Magna Carta and the Rule of Law

by Magraw, Daniel Barstow; Martinez, Andrea; Brownell, Roy E., II

• ISBN13: 9781627226974
• ISBN10: 1627226974
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-06-07
• Publisher: Natl Book Network

Summary

2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, widely recognized to be a pillar of liberty, major source of the modern concept of executive accountability, and foundation of the rule of law in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Commonwealth countries. Magna Carta and the Rule of Law, is a comprehensive and insightful new book from the American Bar Association. It takes a fresh look at Magna Carta and its impacts on various issues and the rule of law in light of contemporary legal concerns.

It includes an examination of the following aspects of Magna Carta; historical background, importance to constitutionalism and the rule of law, impact on the United States Constitution, executive power, role as a foundation for women's rights and individual rights (such as habeas corpus), relevance to international law, and much more.

This fascinating book was written by a distinguished international group of scholars and features a foreword by Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Author Biography

Daniel Barstow Magraw is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute, and a professorial lecturer at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Andrea Martinez is an Associate with the International Justice Initiative at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Roy E. Brownell II is an attorney residing in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword xi

Sandra Day O'Connor

Acknowledgments xix

List of Illustrations xxi

About the Authors xxiii

Chapter 1

Introduction: Magna Carta and the Rule of Law 1

Daniel B. Magraw, Andrea Martinez, and Roy E. Brownell II

I. Introduction 1

II. Explanation of Terminology and Translations 7

A. Use of Numbers and “Chapter” for Parts of Magna Carta 7

B. Identification of Different Versions of Magna Carta 7

C. Use of Different Translations 8

D. Name and Spelling of Magna Carta 9

III. The Chapters in This Book 9

A. Chapter 2: “The Making of Magna Carta:

The Historical Background” 9

B. Chapter 3: “Magna Carta and Sovereign Immunity:

Strained Bedfellows” 10

C. Chapter 4: “Magna Carta and the United States

Constitution: An Exercise in Building Fences” 10

D. Chapter 5: “Magna Carta in Supreme Court Jurisprudence” 10

E. Chapter 6: “Magna Carta and Executive Power” 11

F. Chapter 7: “Magna Carta and Habeas Corpus” 11

G. Chapter 8: “Magna Carta and Religious Freedom” 12

H. Chapter 9: “Magna Carta and International Law” 12

I. Chapter 10: “Magna Carta Unchained: The Great

Charter in Modern Commonwealth Law” 12

J. Chapter 11: “Magna Carta, Civil Law, and Canon Law” 13

K. Chapter 12: “The Charter of the Forest: Evolving

Human Rights in Nature” 13

mcg26974_00_fm_i-xxiv.indd 5 7/16/14 4:06 PMvi Contents

IV. Themes Running Through This Book 13

A. Everyone Is Subject to the Law and Can Be Made

So by Virtue of a Written Instrument 13

B. Dynamism and Adaptability 14

C. Mythic Magna Carta 15

D. Resilience in the Face of Vacillating Treatment 16

E. Rule of Law and Enduring Relevance and

Persuasiveness of Magna Carta 16

Chapter 2

The Making of Magna Carta: The Historical Background 17

Ralph V. Turner

I. Tyrannical Angevin Monarchy 17

II. King John 20

III. Framing a Baronial Reform Program 27

IV. The Road to Runnymede 31

V. Magna Carta 1215 34

VI. Subsequent Issues of Magna Carta 42

VII. Magna Carta in Early Modern England and North America 44

Further Reading 47

Chapter 3

Magna Carta and Sovereign Immunity: Strained Bedfellows 49

Diane P. Wood and Danieli Evans

I. English Law before Magna Carta 51

II. English Law in the Wake of Magna Carta 54

III. Remedies against the Sovereign in the Colonies and

the Early Republic 65

A. Colonial Law 65

B. State Constitutions 68

C. Early Constitutional Law 70

IV. The Emergence of Contemporary Sovereign Immunity 75

V. Conclusion 78

Chapter 4

Magna Carta and the United States Constitution: An Exercise in Building Fences 81

