Haley Proctor on Interpretation and Application
Michael Ramsey
At SCOTUSblog, Haley Proctor (Notre Dame): What James Madison thought about AR-15s. From the introduction: My most recent column considered the challenges involved in determining the legal rules created by the people who ratified and amended the Constitution, given that the answers lie so far in the past. This column will consider the challenges of applying […]
Sherif Girgis: Originalism’s Difference?
Michael Ramsey
Sherif Girgis (Notre Dame Law School) has posted Originalism’s Difference? (Florida Law Review, Vol. 77, 2025) (30 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Does originalism, if faithfully followed, make a difference to constitutional reasoning and outcomes? That’s the topic of this Essay, delivered as the 2025 Dunwody Distinguished Lecture in Law. Early originalists promised […]
Robert Natelson on the President and the National Guard
Michael Ramsey
At Civitas Outlook, Robert G. Natelson: The Constitution and the National Guard. From the introduction: How extensive is the President’s power to deploy state units of the National Guard for federal law enforcement? On June 19, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Newsom v. Trump that the President could deploy the […]
Justice Gorsuch: Overrule U.S. v. Kagama
Michael Ramsey
From Justice Gorsuch (joined by Justice Thomas), dissenting from denial of certiorari in Veneno v. United States: Petitioner asks us to grant review in this case to reconsider United States v. Kagama, 118 U. S. 375 (1886). Kagama helped usher into our case law the theory that the federal government enjoys “plenary power” over the […]
Mark Moller: Incidental Jurisdiction
Michael Ramsey
Mark Moller (DePaul University College of Law) has posted Incidental Jurisdiction (14 Texas A&M Law Review __ (2026) (forthcoming)) (65 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Federal courts have incidental, or implied, powers. On this there is general agreement among originalist researchers. But there is also wide consensus that, whatever incidental powers Article III courts […]
Robert Natelson on Presidential Removals
Michael Ramsey
At Civitas Outlook, Robert G. Natelson (Independence Institute): Restoring the Constitution’s Presidency: Modifying Myers and Overruling Humphrey’s. From the introduction: President Donald Trump seeks to assert political control over the administrative state by removing and replacing members of purportedly independent commissions. His supporters claim he is reasserting the constitutional prerogatives of the presidency; his critics […]
Christine Kexel Chabot: The Interstitial Executive (with Comments)
Michael Ramsey
Christine Kexel Chabot (Marquette University Law School) has posted The Interstitial Executive: A View from the Founding (41 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court appears poised to recognize a unitary executive President with power to override statutory removal restrictions for almost all principal officers in the executive branch. The core unitary […]
Josh Blackman on Judge Bumatay on Lower Court Originalism
Michael Ramsey
Yesterday was the beginning of the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention; San Diego-based Judge Patrick Bumatay gave opening remarks. At Volokh Conspiracy, Josh Blackman has excerpts and comments: Judge Bumatay on Originalism, Stare Decisis, and the Party Presentation Rule. From the beginning: First, Judge Bumatay opined on the topic of horizontal stare decisis: Second, bloodthirsty […]
John McGinnis on Nondelegation [Updated]
Michael Ramsey
At Law & Liberty, John McGinnis: Nondelegation Without Chaos. From the introduction: If one theme unites the Roberts Court’s work in administrative law, it is a counter-reformation that recenters the Constitution’s basic architecture for the administrative state. Congress is to legislate; the president and his subordinates are to execute within a hierarchical, accountable executive; and […]
Michael McConnell: Against Bad Originalism
Michael Ramsey
Michael W. McConnell (Stanford Law School) has posted Against Bad Originalism (8 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Jonathan Gienapp’s book, Against Constitutional Originalism, provides excellent critiques of some features of academic originalist theory, but the title is a misnomer. From the introduction: Despite its combative title, Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique, Stanford historian […]