Richard W. Garnett

Students in my constitutional law course are usually surprised, and often skeptical, when I propose that the most important case they will study is not about abortion rights, the death penalty, or the status of Guantanamo Bay, and does not concern Ten Commandments monuments, Christmas displays, or . . . . Continue Reading »

Clarity and unanimity have not exactly been the hallmarks of the Supreme Court’s efforts to interpret and enforce the Constitution’s religion clauses. In the two Ten Commandments cases decided in 2005, the nine justices managed to deliver ten opinions, with two different five-justice . . . . Continue Reading »

Sometimes, even things that are obviously true need to be underscored, and brought home. Here is one such thing: Elections matter. And, the election of President Obama has turned out to matter a great deal for the future decisions and direction of the Supreme Court. Solicitor General Kagan is, . . . . Continue Reading »

Religious Freedom and the Supreme Court by Ronald B. Flowers, Melissa Rogers, and Steven K. Green Baylor, 1200 pages, $69.95 paper Justice Clarence Thomas has observed that the Supreme Court’s decisions and doctrine having to do with religious freedom, church“state relations, and . . . . Continue Reading »

In Defense of Religious Liberty By David Novak ISI, 250 pages, $18 William James once quipped that “in this age of toleration,” no one “will ever try actively to interfere with our religious faith, provided we enjoy it quietly with our friends and do not make a public nuisance of . . . . Continue Reading »

Justice: Rights and Wrongs by Nicholas Wolterstorff Princeton University Press, 416 pages, $39.50 Nicholas Wolterstorff is a gifted moral philosopher and among the most eminent Christian scholars in any discipline. His project in Justice: Rights and Wrongs is to ground”to “account . . . . Continue Reading »

My friend and former colleague, Prof. Douglas Kmiec, opened his September 9, 2008 Chicago Tribune op-ed (“How Catholics can oppose abortion, back Obama”) with an endearing expression of respect for Chicago’s cardinal archbishop, Francis George. He then continued with his ongoing, . . . . Continue Reading »

Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge (and famed law-and-religion scholar) Michael McConnell, issued its opinion in a case called Colorado Christian University v. Weaver. (Click here for more: . . . . Continue Reading »

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit handed down recently a free-speech decision that is raising some eyebrows and might be of interest to readers. Of particular interest, perhaps, is the fact that the majority opinion in the case, Berger v. City of Seattle , was written by . . . . Continue Reading »

Religious Freedom and the Constitution by Christopher L. Eisgruber and Lawrence G. Sager Harvard University Press, 352 pages, $28.95 These might seem depressing days for our public conversations about religion and public life. The bookstores’ shelves are creaking with the sermons of smug . . . . Continue Reading »