Will Baude on Originalism and Accounting for Change
Michael Ramsey
Will Baude's post on this week's session of his course (with Eric Posner) on originalism: Originalism and 'Accounting for Change'. He invokes this article by Originalism Blog co-blogger Chris Green: Originalism and the Sense-Reference Distinction. Baude comments: Green’s article remains one of the most important and underrated contributions to originalist theory. The key point is […]
Clarifying Originalism: A Response to Randy Barnett
Mike Rappaport & John McGinnis
We were surprised and puzzled by Randy Barnett’s post complaining that we had not fairly represented his views on originalism in our book Originalism and the Good Constitution. His focus was on a few brief paragraphs in the introduction that could not comprehensively discuss these issues, but in any event we do not believe our […]
The Originalist: The Play
Mike Rappaport
Yes, you read that right. Justice Scalia is going to be the subject of a play entitled, The Originalist.
Josh Blackman on Magna Carta and the Supremacy Clause
Michael Ramsey
At Liberty law Blog, Josh Blackman (guest-blogging): The “Law of the Land” Clause of Magna Carta, the Supremacy Clause, and Judicial Review. From the introduction: Th[e] pronouncement [in Magna Carta], that neither life, liberty, nor property can be taken except by the “judgment of his peers or by the law of the land,” is the constitutional […]
Conference on Richard Epstein’s The Classical Liberal Constitution
Mike Rappaport
Last Monday, a conference was held at NYU on Richard Epstein's new book The Classical Liberal Constitution. Epstein's book is in some sense his magnum opus — at least as to constitutional law — setting forth in 700 pages his classical liberal view of the Constitution and its development. It is a beautiful book and well […]
Bob Bauer on Zephyr Teachout’s Constitutional Purpose
Michael Ramsey
Bob Bauer: Theory and Practice, “Principles” and “Purposes”—and the Uses of the “Anti-Corruption Principle” (commenting skeptically on this article by Zephyr Teachout). Zephyr Teachout responds here. (Thanks to Seth Barrett Tillman for the pointer).
Posner on Originalism and Recess Appointments
Mike Rappaport
At Slate, Eric Posner wrote a post criticizing the originalist interpretation of the Recess Appointments Clause. In the post, Posner discusses my paper presenting originalist evidence, but argues that originalism is a bad way to resolve this issue. The post was put up about 10 days ago, but I didn’t see it then. Posner’s argument is […]
Recess Appointments Oral Argument
Mike Rappaport
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard argument in the Recess Appointments Case. According to reports, the argument did not go well for the government. As someone who has spent considerable time reading the Executive Branch’s jurisprudence in this area and felt like he was walking around in Alice’s Wonderland, it was refreshing to see the skepticism […]
Why is Originalism Appealing?
Mike Rappaport
At his new blog, Eric Posner notes that he and Will Baude are teaching a course in originalism at the University of Chicago Law School. Here is the syllabus, which looks good. Eric writes about his motivations for the course: I have long been skeptical of originalism, and my interest in it is more sociological than intellectual. I hope […]
My New Paper on the Recess Appointments Clause
Mike Rappaport
Eight years ago, I published a paper, The Original Meaning of the Recess Appointments Clause, that argued that the Clause’s original meaning conferred narrow authority on the President. While some defenders of a broad recess appointment power have claimed that the original meaning confers broad authority, most arguments in favor of a broad power rely on […]