serve, even when those choices might otherwise constitute discrimination. Though both rulings represented major conservative victories, most observers treated them as disconnected from one another.
A new idea to reform the Supreme Court: Older justices. Yes, really
Commentary A new idea to reform the Supreme Court: Older justices.
The Coming Clash Between the SEC and the Supreme Court
About the author: Kent Greenfield, an expert in constitutional and corporate law, is dean's distinguished scholar at Boston College Law School. As the midterms near, federal regulators are dashing to finalize proposed rules before a likely divided Congress, or Republican-controlled one, dampens political support for their agendas.
Sen. Rand Paul is wrong. The Trump impeachment trial is constitutional, and here's why
When Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial begins next week, Republican leaders will have little appetite for defending the former president’s behavior. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that he believes Trump committed an impeachable offense when he incited an insurrection against Congress, and he has not ruled out voting against Trump in the Senate trial.
Amy Coney Barrett May Be An ‘Originalist.’ But It’s Not 1787, And The Text Isn’t Always The Text
Is the Air Force unconstitutional? Sounds like a stupid question. But if you’ve been listening to the Senate hearings to consider the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, you would have reason to think otherwise. Barrett has been proud to claim the mantle of originalism, popularized by her mentor Antonin Scalia. In her words, originalism means that the constitution’s meaning does not change over time.
Opinion | Happy Illegal Holiday!
Op-Ed Contributor Sept. 16, 2011 Newton, Mass. TODAY is Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution in 1787. Since 2005, by Congressional mandate, all educational institutions receiving federal funds — from preschools to universities, whether public or private — are required to provide relevant educational programming to observe the occasion. Boston College, where I teach, generally hosts a symposium; the local middle school offers skits about the First Amendment.
Did John Roberts doom Supreme Court reform with his decisions? Original
Chief Justice John Roberts earned the ire of conservatives when, in some surprising recent decisions, he sided with the liberal wing to strike down an abortion law, save immigrants from possible deportation, and extend workplace protections to gay and transgender employees. Yet his moves to the middle will likely assist conservatives in the long run by dooming plans by Democrats to pack the Supreme Court with justices.
Mitch McConnell Is About to Violate Two Oaths
Mitch McConnell Is About to Violate Two Oaths Every senator has a constitutional obligation of impartiality. But Mitch McConnell's role as Senate leader makes his obligation even more important. Read Full Article »
Donald Trump has violated his oath. Mitch McConnell is about to violate 2
We Kentuckians know that our word is our bond. Oaths are the most solemn of promises, and their breach results in serious reputational — and sometimes legal — consequences. President Donald Trump will soon be on trial in the Senate on grounds that he breached one oath. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is about to breach two. The Constitution mentions an oath only three times in its main body. The most famous is the oath the president swears upon taking office, set out word for word in Article II.
Donald Trump has violated his oath. Mitch McConnell is about to violate 2
We Kentuckians know that our word is our bond. Oaths are the most solemn of promises, and their breach results in serious reputational — and sometimes legal — consequences. President Donald Trump will soon be on trial in the Senate on grounds that he breached one oath. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is about to breach two. The Constitution mentions an oath only three times in its main body. The most famous is the oath the president swears upon taking office, set out word for word in Article II.
Opinion: Donald Trump has violated his oath. Mitch McConnell is about to violate 2
Kent Greenfield, Opinion contributor Published 7:06 a.m. ET Dec. 26, 2019 | Updated 1:02 p.m. ET Dec. 26, 2019 We Kentuckians know that our word is our bond. Oaths are the most solemn of promises, and their breach results in serious reputational — and sometimes legal — consequences. President Donald Trump will soon be on trial in the Senate on grounds that he breached one oath. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell is about to breach two. The Constitution mentions an oath only three times in its main body.
We Can't Mute Trump, But We Can Turn Off Fox News
Donald Trump is a racist. And gravity pulls us down and winters are cold. Also now obvious is that most Republicans in Congress are scientific marvels with the ability to walk upright without a spine. Even if House Democrats fail to open impeachment proceedings, the rest of us will have an opportunity to fire Trump and his minions next year when we go to the polls. While we’re at it, let’s fire Fox News. Trump’s racism is rarely original.
