Justice Barrett on Text and Legislative History
Michael Ramsey
Writing for a 6-3 majority in the recently decided FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd., Justice Barrett found no implied private right of action in the federal Investment Company Act (ICA) (SCOTUSBlog summary here). Responding to the dissent’s appeal to legislative history (some citations omitted): In the dissent’s view, the key […]
New Book: “Taking American Citizenship Seriously” by David Upham
Michael Ramsey
Recently published, by David Upham (St. Thomas): Taking American Citizenship Seriously: The Recovery of the Fourteenth Amendment (Bloomberg Academic 2026). Here is the book description from Amazon: In this ambitious volume, Professor David R. Upham offers a comprehensive account of the original understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment, shedding new light on its often-overlooked Privileges or […]
Steven Calabresi on Gordon Wood [Updated with Additional Tributes]
Michael Ramsey
At Volokh Conspiracy, Steven Calabresi: Remembering Gordon Wood. From the introduction: Gordon Wood was a towering scholar in every way. He was the best historian of the American Revolution and of the writing of the Constitution and, in general, of the period from 1760 to 1826, of all time. No-one else in the 237 years […]
Anthony Michael Kreis: Discovering the Historical Anglo-American Constitution
Michael Ramsey
Anthony Michael Kreis (Georgia State University College of Law) has posted Discovering the Historical Anglo-American Constitution (53 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The controversy over birthright citizenship in the United States and the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment has exposed two urgent needs in American constitutional scholarship: a meticulous account of the history […]
Stephen Sachs: The Twelfth Amendment and the ERA
Michael Ramsey
Recnetly published, in the University of Chicago Law Review: Stephen E. Sachs (Harvard Law School), The Twelfth Amendment and the ERA (93 U. Chi. L. Rev. 695 (2026)) (57 pages). Here is the abstract: How many amendments are in the Constitution? Americans should be able to know. But whether the Equal Rights Amendment is—right now—part […]
Joseph Blocher & Patrick Charles: The History and Tradition of Firearm Localism
Michael Ramsey
Joseph Blocher (Duke University School of Law) & Patrick J. Charles (Senior Historian, U.S. Air Force Historical Support Division) have posted The History and Tradition of Firearm Localism (105 Texas Law Review (forthcoming 2027)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court’s increasing turn to history and tradition in constitutional doctrine has raised serious questions […]
Anthony Bellia & Bradford Clark: Erie and the Constitution’s Constraints on General Law
Michael Ramsey
Anthony J. Bellia Jr. (Notre Dame Law School) & Bradford R. Clark (George Washington University Law School) have posted Erie and the Constitution’s Constraints on General Law (93 U. Chi. L. Rev., forthcoming 2026) (111 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Constitution of 1787 was the instrument by which the people of the States made […]
Josh Blackman on the Death Penalty and the Eighth Amendment
Michael Ramsey
At Civitas Outlook, Josh Blackman: The Roberts Court Needs To Reboot The Machinery Of Death. From the introduction: In the span of one year, the Burger Court created a constitutional contradiction. Furman v. Georgia (1972) proclaimed that the Eighth Amendment prohibits states from terminating the life of murderers. One year later, Roe v. Wade (1973) ruled that the Fourteenth […]
Lawrence Solum: Third Order Normative Questions and Federalism
Michael Ramsey
Lawrence B. Solum (University of Virginia School of Law) has posted Third Order Normative Questions and Federalism (41 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article aims to reorient normative theories of federalism by clarifying and precisifying the relationship between three conceptually distinct “orders” of normative questions. The first order of questions concerns the substantive […]
Garrett West & Tyler B. Lindley: The Takings Clause Cause of Action
Michael Ramsey
E. Garrett West (Yale Law School) & Tyler B. Lindley (Brigham Young University – J. Reuben Clark Law School) have psted The Takings Clause Cause of Action (79 Stan. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2027)) (46 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Does the Takings Clause create a self-executing cause of action for deprivations of property without […]