James A. Gardner

Gardner.

SUNY Distinguished Professor; Bridget and Thomas Black Professor

Research Focus: Constitutional Law and Structure, Election Law, Federalism, Law and Democratic Theory, State Constitutional Law
Links: 
Curriculum VitaeSSRN

Contact Information

514 O'Brian Hall, North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-1100
716-645-3607
jgard@buffalo.edu

Faculty Assistant: Suzanne Caruso

Biography Publications

Books

COMPARATIVE ELECTION LAW (edited volume) (Edward Elgar Publishing 2022)

LEGAL ARGUMENT: THE STRUCTURE AND EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE OF EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY (with Christine Bartholomew) (Carolina Academic Press, 3rd ed. 2020)

ELECTION LAW IN THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM (with Guy-Uriel Charles) (Aspen, 2nd ed. 2018) (1st ed. 2012)

Edited Works

NEW FRONTIERS OF STATE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: DUAL ENFORCEMENT OF LAW DUAL ENFORCEMENT OF NORMS (J. Gardner & J. Rossi, ed.) (Oxford University Press:   2010)

STATE EXPANSION OF FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES: INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN A DUAL CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM (editor) (Garland: 1999) vol. 1

STATE EXPANSION OF FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES: INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN A DUAL CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM (editor) (Garland: 1999) vol. 2

Journal Articles

Federalism and the Limits of Subnational Political Heterogeneity, WISCONSIN LAW REVIEW 1097 (2021)

Illiberalism and Authoritarianism in the American States, 70 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW (2021)

The Illiberalization of American Election Law: A Study in Democratic Deconsolidation, 90 FORDHAM LAW REVIEW 423 (2021)

Transmission of Mastery, 69 BUFFALO LAW REVIEW 507, 507-46 (2021)

Lessons from a Journey through Subnational Constitutional Law, 72 RUTGERS UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW (2020)

Democratic Legitimacy under Conditions of Severely Depressed Voter Turnout, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LAW REVIEW ONLINE 24, 24-34 (2020)

The Theory and Practice of Contestatory Federalism, 60 WILLIAM & MARY LAW REVIEW 507-589 (2018)

Active Judicial Governance, 51 NEW ENGLAND LAW REVIEW 545-554 (2018)

Canadian Federalism in Design and Practice: The Mechanics of a Permanently Provisional Constitution, 9(3) PERSPECTIVES ON FEDERALISM 1-30 (2017) (peer reviewed)

Practice-Driven Changes to Constitutional Structures of Governance, ARKANSAS LAW REVIEW vol. 68 (2016)

Claims of Distinctive Identity in Federal Systems: Judicial Policing of the Limits of Subnational Variance, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (with Antoni Abat i Ninet) vol. 14 (forthcoming 2016) (peer reviewed)

Justice Brennan and the Foundations of Human Rights Federalism, OHIO STATE LAW JOURNAL vol. 77(2): 355 (2016)
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La contienda intergubernamental en sistemas federados, YEARBOOK OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF LAW (Córdoba, Argentina) (2016)

Partitioning and Rights: The Supreme Court’s Accidental Jurisprudence of Political Representation, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW vol. 42: 61-94 (2014)
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Federalism and Subnational Political Community, HARVARD LAW REVIEW FORUM vol. 127 (2014)

Autonomy and Isomorphism: The Unfulfilled Promise of Structural Autonomy in American State Constitutions, WAYNE LAW REVIEW vol. 60 (2014)
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Distinctive Identity Claims in Federal Systems: Judicial Policing of Subnational Variance (with Antoni Abat i Ninet)
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The Incompatible Treatment of Majorities in Election Law and Deliberative Democracy, ELECTION LAW JOURNAL vol. 12: 468 (2013) (peer-reviewed)

The Myth of State Autonomy: Federalism, Political Parties, and the National Colonization of State Politics, JOURNAL OF LAW AND POLITICS vol. 29 (2013)
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Election Law as Applied Democratic Theory, SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY LAW JOURNAL vol. 56: 689 (2012)
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How to Do Things with Boundaries: Redistricting and the Construction of Politics, ELECTION LAW JOURNAL vol. 11: 399 (2012) (peer-reviewed)

