Through the Judicial Looking Glass: The Nebraska Supreme Court in Moral Obligation Land and What It Thought It Saw There

I. Introduction II. Setting the Stage: The Commonwealth Fiasco III. Closing the Show: The Haman Decision IV. What's a Word? Judicial Technique In Haman ... A. And Versus Or: Basting the State Goose ... B. And Versus Or: Cooking the Judicial Gander V. Changing the Rules: Classifications in a Post-Haman World ... A. Classifications and Haman: Fashioning a New Rule ... B. Classifications and Haman: Applying the Rule ... C. "Permanently Closed Classes": Myths and Realities VI. Stating the Rules: Moral Obligations and the Moral Society ... A. Wakeley: When Is a "Rule" Really a Rule? ... B. Moral Obligation in Nebraska: The Pre-Haman View ... C. When Is a Guaranty Not a Guaranty: Weaver and Hubbell Bank … D. Moral Obligation in a Post-Haman World: The Rebirth of Liberty of Contract and the Demise of Compassion VII. Justifying the Rules: The Haman Court's Vision of Judicial Review ... A. A Most Dangerous Branch: Public Policy and the Haman Court ... B. No State Is an Island? ... 1. "The Credit of the State" ... 2. Moral Obligation: A National Perspective ... 3. Redemption of Deposits: The Lessons from Other States VIII. Conclusion