Michael McConnell and Noah Rosenblum Debate Originalism
Michael Ramsey
At the NYU Law School website, Former circuit judge Michael McConnell and Professor Noah Rosenblum debate originalism. (Video; this is from late last year but recently posted online). From the description of the event: The merits and pitfalls of originalist interpretation of the US Constitution were the focus at the November 19 installment of Respectfully Dissent, […]
Wolford v. Lopez Arguments Today [Updated]
Michael Ramsey
The Supreme Court hears oral argument today in Wolford v. Lopez, likely one of the most important originalist/history-and-tradition cases of the term. Here is the question presented: Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit erred in holding that Hawaii may presumptively prohibit the carry of handguns by licensed concealed carry permit holders […]
Justice Gorsuch on Originalism and Emergency Assistance
Michael Ramsey
In last week’s decision in Case v. Montana, the Supreme Court held that police officers may enter private homes without a warrant to render emergency aid if supported by an objectively reasonable belief of an emergency. Justice Gorsuch added a brief concurrence on the originalist foundation of that conclusion: Does the Fourth Amendment tolerate this […]
Neuman on Children Born to Temporarily or Unlawfully Present Aliens
John Vlahoplus
Gerald L. Neuman (Harvard Law School) has posted Lessons for Birthright Citizenship from Suspension of Deportation (188 pages) on SSRN. From the abstract: Although much has been written about why Donald Trump’s Executive Order purporting to abolish birthright citizenship for children of unlawfully present or temporarily present parents violates the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth […]
Was Elbridge Gerry the “Federal Farmer”?
Rob Natelson
The Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican are among the most highly regarded productions of Antifederalist literature. Several of the Farmer’s recommendations were incorporated into the Bill of Rights, such as his prescription for reserving unenumerated federal powers to the states—adopted as the Massachusetts ratifying convention’s first recommended amendment, and eventually evolving into […]
Ilan Wurman: Unconstitutional Conditions and the Doctrine of Public Rights
Michael Ramsey
Ilan Wurman (University of Minnesota Law School) has posted Unconstitutional Conditions and the Doctrine of Public Rights (43 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court is in the throes of a public rights counterrevolution. The public rights doctrine is an “exception” to the requirements of Article III and the Seventh Amendment that allows […]
Jack Goldsmith & Curtis Bradley: General Law Revivalism and the Problem of 1938 [Updated]
Michael Ramsey
Jack Landman Goldsmith (Harvard Law School) & Curtis Bradley (University of Chicago Law School) have posted General Law Revivalism and the Problem of 1938 (59 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: From the constitutional Founding until Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938), federal courts routinely applied a body of “general law” to […]
New Book: “The Making of the American Mind” by Matthew Spalding
Michael Ramsey
Recently published, by Matthew Spalding (Hillsdale College): The Making of the American Mind: The Story of our Declaration of Independence (Encounter Books, Dec. 2025). Here is the book description from Amazon: Thomas Jefferson called the Declaration of Independence “an expression of the American mind.” Not merely a document, the Declaration is the common creed of our […]
Steven Calabresi on the Unitary Executive and Historical Practice
Michsel Ramsey
At Volokh Conspiracy, Steven Calabresi: Justice Barrett, Trump v. Slaughter, and Presidential Removal Power from 1881 to 1901. From the introduction: During the oral argument in Trump v. Slaughter, Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked counsel for respondent Slaughter how long independent agencies had existed for and counsel suggested to her, incorrectly, that they dated back to the […]
New Evidence About the Antiquated Language of the Citizenship Clause
Andrew Hyman
Getting right to the point, the word “United States” in the Citizenship Clause is plural, and refers in an antiquated way to the collection of states. The new proof consists of newspaper articles published throughout the country in October and November 1866 quoting a key endorsement of the pending 14th Amendment: “It declares all persons born […]