Sustainable Decentralization: Power, Extraconstitutional Influence, and Subnational Symmetry in the United States and Spain, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW vol. 59: 491 (2011)

Anonymity and Democratic Citizenship, WILLIAM & MARY BILL OF RIGHTS JOURNAL vol. 19: 927  (2010)

Anti-Regulatory Absolutism in the Campaign Arena: Citizens United and the Implied Slippery Slope, CORNELL JOURNAL OF LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY vol. 20: 673 (2010)

New York’s Inbred Judiciary: Pathologies of Nomination and Appointment of Court of Appeals Judges, BUFFALO LAW REVIEW: THE DOCKET vol. 58: 15 (2010)

The Dignity of Voters - A Dissent, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI LAW REVIEW vol. 64: 435 (2010)
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Sustainable Decentralization: Power, Extraconstitutional Influence, and Subnational Symmetry in the US and Spain, BUFFALO LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER (May, 2009)
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In Search of Sub-National Constitutionalism, EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW REVIEW vol. 4: 325-343 (2008)
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What is "Fair" Partisan Representation, and How Can It Be Constitutionalized? The Case for a Return to Fixed Election Districts, MARQUETTE LAW REVIEW vol. 90 (2007)
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Deliberation or Tabulation? The Self-Undermining Constitutional Architecture of Election Campaigns, BUFFALO LAW REVIEW  vol. 54 p. 1413-1482(2007)
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New York's Judicial Selection Process is Fine – It's the Party System That Needs Fixing, NEW YORK STATE BAR JOURNAL vol. 79: 42-46 (2007)
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Representation Without Party: Lessons from State Constitutional Attempts to Control Gerrymandering, RUTGERS LAW JOURNAL vol. 37: 881 (2006)
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Wandering Lonely as a Cloud: National Citizenship and the Case for Non-Territorial Election Districts, ELECTION LAW JOURNAL vol. 5: 210 (2  2006)

Democracy Without a Net? Separation of Powers and the Idea of Self-Sustaining Constitutional Constraints on Undemocratic Behavior, ST. JOHN'S LAW REVIEW vol. 79: 293 (2005)
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Giving the Gift of Public Office, BUFFALO LAW REVIEW  vol. 53: 859 (2005)
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The New Frontier of State Constitutional Law, WILLIAM AND MARY LAW REVIEW vol. 45: 1231 (2005)
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Whose Constitution Is It? Why Federalism and Constitutional Positivism Don't Mix, WILLIAM AND MARY LAW REVIEW vol. 46: 1245 (2005)
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A Post-Vieth Strategy for Litigating Partisan Gerrymandering Claims, ELECTION LAW JOURNAL vol. 3: 643 (2004)

Coherence or Bust: Telling Tales about Election Law, CONNECTICUT LAW REVIEW vol. 36: 1  (2003)

Forcing States to Be Free: The Emerging Constitutional Guarantee of Radical Democracy, CONNECTICUT LAW REVIEW vol. 35: 1467 (2003)

State Constitutional Rights as Resistance to National Power: Toward a Functional Theory of State Constitutions, GEORGETOWN LAW JOURNAL vol. 91: 1003 (2003)
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Neutralizing the Incompetent Voter: A Comment on Cook v. Gralike, ELECTION LAW JOURNAL vol. 1: 49 (2002)  

One-Person, One-Vote, and the Possibility of Political Community, NORTH CAROLINA LAW REVIEW vol. 80: 1237 (2002)

State Courts as Agents of Federalism: Power and Interpretation in State Constitutional Law, WILLIAM AND MARY LAW REVIEW vol. 44: 1725 (2002)
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The Regulatory Role of State Constitutional Structural Constraints in Presidential Elections, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW vol. 29: 625 (2001)

Can Party Politics Be Virtuous?, COLUMBIA LAW REVIEW  vol. 100: 667 (2000)

