Seth Barrett Tillman on the President and Spending
Michael Ramsey
At the New Reform Club, Seth Barrett Tillman: How Department of State v. Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition Should Be Resolved (But Probably Won’t Be). From the introduction: A key issue in this federal case is: What are the legal consequences when Congress appropriates funds by statute? Here, Congress has appropriated funds for named organizations, but the President or […]
Jacob Charles: Equity’s Bruen Moment
Michael Ramsey
Jacob D. Charles (Pepperdine University – Rick J. Caruso School of Law) has posted Equity’s Bruen Moment: Trump v. CASA and Lessons for the Future of History & Tradition (77 Fla. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2025)) (37 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court expounded on and applied a methodological […]
Robert Natelson on Jill Lepore on Originalism
Michael Ramsey
At Law & Liberty, Robert G. Natelson: Answering the Latest Anti-Originalism Narrative. From the introduction: … A narrative currently in academic favor holds that the method of constitutional interpretation called “originalism” was invented and first promoted in the 1970s by Professor Robert Bork, Attorney General Edwin Meese, and Justice Antonin Scalia. Supposedly, it was a new […]
Jed Shugerman on Firing Members of the Federal Reserve Board
Michael Ramsey
In Trump v. Cook (the Federal Reserve removal case), Jed Shugerman (Boston Univ.) has filed this brief: Brief of Amicus Curiae Jed Shugerman in Opposition to the Application to Stay the Preliminary Injunction. From the introduction: The Federal Reserve Act states that “each member shall hold office for a term of fourteen years from the expiration of the […]
New Book: “The Most Powerful Court in the World” by Stuart Banner
Michael Ramsey
Recently published: The Most Powerful Court in the World by Stuart Banner (Oxford Univ. Press 2024). Here is the book description from Amazon: An authoritative, even-handed, and accessible history of the Supreme Court of the United States, the most powerful court in the world and the final arbiter of the world’s oldest constitution. Will abortion be legal? […]
Gregory Ablavsky: Why We Should Stop Saying “The Founders”
Michael Ramsey
Gregory Ablavsky (Stanford Law School) has posted Why We Should Stop Saying “The Founders” (173 U. Penn. L. Rev. 2013 (2025)) (24 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This short Essay—part of a symposium on Jack Balkin’s Memory and Authority—argues that we should stop using the term “the Founders” in legal-academic writing. I understand the appeal; I […]
Jesse Cross: The Amended Statute
Michael Ramsey
Jesse M. Cross (University of South Carolina School of Law) has posted The Amended Statute (92 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1291 (2025)) (100 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: We live in a republic of amended statutes. In each Congress, our laws are amended tens of thousands of times. Individual statutes make amendments that number in […]
New Book: “The Nation at Sea” by Kevin Arlyck
Michael Ramsey
Recently published, by Kevin Arlyck (Georgetown): The Nation at Sea – The Federal Courts and American Sovereignty, 1789-1825 (Cambridge Univ. Press 2025). Here is the book description from the publisher: The Nation at Sea tells a new story about the federal judiciary, and about the early United States itself. Most accounts of the nation’s transformation from infant […]
New Book: “Born Equal” by Akhil Amar
Michael Ramsey
Recently published, by Akhil Amar (Yale): Born Equal – Remaking America’s Constitution, 1849-1920 (Basic Books 2025). Here is the book description for the publisher: From “one of our most prodigious constitutional scholars” (Jonathan Eig), the definitive history of how the ideal of birth equality reshaped the American Constitution, from antebellum debates over slavery and secession, to the […]
Programming Note: Moving to New Host?
Michael Ramsey
Apologies for the lack of posts. Our blogging host, Typepad, is shutting down and we are arranging a move. (At TaxProf Blog, Paul Caron notes the shutdown and reports that, sadly, he has decided to discontinue his blog.) We will have more information about the future soon, and in the meantime a few more posts here this […]