Presidential Power And The Obligations Of Faithfulness
President Donald Trump during an event in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, April 18, 2019. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP) Within the first days of an introductory course on constitutional law, something becomes clear. The Article I powers of Congress are expansive and spelled out — “enumerated” — in the text. By comparison, Article II’s description of the president’s power is quite vague.
'We Are Not The Enemy Of The People': Cog Contributors Respond To Attacks On The Press
A Note From The EditorsPresident Donald Trump derided the news media as the “enemy of the American people” not quite one month into his presidency.Since then, his disparagement of the press has only grown in its volume and intensity.
Big Business Keeps Winning At the Supreme Court
Big Business Keeps Winning At the Supreme Court While the nation was focused on big, controversial cases, corporate America was quietly racking up a remarkable string of victories in the high court this term.Read Full Article »
Big Business Keeps Winning at the Supreme Court
The stage was set in the first case the justices heard, on whether businesses can require employees to go to arbitration over job complaints. Even though employees often are forced to agree to arbitration clauses—one company sent its employees an email announcing that anyone who did not quit would be “deemed to have accepted”—the court ruled for the companies.
Opinion | Kennedy Is Leaving Gay Rights Weaker Than He Thinks
Meanwhile, he left much of the important work of judging undone. He muddled whether the marriage cases were based on the Constitution’s promise of equality, its protection of fundamental rights or both. He never adequately explained why, if dignity is protected by the Constitution, why similar dignity rights could not be claimed by those who want to marry more than one person or to marry a cousin. Justice Kennedy simply ignored those obvious slippery-slope problems.
Georgia Violated Delta’s First Amendment Rights
On Thursday, Georgia legislators punished Delta Air Lines by rescinding a proposed jet-fuel tax cut from the state’s new tax law. The company’s crime? Opting to cut ties with the National Rifle Association last week following a public outcry in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting. The episode has many potential lessons to offer about this partisan moment and our bitterly divided nation.
In Two Cases, Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Corporate Personhood
In both cases, the constitutional claimants included individuals as well as a mix of business associations. In neither case did the justices explicitly address whether corporate businesses should have the same constitutional protections as individuals. Yet there is no question that the biggest beneficiaries of these decisions will be corporations. Del Monte Corporation will not have to give up a portion of its raisin crop; Marriott and Hilton hotels can refuse to show their guest books to police.
Corporate Personhood: Why It’s a Good Thing
The American left is notoriously fractious. But one belief that unites more than most is this: Corporations are not people. “Corporations are people, my friend,” said Mitt Romney in 2011, and Democrats skewered his cluelessness. “I don’t care how many ways you try to explain it,” Barack Obama said on the stump. “Corporations aren’t people. People are people.” During the 2014 midterms, Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren barnstormed the country to rally the faithful.
The University of Oklahoma's SAE Fraternity and the Limits of Free Speech
Members of a fraternity at the University of Oklahoma were recently filmed chanting that they’d rather see a black student lynched than as a member of their clan. The now viral video of dapper, privileged white men shouting, “There will never be a nigger at SAE, you can hang him from a tree” reminds us of our greatest national shame. The chant has been roundly condemned as abhorrent.
Let Us Now Praise Corporate Persons by Kent Greenfield
Citizens United was a bad decision; but the cry of “Corporations are not people!” isn’t helping fix the problem—in fact, it’s making it worse. The American left is notoriously fractious. But one belief that unites more than most is this: corporations are not people. “Corporations are people, my friend,” said Mitt Romney in 2012, and Democrats skewered his cluelessness. “I don’t care how many times you try to explain it,” Barack Obama said on the stump. “Corporations aren’t people.
Let Us Now Praise Corporate Persons
Citizens United was a bad decision; but the cry of “Corporations are not people!” isn’t helping fix the problem—in fact, it’s making it worse. Unpeopling America:: The response to Citizens United has been to destroy "corporate personhood." This could make the situation worse, not better. Getty Images The American left is notoriously fractious. But one belief that unites more than most is this: corporations are not people.
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