Madison's Hope: Virtue, Self-Interest and the Design of Electoral Systems, IOWA LAW REVIEW vol. 86: 87 (2000)
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Devolution and the Paradox of Democratic Unresponsiveness, SOUTH TEXAS LAW REVIEW vol. 40: 759  (1999)

Stop Me Before I Quantify Again: The Role of Political Science in the Study of Election Law, LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES LAW REVIEW  vol. 32: 1141 (1999)

The Nature of the American Constitution: Is There a Constitutional Right to Vote and Be Represented?, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW vol. 48: 605 (1999)

Section 98 and the Specialized Practice of Civil Rights Law, WESTERN NEW ENGLAND LAW REVIEW vol. 20: 39 (1998)

Southern Character, Confederate Nationalism, and the Interpretation of State Constitutions: A Case Study in Constitutional Argument, TEXAS LAW REVIEW vol. 76: 1219 (1998)

The Postivist Revolution That Wasn't: Constitutional Universalism in the States, ROGER WILLIAMS LAW REVIEW vol. 4: 109 (1998)

Liberty, Community and the Constitutional Structure of Political Influence: A Reconsideration of the Right to Vote, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA LAW REVIEW vol. 145: 893 (1997)

My Aching Heart, ALBANY LAW REVIEW vol. 59: 1723 (1996)

The "States-as-Laboratories" Metaphor in State Constitutional Law, VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW  vol. 30: 475 (1996)

The Court and the Changing Constitution: A Discussion, TOURO LAW REVIEW vol. 13: 135 (1996)

The More Things Change…: Superficial State Constitutional Analysis at the New York Court of Appeals, TOURO LAW REVIEW vol. 12: 709 (1996)

Shut Up and Vote: A Critique of Deliberative Democracy and the Life of Talk, TENNESSEE LAW REVIEW vol. 63: 421 (1993)

The Ambiguity of Legal Dreams: A Communitarian Defense of Judicial Restraint, NORTH CAROLINA LAW REVIEW vol. 71: 805 (1993)

What is a State Constitution?, RUTGERS LAW JOURNAL vol. 24: 1025 (1993)

Discourse and Difference -- A Reply to Parness and Cogan, ST. THOMAS LAW REVIEW vol. 5: 193 (1992)

The Failed Discourse of State Constitutionalism, MICHIGAN LAW REVIEW vol. 90: 761 (1992)

The Positivist Foundations of Originalism: An Account and Critique, BOSTON UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW vol. 71: 1 (1991)

The Uses and Abuses of Incumbency: People v. Ohrenstein and the Limits of Inherent Legislative Power, FORDHAM LAW REVIEW vol. 60: 217 (1991)

The Uses and Abuses of Incumbency: People v. Ohrenstein and the Limits of Inherent Legislative Power, FORDHAM LAW REVIEW vol. 60: 217 (1991)

Consent, Legitimacy and Elections: Implementing Popular Sovereignty Under the Lockean Constitution, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH LAW REVIEW vol. 52: 189 (1990)

Book Chapters

Equilibrium and Sustainability in Federal Systems, in HANDBOOK OF FEDERATIONS AND FEDERAL STUDIES (César Colino, ed., Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2023)

How Federal Systems Endure: Dynamic Equilibrium and Its Challenges, in THE LAW AND POLITICS OF FEDERALISM (Erin F. Delaney, ed., Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2023)

Strongmen and Neurotics: Visible Struggle and the Construction of Judicial Ethos, in JUSTICE ANTHONY M. KENNEDY: THE RHETORIC OF LIBERTY (David Frank & Francis J. Mootz, III, eds., Pennsylvania State University Press, forthcoming 2022)

The Concept of “Equilibrium” in FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONS, IN THE LAW AND POLITICS OF FEDERALISM (Erin F. Delaney, ed., Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2022)

El Misterioso Exito de una Democracia Federal, in DEMOCRACIA Y FORMA CONSTITUCIONAL (Pablo C. Riberi & Pedro Salazar, eds., Instituto de Investigaciones Juridicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, forthcoming 2022) (Spanish)

