Two Versions of Rational-Basis Review and Same-Sex Relationships

Although it purports to be a single standard, equal protection’s rational-basis review has two faces that use different methods and produce conflicting results. The United States Supreme Court employs both versions but does not acknowledge that a conflict exists between them. Without an explicit acknowledgment of the contradictory nature of the two rationality reviews, it follows that the Court has made no effort to explain in what context one version should be used and in what context the other is appropriate. As a result, it is very difficult to predict with accuracy the outcome of arguments based on equal protection’s rational-basis review in the lower courts because no matter which side a court picks, it can find U.S. Supreme Court precedents to support the result. In recent years, this problem of unpredictability has been particularly acute in cases challenging laws that disadvantage persons involved in same-sex relationships. Because rational-basis review is ordinarily deferential to legislative judgment, these challenges usually fail. There is, however, a core of successful rational-basis claims that involve a more demanding scrutiny and seem to contradict the results in the more typical cases. This creates unpredictability. This Article examines this duality in three factual settings: (1) state laws that define marriage as limited to a man and a woman, (2) the United States military’s policy of excluding gays and lesbians from military service, and (3) the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which limits federal recognition of marriage to opposite-sex couples

Classes, Persons, Equal Protection, and \u3ci\u3eVillage of Willowbrook v. Olech\u3c/i\u3e

In most contexts, the Equal Protection Clause serves as a limitation on government classifications, but it has also been used as a protector of individual rights. These competing versions of equal protection are contradictory, but courts have for the most part ignored this problem. In Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, the United States Supreme Court determined that an individual homeowner had stated a valid equal protection claim when she alleged that she alone, without regard to her membership in any class, had been treated differently from other similarly situated homeowners. The Court\u27s decision in Olech has created a powerful precedent for other individual persons complaining of wrongful treatment by government officials. It also suggests a method of resolving the conflict between the two competing views of equal protection

Classifications That Disadvantage Newcomers and the Problem of Equality

For those concerned with the substantial fiscal problems of government, we have a solution. The solution is - Newcomers. Newcomers are those who will become part of our community in the future but who are not here yet. Like unidentified holders of a contingent remainder, newcomers are not yet around to vote, to peddle influence, or to protect their turf. Since newcomers are not here to complain, now is the time to shift burdens onto their shoulders. Make them pay a larger share of taxes. Assign to them a smaller share of government largesse. Thanks to disarray in American policy and law, sometimes this can happen

Limited Practice Officers and \u3cem\u3eAdmission to Practice Rule 12\u3c/em\u3e: Taking or Not?

This Comment arrives at the conclusion that Admission to Practice Rule 12.1 (c)(1) does indeed give rise to an unconstitutional taking. Beginning with a definition of an escrow, Part II of this Comment provides an overview of a transaction in escrow and an analysis of the escrow holder\u27s relationship with and duties to his client depositor. Part III discusses the statutory and regulatory constraints imposed on escrow holders under Washington\u27s Escrow Agent Registration Act. Part IV explores the evolution of the limited practice officer in Washington and the advent of Admission to Practice Rule 12. Part V analyzes the takings implicated by Admission to Practice Rule 12. Finally, Part VI offers both a conclusion and suggested alternatives to current practices

Emergence and equilibration of jets in beta-plane turbulence: applications of Stochastic Structural Stability Theory

Stochastic Structural Stability Theory (S3T) provides analytical methods for understanding the emergence and equilibration of jets from the turbulence in planetary atmospheres based on the dynamics of the statistical mean state of the turbulence closed at second order. Predictions for formation and equilibration of turbulent jets made using S3T are critically compared with results of simulations made using the associated quasi-linear and nonlinear models. S3T predicts the observed bifurcation behavior associated with the emergence of jets, their equilibration and their breakdown as a function of parameters. Quantitative differences in bifurcation parameter values between predictions of S3T and results of nonlinear simulations are traced to modification of the eddy spectrum which results from two processes: nonlinear eddy-eddy interactions and formation of discrete non-zonal structures. Remarkably, these non-zonal structures, which substantially modify the turbulence spectrum, are found to arise from S3T instability. Formation as linear instabilities and equilibration at finite amplitude of multiple equilibria for identical parameter values in the form of jets with distinct meridional wavenumbers is verified as is the existence at equilibrium of finite amplitude non-zonal structures in the form of nonlinearly modified Rossby waves. When zonal jets and nonlinearly modified Rossby waves coexist at finite amplitude the jet structure is generally found to dominate even if it is linearly less unstable. The physical reality of the manifold of S3T jets and non-zonal structures is underscored by the existence in nonlinear simulations of jet structure at subcritical S3T parameter values which are identified with stable S3T jet modes excited by turbulent fluctuations.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures, submitted to the Journal of the Atmospheric Science