William Bentley Ball

The late Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. was apotheosized at his death by the New York Times for the rich legacy the Times deemed he had conferred on American jurisprudence. His greatest gift, so it was said, was his espousal of the idea of a “living Constitution,” whereby (in his words) . . . . Continue Reading »

Securing Religious Liberty: Principles for Judicial Interpretation of the Religion Clauses By Jesse H. Choper University of Chicago Press, 198 pages, $24.95 The author, one of the nation’s major constitutional scholars, has made an offer to the Supreme Court which he thinks it can’t . . . . Continue Reading »

The Supreme Court on June 29 handed down two decisions in cases involving religion. In Rosenberger v. the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia it reviewed a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit which had held that though the University (a state entity) could fund . . . . Continue Reading »

On June 27, 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Kiryas Joel v. Grumet. The Court ruled that the New York State legislature had acted unconstitutionally in establishing a school district specifically to meet the needs of members of the Satmar Hasidic Jewish sect. . . . . Continue Reading »

The March issue of First Things featured an essay by Robert H. Bork, “Natural Law and the Constitution.” In that essay, Judge Bork responded to criticisms of his views on the topic by Hadley Arkes, Russell Hittinger, and William Bentley Ball. Because of the significance of the subject, . . . . Continue Reading »