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Steven Douglas Smith

University of San Diego School of Law

Warren Distinguished Professor of Law

5998 Alcala Park

San Diego, CA 92110-2492

United States

  • University of San Diego School of Law

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    • Tel: 619-260-7969
    • Fax: 619-260-2492
SCHOLARLY PAPERS

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Scholarly Papers (65)

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1.

The Hollowness of the Harm Principle

U San Diego Legal Studies Research Paper No. 05-07
Number of pages: 62 Posted: 15 Sep 2004
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 1,242 (13,989)
Citation 1

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harm principle, liberalism, John Stuart Mill, legal argument

2.

The Paralyzing Paradox of Religious Neutrality

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 11-060
Number of pages: 26 Posted: 18 Aug 2011
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 1,082 (17,327)

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religion, First Amendment, constitutional law

3.

Freedom of Religion or Freedom of the Church?

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 11-061
Number of pages: 49 Posted: 18 Aug 2011
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 577 (41,856)
Citation 1

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religion, constitutional law, freedom of the church, first amendment

4.

How to Remove a Federal Judge

Yale Law Journal, Vol. 116, 2006, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-41
Number of pages: 66 Posted: 08 Apr 2006 Last Revised: 21 Oct 2016
Saikrishna Prakash and Steven Douglas Smith
University of Virginia School of Law and University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 555 (44,011)
Citation 5

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good behavior, impeachment, Act of Settlement, judges, Congress

5.

Recovering (from) Enlightenment?

U San Diego Public Law Research Paper No.61
Number of pages: 63 Posted: 25 Sep 2003
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 526 (47,097)

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constitutional law, U.S. Constitution

6.

Jurisprudence: Beyond Extinction?

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-108
Number of pages: 13 Posted: 25 Aug 2007
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 480 (52,860)

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Jurisprudence, Legal Philosophy, Secularism, Morality, Natural law, Legal Postivism

7.

That Old-Time Originalism

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 08-028
Number of pages: 34 Posted: 25 Jun 2008
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 385 (69,122)
Citation 1

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constitutional law, jurisprudence, originalism, constitutional theory

8.

How Secularists Helped Knock Down the Wall of Separation between Church and State

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-124
Number of pages: 69 Posted: 12 Nov 2007
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 359 (75,073)

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religious freedom, secularism, separation of church and state, freedom of conscience

9.

Interrogating Thomas More: The Conundrums of Conscience

U San Diego Public Law Research Paper No. 62
Number of pages: 48 Posted: 25 Sep 2003
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 359 (75,073)

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legal ethics, conscience

10.

The New and Old Originalism: A Discussion

"Meanings or Decisions? Getting Originalism Back on Track." Library of Law and Liberty. December 2, 2014. , San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 15-178, University of Chicago Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper No. 718, U of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 510
Number of pages: 29 Posted: 11 Feb 2015 Last Revised: 25 Feb 2015
Steven Douglas Smith, Michael B. Rappaport, William Baude and Stephen E. Sachs
University of San Diego School of Law, University of San Diego School of Law, University of Chicago - Law School and Duke University School of Law
Downloads 349 (77,564)

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originalism, new originalism, old originalism,constitutional law, constitutional interpretation, interpretation, jurisprudence

11.

Discourse in the Dusk: The Twilight of Religious Freedom

Harvard Law Review, Vol. 122, p. 1869, 2009, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 09-016
Number of pages: 40 Posted: 08 Jul 2009
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 346 (78,565)
Citation 1

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freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, separation of church and state

12.

Justice Douglas, Justice O'Connor, and George Orwell: Does the Constitution Compel Us to Disown Our Past?

San Diego Legal Studies Research Paper No. 06-17
Number of pages: 35 Posted: 24 May 2005
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 341 (79,679)

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constitution, freedom of religion, first amendment, no endorsement prohibition

13.

The Pluralist Predicament: Contemporary Theorizing in the Law of Religious Freedom

Legal Theory, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 42 Posted: 25 Jun 2004
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 336 (81,019)

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religious freedom, religion, freedom, nonestablishment, separation of church and state, free exercise

14.

