The Constitution and Economic Liberty
Mike Rappaport
James W. Ely Jr. (Vanderbilt Law School) has posted The Constitution and Economic Liberty (Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This essay addresses the relationship between the Constitution and Bill of Rights and the concept of economic liberty. It calls into question the famous quip of Justice […]
Originalism and Dynamism – An Ideological Divide
Mike Rappaport
John J. Magyar (University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law) has posted Originalism and Dynamism – An Ideological Divide on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper is an exploration of statutory interpretation. It surveys the basic issues surrounding the interpretation of statutes with an emphasis on the ideological division between those who prefer strict […]
Originalism on the Web
Mike Rappaport
Mark Savignac asks Why Do Conservatives Become Originalists? I found this to be an interesting brief treatment of the subject. As the author acknowledges, there is more to say, but a good start.
Originalism on the Web
Mike Rappaport
Garrett Epps on How Da Vinci Code 'Originalism' Misreads the Citizenship Clause. David Drumm responds to the "Da Vinci Code" phrase in Da Vinci Code ‘Originalism.’
The Sovereign, the Law and the Two British Empires
Mike Rappaport
Ian Duncanson (La Trobe University – School of Law) has posted The Sovereign, the Law and the Two British Empires (Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice, Vol. 25, No. 2, p. 313, 2007) on SSRN. Here is abstract: All political societies have peculiarities, and nothing special is to be concluded from the Anglophone focus of […]
The Origins of an Independent Judiciary in New York, 1621-1777
Mike Rappaport
Scott D. Gerber (Ohio Northern University – Pettit College of Law) has posted The Origins of an Independent Judiciary in New York, 1621-1777 (Social Philosophy & Policy, Vol. 28, p. 179, Winter 2011) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: One of the central features of the U.S. Constitution is its establishment of an independent judiciary, […]
Thirteenth Amendment and Freedom: Civil War Context and Contemporary Legal Theory
Mike Rappaport
Alexander Tsesis (Loyola University Chicago School of Law) has posted Thirteenth Amendment and Freedom: Civil War Context and Contemporary Legal Theory (THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT AND AMERICAN FREEDOM: A LEGAL HISTORY, NYU Press, 2004) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This is the preface of a narrative history and contextual analysis of the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery […]
Statutory Interpretation: Identifying the Linguistic Register
Mike Rappaport
J. J. Spigelman (Supreme Court of New South Wales) has posted Statutory Interpretation: Identifying the Linguistic Register (Newcastle Law Review, Vol. 4, p. 1, 1999) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Legislation is at the heart of the modern legal system and statutory interpretation is an important, if not the most important, area of practice. […]
Originalism on the Web
Mike Rappaport
Robert Allen on Disadvantages of the Constitution as a Living Document.
But that is Absurd! Why Specific Absurdity Undermines Textualism
Mike Rappaport
Linda Jellum (Mercer University – Walter F. George School of Law) has posted But that is Absurd! Why Specific Absurdity Undermines Textualism (Brooklyn Law Review, Vol. 76, p. 917, 2011) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Absurdity is currently undefined in either the jurisprudence or scholarship; yet, it is one method by which textualists avoid […]