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Simple English definitions for legal terms

Brandeis rules

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A quick definition of Brandeis rules:

Brandeis Rules: A set of principles used by the U.S. Supreme Court to decide constitutional questions only when necessary and to avoid them if the case can be decided on another issue. These rules were created by Justice Brandeis and include policies such as not deciding a constitutional question in a friendly suit, not creating a rule of constitutional law that is broader than necessary, and not ruling on the constitutionality of a statute unless the plaintiff is harmed by it. The court also should not rule on the constitutionality of an act of Congress without first analyzing whether it can be interpreted in a way that avoids the constitutional question.

A more thorough explanation:

Brandeis Rules, also known as Ashwander Rules, are a set of principles that guide the U.S. Supreme Court in deciding constitutional questions only when necessary and avoiding them if the case can be resolved on another issue.

The rules were outlined in Justice Brandeis's concurring opinion in Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority, a 1936 case. The principles include:

  • Not deciding a constitutional question in a friendly suit
  • Not anticipating a question of constitutional law
  • Not creating a rule of constitutional law that is broader than necessary
  • Not deciding a constitutional issue if the case can be resolved on another ground
  • Not ruling on the constitutionality of a statute unless the plaintiff is harmed by the statute or has accepted its benefits
  • Not ruling on the constitutionality of an act of Congress without first analyzing whether it can be construed in a way that avoids the constitutional question

For example, if a person challenges a law that they have not been affected by, the court may not rule on the constitutionality of the law because the person has not been harmed by it. Similarly, if a case can be resolved on a non-constitutional issue, the court may avoid ruling on the constitutional question.

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@soap: lol oh well just get top 10% a umn and then transfer to harvard because you come from a grade deflated undergrad and law school will be easy for you
soap
14:02
I think the order in which you do questions is a matter of personal preference. In PTs I've always scored better doing the hardest ones first, but that's just because it reduces the stress personally lol
soap
14:02
I guess since I'm paying for all this anyhow I could just wait and reapply lmao
texaslawhopefully
14:03
Yeah soap if you get a 175+, I would 100 percent reapply
hahahahah sure if you’re set on t14 it’s entirely attainable for you
texaslawhopefully
14:03
If your parents aren’t helping at all, they don’t have much of a say
14:08
^valid pt
my mom is so involved in my application proccess she wanted to cater my personal statement to what she believed would make most impact on adcom.
she is helping pay for it but even if so, they shouldnt be too involved
shes a war veteran so she wanted me to spend significant portion of my ps talking about how much her journey affected and inspired me so i ignored her to the fullest by simply saying "ps is about me not you"
speaking of test prep, any 7sage alternatives that include explanations without "youre dumb if u dont get this"
14:25
twitter is making me so mad i may have to get rid of it
texaslawhopefully
14:25
I’m going to get dogged on for saying this, but LSAT Demon has fairly good explanations
14:25
i had demon for a month and they have flushed out written explanations that helpo
14:26
7sage explanations are so sucky i gotta watch a vid of a dude eliminiating an answer choice with 2 seconds of explainaing why
dude, i feel like 7sage guy speedruns thru the whole test.
14:30
the vids are 80% him reading the stimulus out loud then he devotes 4 seconds to each answer choice i swear
14:31
i shake my fist to the sky]
LOL thats so true...they were good for LG but now i dont see the point... applied to GULC mid oct, havent received II or anything, so i HAVE to be cooked, right?
windyMagician
14:35
my parents didn’t know i was applying to law school until i got in. it’s great being old
windyMagician
14:35
my dad barely knows the difference between mich and umn
yeah, my parent thinks cardozo is better than fordham because someone she knows got in fordham LLM and that person is plain stupid so fordham HAS to be bad
lmao fordham is a great school she’s a silly billy, if you wrote your ps about your veteran mom adcoms would throw it out lol. our parents try their best :)
yeah, she's an immigrant from post soviet country, born and raised there - i understand where she is coming from, american culture is way different.
yeah yeah exactly. +1 for lsat demon a lot of people who don’t like 7sage end up liking demon
does lsat demon accept lsac fee waiver
14:46
@VolatileClumsyAcolyte: yes very easy
14:47
to apply it. I love it- looking like a 155-170+ in a few months for me
oh i just checked, i still have to pay even if i have a fee waiver, damn
14:48
imo go basic with FW, then when (if) you run out of questions/tests, upgrade OR just take tests /drill on lawhib
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