The Plight of the Secular Paradigm

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 11-062
Number of pages: 60 Posted: 18 Aug 2011
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 325 (84,447)

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religion, authority, secularism, constitutional law, legal history

15.

The Tenuous Case for Conscience

U San Diego Legal Studies Research Paper No. 05-02
Number of pages: 40 Posted: 20 Sep 2004
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 323 (84,718)

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freedom of religion, freedom of speech, first amendment, constitution, metaethics

16.

The Jurisprudence of Denigration

UC Davis Law Review, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 14-143
Number of pages: 31 Posted: 12 Mar 2014 Last Revised: 14 Mar 2014
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 299 (92,288)

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constitutional law, marriage, law and philosophy, public discourse

17.

Hollow Men: Law and the Declension of Belief

U San Diego Legal Studies Research Paper No. 06-03
Number of pages: 31 Posted: 24 Feb 2005
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 294 (94,048)

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belief systems, apologetics, truth, contemporary jurisprudence, declensionist response, nature of law, Christian legal thinkers

18.

Toleration and Liberal Commitments

U San Diego Public Law Research Paper No. 04-04
Number of pages: 43 Posted: 25 Jun 2004
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 287 (96,564)

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toleration, dissent, liberal

19.

Hart's Onion: The Peeling Away of Legal Authority

Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-68
Number of pages: 67 Posted: 08 Oct 2006
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 252 (111,186)
Citation 1

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authority, obligation, jurisprudence, legal theory, divine

20.

Nonestablishment Under God? The Nonsectarian Principle

U San Diego Public Law Research Paper No. 04-08
Number of pages: 35 Posted: 25 Jun 2004
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 237 (117,873)

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nonestablishment, nonsectarian, public secularism, First Amendment, religious freedom

21.

The (Always) Imminent Death of the Law

San Diego Law Review, Vol. 43, 2006, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-58
Number of pages: 30 Posted: 13 Sep 2006
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 235 (118,927)

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Jurisprudence, Legal Philosophy

22.

Is God Irrelevant?

Boston University Law Review, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 14-142
Number of pages: 26 Posted: 28 Feb 2014
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 229 (122,017)

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jurisprudence, religion, religious freedom

23.

The Establishment Clause and the 'Problem of the Church'

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 09-024
Number of pages: 32 Posted: 13 Aug 2009
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 207 (134,544)

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freedom of religion, constitutional law, separation of church and state

24.

The Heavenly City of the Twentieth-Century Philosophers

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-45
Number of pages: 30 Posted: 04 May 2006
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 200 (138,879)

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morality, enlightenment

25.

Die and Let Live? the Asymmetry of Accommodation

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 14-162
Number of pages: 42 Posted: 22 Aug 2014
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 197 (140,892)

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religious freedom, culture wars, accommodation, civil rights, contraception, abortion, marriage

26.

Our Agnostic Constitution

New York University Law Review, Vol. 83, 2008, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-104
Number of pages: 49 Posted: 23 Aug 2007
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 197 (140,892)
Citation 1

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Constitutional Law, Religion, Secularism

27.

Debate: The Contraception Mandate and Religious Freedom

University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online, Vol. 161, No. 261, 2013, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 13-125
Number of pages: 22 Posted: 16 Jun 2013
Caroline Mala Corbin and Steven Douglas Smith
University of Miami School of Law and University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 193 (143,630)

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religious liberty, free exercise, RFRA, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, health care, health insurance, contraception, contraception mandate, abortion, reproductive rights, corporations, First Amendment

28.

Believing Persons, Personal Believings: The Neglected Center of the First Amendment

University of Illinois Law Review, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 128 Posted: 20 Nov 2002
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 187 (147,931)
Citation 5

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29.

The Tortuous Course of Religious Freedom

Notre Dame Law Review, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 15-201
Number of pages: 25 Posted: 16 Dec 2015
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 186 (148,669)

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religion, religious freedom, history, constitutional law, secularism, paganism, communitarianism, catholicism

30.

How is America 'Divided by God'?

Mississippi College Law Review, Vol. 27, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-111
Number of pages: 29 Posted: 29 Aug 2007
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 182 (151,610)

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Religion, Belief, Culture Wars, Frist Amendment

31.

