Seth Barrett Tillman on Reading Hamilton’s No. 77
Michael Ramsey
At Volokh Conspiracy, Seth Barrett Tillman (guest-blogging): Chancellor James Kent on Hamilton’s Federalist No. 77 and Modern Academic Commentary. From the introduction: As readers of this blog will know, there is a long-standing debate about the scope of the President’s and Senate’s appointment and removal powers. That debate has been shaped by the language of the Appointments […]
Elias Neibart: “External Restraints” on Article II?
Michael Reamsey
Elias Neibart (Harvard Law School JD ’25) has posted “External Restraints” on Article II? (79 Vand. L. Rev. En Banc (forthcoming 2026)) (19 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: It’s understood that, under Article III, Congress has plenary power over the lower federal courts. But that doesn’t mean Congress’s authority is unlimited. “External restraints”–found […]
Amanda Frost & Emily Eason: Eligibility to Serve in Congress and the Original Understanding of the Citizenship Clause
Michael Ramsey
Amanda Frost (University of Virginia School of Law) & Emily Eason (University of Virginia School of Law JD ’26) have posted The Dog That Didn’t Bark: Eligibility To Serve In Congress And The Original Understanding Of The Citizenship Clause (Georgetown Law Journal Online, vol. 114) (30 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: President Donald J. […]
Two Views of the Federalist Society’s 2025 National Lawyers’ Convention
Michael Ramsey
At SCOTUSblog, Nora Collins: Originalism and judicial oversight: A report from the Federalist Society’s 2025 National Lawyers Convention. From the introduction: Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett took center stage at the Federalist Society’s annual gala in the nation’s capital, offering reflections on what it means to take the judicial oath and deal with […]
Seth Barrett Tillman on Both Sides of the Trump Litigation
Michael Ramsey
At the New Reform Club, Seth Barrett Tillman: Not Quite Schrödinger’s Cat—At least not yet. From the introduction: My amicus briefs and publications (including co-authored publications) are on both sides of the parallel federal and state Trump election-law-related litigation in: People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, No. 24-2299-cv (2d Cir. Nov. […]
Beau Baumann on Presidential Removals
Michael Ramsey
Somewhat related to yesterdays post, at Law & Liberty, Beau Baumann (PhD candidate, Yale University): On the Dark Side of the Appointments Clause. From the introduction: A few weeks ago, Ilan Wurman wrote a thoughtful essay for Law & Liberty that jousted with the ideas behind Caleb Nelson’s much-discussed break with the unitary executive theory (UET). The UET takes many […]
Jed Shugerman & Gary Lawson: Presidential Removal as Article I, Not Article II
Michael Ramsey
Jed H. Shugerman (Boston University School of Law) & Gary Lawson (University of Florida Levin College of Law) have posted Presidential Removal as Article I, Not Article II (43 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Article I’s Necessary and Proper clause is the starting point for both Congress’s power to create offices and the limits on […]
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 […]