Constitutional law

The histories of France and the United States of America are often compared alongside the judicial systems of each country. While the histories of the countries, starting with the French and American revolutions, have similarities, the judicial systems themselves are based on different schools of thought. The French method of judicial decision making is based on the Napoleonic code whereas the American method is based on that of common law. In available literature regarding comparisons of France and the United States, it is an assumption that, if the American and French judicial systems are based on different legal theories, the cultural effects of those systems must also be different. Contrary to these expectations, however, my analysis of court cases focusing on labor unions' right to strike demonstrates that there are similarities in judicial decisions' effects on society.

The surge in granting equal rights to gays and lesbians in the United States is remarkable. Yet with this surge comes a conflict : the civil rights of gays and lesbians against the rights of religious individuals, predominantly Christians, refusing to tolerate a behavior they think immoral. My thesis focuses on two hypothetical situations : a county clerk refusing to issue a marriage license to an engaged lesbian couple and an inn owner refusing a night's stay to a gay couple. In both cases, the clerk and inn owner refuse service for religious reasons. Normatively, I argue that we must move beyond a framework of toleration to a system of equal respect and understanding of our fellow human beings. Legally, I argue that the rights of religious expression and exercise should not trump the civil rights of gays and lesbians in the public sphere.