Equality, Religion, and Nihilism

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 14-169
Number of pages: 26 Posted: 31 Oct 2014
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 181 (152,370)

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religious freedom, culture wars, marriage, equality

32.

Barnette's Big Blunder

Chicago-Kent Law Review, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 59 Posted: 18 Jun 2003
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 180 (153,119)
Citation 4

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Constitutional Law, First Amendment

33.

Legal Scholarship as Resistance to Science

San Diego Law Review, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 11 Posted: 24 May 2005
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 172 (159,475)

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legal education, legal scholarship, law and legal theory

34.

Separation as a Tradition

Journal of Law and Politics, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 77 Posted: 13 Nov 2002
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 168 (162,704)

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35.

The Phases and Functions of Freedom of Conscience

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 10-024
Number of pages: 25 Posted: 26 May 2010
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 167 (163,604)

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constitutional law, international law, human rights, religion, freedom of conscience

36.

The Jurisdictional Establishment Clause: A Reappraisal

Notre Dame Law Review, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-57
Number of pages: 70 Posted: 13 Sep 2006
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 165 (165,350)
Citation 2

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Establishment Clause, Freedom of Religion, Separation of Church and State, Constitutional Law, Jurisdiciton, First Amendment, Originalism

37.

Constitutional Divide: The Transformative Significance of the School Prayer Decisions

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 10-038
Number of pages: 106 Posted: 14 Oct 2010
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 158 (171,612)

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Freedom of Religion, Separation of Church and State, Constittutional Law, Culture

38.

Taxes, Conscience, and the Constitution

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-12
Number of pages: 18 Posted: 19 Oct 2005
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 150 (179,360)

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conscience, taxes, religion

39.

Originalism and the (Merely) Human Constitution

Constitutional Commentary, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 10-004
Number of pages: 14 Posted: 12 Jan 2010
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 148 (181,234)

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originalism, constitutional interpretation

40.

Why is Government Speech Problematic? The Unnecessary Problem, the Unnoticed Problem, and the Big Problem

Denver University Law Review, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 10-014
Number of pages: 39 Posted: 24 Mar 2010
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 142 (187,565)

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constitutional law, freedom of speech, first amendment

41.

Wisdom versus 'Reason' in Law

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 15-181
Number of pages: 29 Posted: 27 Feb 2015
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 137 (193,069)

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jurisprudence, reason, common law, constitutional law, same sex

42.

Religious Symbols and Secular Government

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 12-096
Number of pages: 24 Posted: 17 Sep 2012
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 136 (194,194)

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First Amendment, Establishment Clause, Religion, Constitutional Law

43.

Science and the Person: A Complacent Reflection

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 12-100
Number of pages: 19 Posted: 21 Nov 2012
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 129 (202,505)

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science, neuroscience, agency, personhood, jurisprudence, philosophy of law

44.

Religious Freedom and its Enemies, or Why the Smith Decision may be a Greater Loss Now than it was Then

Cardozo Law Review, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 10-037
Number of pages: 34 Posted: 13 Oct 2010
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 129 (202,505)

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Freedom of Religion, Constitutional Law, First Amendment

45.

The Iceberg of Religious Freedom: Subsurface Levels of Nonestablishment Discourse

San Diego Legal Studies Research Paper No. 05-20
Number of pages: 24 Posted: 16 Nov 2004
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 125 (207,564)

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religious freedom, freedom of religion, Establishment Clause, First Amendment, US Constitution

46.

The Supreme Court as (Anti-)Magisterium

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-25
Number of pages: 24 Posted: 30 Nov 2005
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 111 (226,673)

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constitution, supreme court, religion

47.

Constitution Day: 'The Image of Liberty'

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 15-196
Number of pages: 21 Posted: 01 Oct 2015
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 110 (228,106)

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constitutional law, constitutional interpretation, same-sex marriage, separation of powers, legal history

48.

Constitutional Agnosticism, Religious Pluralism, and the Problem of Community

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 08-020
Number of pages: 11 Posted: 02 Apr 2008
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 109 (229,604)

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constitutional agnosticism, religious pluralism, problem of community

49.

The 'Jurisdictional' Conception of Church Autonomy

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 14-177
Number of pages: 29 Posted: 13 Dec 2014
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 107 (232,627)

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constitutional law, jurisdiction, religious freedom, social contract, freedom of the church

50.

