Rob Natelson on the North Carolina Ratification Convention
Michael Ramsey
At the Independence Institute, Rob Natelson: New information on the Constitution’s ratification—Part IV North Carolina. From the introduction: The editors of the Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution recently released two volumes of documents covering the Constitution’s ratification in North Carolina—the last state covered in the Documentary History’s series. My earlier updates summarized new findings from volumes […]
More on the Unimpeached President
Michael Ramsey
At Volokh Conspiracy, Keith Whittington has a great post on the meaning of impeachment: When Is an Officer Impeached? But I draw the opposite conclusion from his evidence. It turns out to be a question of methodology. First, he confirms Andrew Hyman's argument that the original meaning of impeachment was to bring a formal accusation […]
Laurence Claus: A Republic, If the Courts Can Keep It?
Michael Ramsey
Laurence Claus (University of San Diego School of Law) has posted A Republic, If the Courts Can Keep It? (Wisconsin Law Review, forthcoming) (18 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This contribution to a conference celebrating Andrew Coan’s Rationing the Constitution: How Judicial Capacity Shapes Supreme Court Decision-Making (Harvard Univ. Press, 2019) makes three primary […]
Some Impeachment Conundrums [Updated]
Michael Ramsey
If nothing else, the impeachment proceedings have encouraged us to think about some interesting hypotheticals. Here are a few: 1. Can former Presidents be impeached? Leading originalist-oriented blogger Keith Whittington says yes. But I am not so sure. The Constitution does not answer the question directly. But it seems to contemplate a process focused on […]
President Trump Has Not Yet Been Impeached Even Though the House Approved Articles of Impeachment [Updated]
Andrew Hyman
After the House of Representatives approved articles of impeachment against President Trump, the New York Times declared in its headline: “TRUMP IMPEACHED: ABUSE OF POWER AND OBSTRUCTION.” But after that headline, the Times mentioned that, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested she may wait to send the articles to the Senate making the timing of a trial uncertain.” As […]
Georgetown Summer Program on Originalism (aka “Originalism Boot Camp”)
Michael Ramsey
Via Randy Barnett at Volokh Conspiracy: In the summer 2020, the [Georgetown Center for the Constitution] will once again offer its week-long "boot camp" on originalism in theory and practice, open to students from all law schools. Through lectures by the nation's preeminent originalist scholars and litigators, luncheon discussions, and visits to the United States […]
Mark Pulliam on Lee Strang on Originalism
Michael Ramsey
At Law & Liberty, Mark Pulliam: Originalism as a Model of Political Communication (reviewing [mostly favorably] Originalism’s Promise, by Lee J. Strang). From the introduction: Originalism’s Promise, Lee J. Strang’s ambitious new book published by Cambridge University Press, was previewed at Law & Liberty a few months ago in a podcast entitled “Justifying Originalism.” In a wide-ranging conversation with […]
Carrie Menkel-Meadow: Negotiating the American Constitution
Michael Ramsey
Carrie Menkel-Meadow (University of California, Irvine School of Law; Georgetown University Law Center) has posted Negotiating the American Constitution (1787-1789): Coalitions, Process Rules, and Compromises (Landmark Negotiations from Around the World: Lessons for Modern Diplomacy (Emmanuel Vivet, editor, Intersentia 2019)) (15 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This essay describes the multi-party, multi-issue negotiations […]
U.S. Citizenship for American Samoans (Maybe)
Michael Ramsey
Last week a district court in Utah ruled, in Fitisemanu v. United States, that people born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa are U.S. citizens. One might think this conclusion to be obvious, as the Fourteenth Amendment says that all persons born "in the United States" are U.S. citizens. But U.S. statutory law has […]
Seven Problems with Antidiscrimination Due Process
Chris Green
I've posted Seven Problems with Antidiscrimination Due Process to SSRN. Here is the abstract: I explain seven problems with the view, suggested by Akhil Amar, Kurt Lash, and Ryan Williams, that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments’ ban on “depriv[ing] any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law” entails freedom from the […]