Electoral Systems and Conceptions of Politics, in Comparative Election Law (James A. Gardner, ed., Edward Elgar Publishing, forthcoming 2022)

Equilibrium and Sustainability in Federal Systems, in Handbook of Federations and Federal Studies (César Colino, ed., Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2022)

Introduction: Election Law – Universal or Particular?, in Comparative Election Law (James A. Gardner, ed., Edward Elgar Publishing, forthcoming 2022)

Strongmen and Neurotics: Visible Struggle and the Construction of Judicial Ethos, in Justice Anthony M. Kennedy: The Rhetoric of Liberty (David Frank & Francis J. Mootz, III, eds., Pennsylvania State University Press, forthcoming 2022)

Subnational Constitutionalism in the United States, in Handbook of Subnational Constitutions and Constitutionalism 294 (Patricia Popelier, Giacomo Delladone & Nicholas Aroney eds., Routledge, 2021)

Presidential Selection: Historical, Institutional, and Democratic Perspectives, in THE BEST CANDIDATE: PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION IN POLARIZED TIMES (Eugene Mazo and Michael Dimino, eds., Cambridge University Press) (2020)

Em busca do constitucionalismo infranacional in Federalismo e Constituição: Estudos Comparados (Antonio Moreira Maués, editor) (Rio De Janeiro: Lumen Juris, 2012)

Dual Enforcement of Constitutional Norms, NEW FRONTIERS OF STATE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: DUAL ENFORCEMENT OF LAW (J. Gardner & J. Rossi, eds.) (Oxford University Press:   2011)

State constitutionalism and the scope of judicial review, NEW FRONTIERS OF STATE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: DUAL ENFORCEMENT OF LAW (J. Gardner & J. Rossi, eds.) (Oxford University Press:   2011)

Why Federalism and Constitutional Positivism Don't Mix, NEW FRONTIERS OF STATE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: DUAL ENFORCEMENT OF LAW (J. Gardner & J. Rossi, eds.) (Oxford University Press:   2011)

Democracy without a Net? Separation of Powers and the Idea of Self-Sustaining Constitutional Constraints on Undemocratic Behavior (reprint), SEPARATION OF POWERS – U.S. PERSPECTIVES (Amicus Books:   2009)

Voting and Elections, STATE CONSTITUTIONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: THE AGENDA OF STATE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM (G. Alan Tarr, Robert F. Williams, eds.) (SUNY Press:   2006)

Power, Autonomy, and Politics under Local Government Charters in the United States, STATUTY JEDNOSTEK SAMORZĄDU TERYTORIALNEGO : REGULACJE EUROPEJSKIE I AMERYKAŃSKIE (LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHARTERS : EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN REGULATIONS) (Wieslaw Kisiel, ed.) (Zakamycze:   2005)

Book Reviews

Review of Arthur Benz and Jörg Broschek, editors, FEDERAL DYNAMICS: CONTINUITY, CHANGE, AND THE VARIETIES OF FEDERALISM (2013), LAW AND POLITICS BOOK REVIEW vol. 24(4): 186-189 (2014)

Review of Michael S. Greve, THE UPSIDE-DOWN CONSTITUTION (2012), LAW AND POLITICS BOOK REVIEW vol. 22(7): 327 (2012)

Review of Jenna Bednar, THE ROBUST FEDERATION: PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN (2008), LAW & POLITICS BOOK REVIEW vol. 19(9): 668 (2009) 

Review of Lawrence M. Friedman, GUARDING LIFE'S DARK SECRETS: LEGAL AND SOCIAL CONTROLS OVER REPUTATION, PROPRIETY, AND PRIVACY (2007), LAW AND POLITICS BOOK REVIEW vol. 18(9): 762 (2008) 

Review of Christopher F. Zurn, DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY AND THE INSTITUTIONS OF JUDICIAL REVIEW (2007), LAW AND POLITICS BOOK REVIEW vol. 17(7): 620 (2007)

Expert Testimony

Testimony before NY Senate Standing Committee on Elections, Hearing on S1616, S3372, S3996, S3995, S1266, S4035 (2009)