Against 'Civil Rights' Simplism: How Not to Accommodate Competing Legal Commitments

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 17-294
Number of pages: 18 Posted: 28 Jun 2017
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 101 (242,149)

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religion, religious freedom, civil rights, legal conflict, freedom of expression

51.

Persons Pursuing Goods

Legal Theory, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-112
Number of pages: 45 Posted: 31 Aug 2007
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 93 (255,791)

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natural law, goods, personhood, friendship, legal authority, obligation

52.

Educating for Liberalism

UC Davis Law Review, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 08-057
Number of pages: 23 Posted: 17 Aug 2008
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 91 (259,427)

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religion, constitutional law, education, first amendment, schools

53.

Culture Wars as Pagan Counterrevolution

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 17-293
Number of pages: 31 Posted: 20 Jun 2017
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 86 (268,719)

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Modern Paganism, Culture Wars, Christian Revolution, Pagan Counterrevolution, Public Religious Symbols, Legally Implemented Norms of Sexuality, Religious Freedom

54.

The Pagan City, the Christian City, and the Secular City

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 17-290
Number of pages: 35 Posted: 15 Jun 2017
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 85 (270,679)

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Christianity, Paganism, Secularism, Modern Paganism, Immanent Religiosity, Transcendent Religiosity

55.

The Case of the Exemption Claimants: Religion, Conscience, and Identity

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 18-345
Number of pages: 31 Posted: 30 Apr 2018
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 81 (278,725)

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Constitutional law, Case of the Exemption Claimants, Religious Freedom Clause, priest-penitent privilege, Conscience, Identity, self-conception

56.

Persons All the Way Up

Villanova Law Review, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 10-003
Number of pages: 22 Posted: 12 Jan 2010
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 80 (280,789)

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jurisprudence, legal philosophy, religion, authority

57.

Coming Home? The Imminent Immanent City

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 17-291
Number of pages: 43 Posted: 16 Jun 2017
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 79 (282,940)

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Modern paganism, Christianity, Pagan city, Christian city, Pagan

58.

Nonestablishment, Standing, and the Soft Constitution

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 10-045
Number of pages: 51 Posted: 24 Nov 2010
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 79 (282,940)

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constitutional law, first amendment, separation of church and state, federal courts, freedom of religion, standing

59.

De-Moralized: Glucksberg in the Malaise

Michigan Law Review, Forthcoming, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-109
Number of pages: 31 Posted: 31 Aug 2007
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 72 (298,478)
Citation 2

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morality, constitutional law, assisted suicide, moral reasoning

60.

Situating Ourselves in History

Pepperdine Law Review, Vol. 41, 2014, San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 15-182
Number of pages: 9 Posted: 27 Feb 2015
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 71 (300,845)

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religion, religious freedom, history, constitutonal law

61.

The Constitution and the Goods of Religion

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 10-059
Number of pages: 27 Posted: 06 Jul 2011 Last Revised: 17 Aug 2011
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 66 (312,895)

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First Amendment, Establishment Clause, Religion, Constitutional Law, Liberalism

62.

West and East: the Continuity of Persons

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 14-141
Number of pages: 19 Posted: 14 Feb 2014
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 64 (318,012)

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jurisprudence, psychology, comparative law

63.

Naturalism and the Trajectory of History

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 16-229
Number of pages: 41 Posted: 09 Nov 2016
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 56 (339,700)

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Religion, Religious Freedom, History, Christianity, Culture Wars

64.

Reply: (Mis)Understanding Good-Behavior Tenure

Yale Law Journal, Vol. 116, No. 159, 2006
Number of pages: 11 Posted: 23 Feb 2010
Saikrishna Prakash and Steven Douglas Smith
University of Virginia School of Law and University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 54 (345,690)

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good behavior, judicial independence, impeachment, holism, Redish, tenure

65.

Alexander as Anarchist

San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 17-292
Number of pages: 25 Posted: 19 Jun 2017
Steven Douglas Smith
University of San Diego School of Law
Downloads 23 (465,793)

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Larry Alexander, Legal Interpretation, Hermeneutics, Anarchy