Of Sovereignty and Federalism

Victims of government-sponsored lawlessness have come to dread the word "federalism." Whether emblazoned on the simple banner of "Our Federalism"' or invoked in some grander phrase, the word is now regularly deployed to thwart full remedies for violations of constitutional rights. Consider, for example, the Burger Court. Rallying under flags of federalism, the Justices pushed back remedies for segregation in public schools, denied relief to citizens threatened by racially discriminatory police brutality, cut back federal habeas corpus for state prisoners convicted in tainted trials, and forced lower federal courts to dismiss a broad range of suits challenging unconstitutional state conduct.