Richard Re on Justice Alito and Constitutional Oath in American Railroads
Michael Ramsey
At Re's Judicata, Richard Re: Justice Alito on the Constitutional Oath in American Railroads. Here is an excerpt: Last week the Court decided Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads, which asked whether Amtrak runs afoul of the separation of powers. Of special note, Justice Alito’s concurring opinion offered some brief but thoughtful remarks […]
Michael Dorf on Libertarianism and the US Constitution
Michael Ramsey
At Dorf on Law, Michael Dorf: How Biased Towards Libertarianism is the US Constitution? Here is an excerpt: My latest Verdict column [Ed.: titled Economic Liberty Never Really Died] discusses a recent Harvard Law Review essay by Suzanna Sherry, in which she reviews Richard Epstein’s book, The Classical Liberal Constitution. Sherry says (correctly) that Epstein defends a […]
Sonja West: The ‘Press,’ Then & Now
Michael Ramsey
Sonja West (University of Georgia School of Law) has posted The 'Press,' Then & Now on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Does the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of “the press” simply mean that we all have the right to use mass communication technology to disseminate our speech? Or does it provide constitutional safeguards for a particular […]
Helen Knowles:The Least Dangerous Branch and Popular Constitutionalism
Michael Ramsey
Helen Knowles (Skidmore College, Government) has posted Remember, it is the Supreme Court that is Expounding: The Least Dangerous Branch and Popular Constitutionalism on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article undertakes critical analysis of the similarities between “popular constitutionalism” and The Least Dangerous Branch. It does so by focusing not on the book’s treatment […]
Joel William Hood: Resurrecting the Non-Delegation Doctrine
Michael Ramsey
Joel William Hood (Brigham Young University – J. Reuben Clark Law School) has posted Before There Were Mouseholes: Resurrecting the Non-Delegation Doctrine on SSRN. Here is the abstract: There are now over five-hundred federal agencies and departments. Some are executive, others independent, but most are a far cry from the strict separation of powers originally […]
John McGinnis: The Duty of Clarity
Michael Ramsey
John O. McGinnis (Northwestern University – School of Law) has posted The Duty of Clarity (Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 15-14) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article shows that the Constitution contemplates that judges are to exercise a duty of clarity before declining to follow legislation because it violates the Constitution. That is, they […]
Ethan Ranis: The Bare Minimum for Solum’s Originalism
Michael Ramsey
In the current issue of the Texas Law Review, Ethan Ranis (J.D. Candidate, University of Texas School of Law, 2015): Loose Constraints: The Bare Minimum for Solum’s Originalism (93 Texas L. Rev. 765). Here is the abstract: What does or does not constitute originalism continues to be important when drawing lines in legal academic debate. […]
Larry Alexander: Was Dworkin an Originalist?
Michael Ramsey
Larry Alexander (University of San Diego School of Law) has posted Was Dworkin an Originalist? (The Legacy of Ronald Dworkin, Oxford University Press, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this essay I endorse the conclusion reached earlier by Jeffrey Goldsworthy that Ronald Dworkin was an originalist regarding the meaning of canonical legal texts. […]
Christopher Peters: Legal Formalism, Procedural Principles, and Judicial Constraint in American Adjudication
Michael Ramsey
Christopher Peters (University of Baltimore – School of Law) has posted Legal Formalism, Procedural Principles, and Judicial Constraint in American Adjudication (General Principles of Law: The Role of the Judiciary (Laura Pineschi, ed., Springer 2015) (Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: American proponents of legal formalism, such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, worry (quite […]
Craig Green: Toward a Theory of Interpreting Precedents
Michael Ramsey
Craig Green (Temple University – James E. Beasley School of Law) has posted Turning the Kaleidoscope: Toward a Theory of Interpreting Precedents on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A full generation of legal scholarship has analyzed methods of interpreting statutory and constitutional provisions. Different works have emphasized text, original intent, original reception, and dynamic “living” meaning […]