First In a Series: John Dickinson Comes Into Prominence
This year marks the 250th anniversary of one of the most influential series of writings in American history.
First In a Series: John Dickinson Comes Into Prominence Read More »
John Dickinson’s ‘Farmer’ Letters on Their 250th Anniversary
The Farmer letters went well beyond asserting the case against taxation without representation; they also helped clarify American constitutional thinking on other questions, including: Which government responsibilities should be exercised centrally and which locally?
John Dickinson’s ‘Farmer’ Letters on Their 250th Anniversary Read More »
A Response to a “Living Constitutionalist”
. . . law professors often corrupt their understanding of the Constitution with their own political preferences. . .
A Response to a “Living Constitutionalist” Read More »
Part II: What Can We Do About Legal Realism and Its Promotion of Judicial Activism?
. . . the problem centers in specific institutions: American law schools and the higher reaches of the judiciary.
Part II: What Can We Do About Legal Realism and Its Promotion of Judicial Activism? Read More »
Part I: Judicial activism: Here’s a core reason for it you’ve never heard about
The Founders erected the American legal system to operate in the context of Anglo-American judicial values. The rules placed expressly or implicitly in the Constitution . . . were designed to operate in that context. However, the context changed.
Part I: Judicial activism: Here’s a core reason for it you’ve never heard about Read More »
Drafting a Balanced Budget Amendment: It’s tougher than you might think
Of course, it is one thing to criticize, but another to try to craft something better.
Drafting a Balanced Budget Amendment: It’s tougher than you might think Read More »
If you want to win a Supreme Court case, it helps to play to “progressive” values
Observe how many of the Left’s ideological buttons the plaintiff’s lawyers pushed: non-profit, recycling, mandatory government fee, poverty, disabilities, environment—and that interminably-overused mantra: community.
If you want to win a Supreme Court case, it helps to play to “progressive” values Read More »
Supreme Court’s Ruling Against the PC Police
The Supreme Court’s decision this week in Matal v. Tam sent a clear warning to government officials who seek to curtail speech
Supreme Court’s Ruling Against the PC Police Read More »
The Define and Punish Clause doesn’t authorize vast federal power either
Legal commentators have spread a good deal of ink trying to show that the Constitution authorizes the enormous expansion of
The Define and Punish Clause doesn’t authorize vast federal power either Read More »
Fake News: How Leading Liberal Newspapers Spread the “Runaway Convention” Story
Although there were scattered antecedents, “runaway convention” claims and certain associated myths were first distributed widely during the 1960s and
Fake News: How Leading Liberal Newspapers Spread the “Runaway Convention” Story Read More »
The Convention of States in American History
In this short essay, constitutional historian Rob Natelson thumbnails the three-centuries long history of “conventions of the states.” When delegations
The Convention of States in American History Read More »
Convention Rules for a Convention of the States
The convention of the states meeting in Phoenix, Arizona in September will need a set of rules. Moreover, that convention
Convention Rules for a Convention of the States Read More »