The Constitution’s flexibility in emergency is why the late Justice Robert H. Jackson once said, “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.” But emergencies do not cause the Constitution to vanish.
COVID-19 and the Constitution Read More »
“[A]nother mistake is that because an amendments convention executes a federal function, Congress can control it. But . . . the rules and protocols for carrying out federal functions come from the Constitution, not from Congress.”
New article shows how amendments conventions and other “federal functions” are regulated Read More »
“… when Hamilton stated . . . that he believed electors would use “information and discernment,” that is not very good evidence that future electors did in fact use information and discernment. But it is quite good evidence that Hamilton and his readers believed the Constitution empowered electors to do so.”
A defense of the Electoral College Read More »
The Takings Clause in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution . . . reads in part, “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
City destroys home without paying: Will the Supreme Court take the case? Read More »
“[Denver] has overreacted and has potentially violated the constitutional rights of city residents and millions of others.
Denver’s COVID-19 house arrest order is probably unconstitutional Read More »
Rob explains why II submitted a Supreme Court brief to protect presidential elector discretion and why the National Popular Vote Compact is a terrible idea
Originalism is not a modern invention “[T]he ‘intent of the makers’ had been the lodestar of documentary construction since at least the 1500s.”
Underselling Originalism Read More »
How academics formed a completely erroneous “consensus” about the convention procedure of Article V.
Britain was the first major country in world history to abolish slavery.
The English tradition of liberty under law is a gift to us all Read More »
The incentives behind the campaign are obvious. The ERA is poorly drafted and vague (which is why it was rejected). If it became part of the Constitution, the result would be legal chaos. Activists know they would be able to feed off that chaos . . . .
The new ERA campaign: constitutional malware Read More »
Self-government is at the heart of the American experiment. Historically, it is far more important than some other institutions (such as slavery) that [receive] more attention . . . . .
The Mayflower Compact and “consent of the governed” are now 400 years old Read More »
[T]he search for a single “non-delegation” principle applicable to all congressional powers is a futile one. Instead, the scope of permissible delegation of any particular congressional power must be sought in the meaning of the words describing that power.
How much power may Congress delegate to federal agencies? Read More »
