Judicial Opinions as Binding Law and as Explanations for Judgments

Thomas W. Merrill, Judicial Opinions as Binding Law and as Explanations for Judgments, 15 Cardozo L. Rev. 43 (1993)

Didn't read past the introduction.

Federalism and the Double Standard of Judicial Review

Lynn A. Baker (Texas) & Ernest A. Young (Texas), Federalism and the Double Standard of Judicial Review, 51 Duke L.J. 75 (2001)

Unfinished. Not entirely helpful. Basically, federalism is good, federalism wasn't being enforced before, thank god federalism is being enforced now. Of course, that can be argued with - it's not that federalism wasn't being enforced, it's that the boundary lines were drawn very expansively, and Congress never crossed over them.

Interesting references

Peter M. Shane, Federalism's Old Deal: What's Right and Wrong With Conservative Judicial Activism, 45 Vill. L. Rev. 201 (2000)

Dan Braveman, Enforcement of Federal Rights Against States: Alden and Federalism Non-Sense, 49 Am. U. L. Rev. 611 (2000)

John Gibbons, Our Federalism, 12 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 1087 (1978)

Public Legal Reason

Lawrence B. Solum (Illinois), Public Legal Reason, 92 Va. L. Rev. 1449 (2006)

Download here.

Couldn't get through it. I'm starting to get the idea that legal philosophy isn't really my thing. On the other hand, maybe I just need a lot more background before I try to start diving into a debate such as the one Solum is engaged in here.