Michael Dillon

I. English Foundations 82

II. Common Opinions and Initial Comparison 86

III. More Detailed Comparison 91

IV. Creating the Myth of Magna Carta 98

V. America's Use of Magna Carta 105

VI. Epilogue: The 21st Century 109

mcg26974_00_fm_i-xxiv.indd 6 7/16/14 4:06 PMContents vii

Chapter 5

Magna Carta in Supreme Court Jurisprudence 111

Stephen J. Wermiel

I. Overview 111

II. Using Magna Carta for Philosophical and Historical

Reflection 116

A. General Philosophical and Historical Discussion 117

B. Limiting Government Power 118

III. Turning to the Cases 121

A. Due Process 121

B. Trial by Jury 125

C. Speedy Trial 129

D. Habeas Corpus 131

E. Right to Travel 132

F. Right to Bear Arms 133

G. Cruel and Unusual Punishment 134

H. Excessive Fines 134

I. The Right to Petition the Government 136

J. Land Ownership and Navigable Waters Control 137

IV. Other References to Magna Carta 138

A. Antitrust 138

B. Church and State 138

V. Distinguishing Magna Carta: Freedom of Speech 139

VI. Conclusion 140

Chapter 6

Magna Carta and Executive Power 141

Louis Fisher

I. Blackstone's Prerogative 142

II. Breaking with the British Model 143

III. Creating a Republic in America 145

IV. Enumerated and Implied Powers 147

V. Inherent Powers 150

VI. Inherent Powers Rejected 152

VII. Limits on Executive Power 159

VIII. Procedural Safeguards 160

IX. Deportation and Exclusion Proceedings 161

X. Executive Concessions 165

XI. Habeas Corpus 168

XII. Conclusions 171

mcg26974_00_fm_i-xxiv.indd 7 7/16/14 4:06 PMChapter 7

Magna Carta and Habeas Corpus 173

Justin Wert

I. Habeas Corpus and Magna Carta: Linkages 174

II. Habeas Corpus and Magna Carta in the New World 177

III. Habeas Corpus in Antebellum America 179

IV. Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Gilded Age 188

V. 20th Century and Beyond 189

VI. Conclusion 190

Chapter 8

Magna Carta and Religious Freedom 193

Tore Lindholm

I. Introduction: The Notion of Religious Freedom 193

II. Whether the Original Magna Carta of June 1215

Protected Religious Freedom 197

III. Magna Carta and Religious Freedom in England from

1215 to 1948 206

A. The Case of Jews 207

B. The Case of Catholics 208

C. The Case of Puritans and Other Non-Anglican

Protestants 209

D. Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634) and Oliver Cromwell

(1599–1658) 210

E. William Penn (1644–1718) 211

F. Religious Freedom in 18th- and 19th-Century England 214

IV. Freedom of the Church: Tweaking Magna Carta in America 216

A. Hosanna-Tabor v. E.E.O.C. 220

B. Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. 223

V. The Character of Salvific Knowledge and Its

Public Ramifications in a Pluralist Democracy 225

Chapter 9

Magna Carta and International Law 227

Larry May

I. Fundamental Rights and Jus Cogens Norms 228

II. The Domestic and International Rule of Law 231

III. A System of Law through Trials 234

IV. Ancient Liberties and Centralized Courts 237

V. Due Process in International Law 241

VI. Final Thoughts 245

viii Contents

mcg26974_00_fm_i-xxiv.indd 8 7/16/14 4:06 PMChapter 10

Magna Carta Unchained: The Great Charter in Modern Commonwealth Law 247

David Clark

I. Introduction 247

II. Status in Britain 253

III. As a Statute in Commonwealth Countries 255

IV. Legal Myths 257

V. Trial by Jury 258

VI. Not a Supreme Law 260

VII. Idea of a Constitutional Presence 262

VIII. Adapted to Modern Circumstances 264

IX. Origin of a Modern Argument 266

X. Exceptions Made to Magna Carta 267

XI. Survivals: Chapter 29 268

XII. Property 272

XIII. Transformation in Modern Bills of Rights 273

XIV. Personal Liberty 275

XV. Due Process and Procedural Fairness 276

XVI. Conclusion 279

Chapter 11

Magna Carta, Civil Law, and Canon Law 281

Thomas J. McSweeney

I. Introduction 281

II. Magna Carta, the Ius Commune, and the Historians 283

III. Borrowing Style 285

IV. Canon Law and the Politics of Church Reform 291

V. Influence from Legal Practice 301

VI. Conclusion: Canon Law, Common Law, and 1215 304

Chapter 12

The Charter of the Forest: Evolving Human Rights in Nature 311

Nicholas A. Robinson

I. Introduction: The Forest Charter in a Nutshell 317

II. 13th-Century Society: The Crucible for Forging the

Forest Charter 324

III. The Creation of the Forest Charter 334

IV. Substantive Provisions of the Forest Charter 339

V. Evolution: A Forest Charter for Each Generation 345

A. The Forest Charter from 1400 to 1850 346

B. Evolution and Ecology: The Science and Ethics

of Nature Conservation 357

C. The Forest Charter Reemerges: The Selden

Society and Legal Historians 359

D. Forest Charter “Liberties” in the 20th Century 361

Contents ix

mcg26974_00_fm_i-xxiv.indd 9 7/16/14 4:06 PMVI. A Case Study of the New Forest: Contemporary

“Liberties of the Forest” 367

VII. Conclusion: The Once and Future “Liberties of the Forest” 372

APPENDIX A

Coronation Charter of Henry I 379

APPENDIX B

Articles of the Barons 383

APPENDIX C

1215 Magna Carta 389

APPENDIX D

King's Writ 399

APPENDIX E

Pope Innocent III: Papal Bull Declaring That Magna Carta Is Null & Void 401

APPENDIX F

1216 Magna Carta 405

APPENDIX G

1217 Magna Carta 413

APPENDIX H

1217 Carta de Foresta (Charter of the Forest) 421

APPENDIX I

1225 Magna Carta 425

APPENDIX J

Confirmatio Cartarum 1297 (Confirmation of the Charters) 433

APPENDIX K

United States Constitution 435

APPENDIX L

United States Bill of Rights 447

APPENDIX M

Chronology of Magna Carta and Related Events 451

Glossary 455

Index 459