Seth Barrett Tillman: A Religious Test in America?
Michael Ramsey
Seth Barrett Tillman (National University of Ireland, Maynooth – Faculty of Law) has posted A Religious Test in America?: New Sources on the 1809 Motion to Vacate Jacob Henry's North Carolina State Legislative Seat (29 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: During 1776, but prior to announcing the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress instructed […]
Eric Segall: Originalist Fiction as Constitutional Faith
Michael Ramsey
Eric Segall (Georgia State University College of Law) has posted Originalist Fiction as Constitutional Faith (University of Chicago Law Review, forthcoming) (14 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: My book 'Originalism as Faith' argued that constitutional law is driven by a complex interaction of politics, law, social movements, cultural change, and the Justices' personal values and […]
Ray Raphael on the Founders on Wealth Taxes
Michael Ramsey
At History News Network, Ray Raphael: A Wealth Tax? Two Framers Weigh In. From the introduction: Wealth taxes are on the current political table and hotly debated. All taxation was on the framers’ table as they considered a new constitution. What would they make of the measures we are considering now? And more to the […]
James Pfander on Mila Sohoni on National Injunctions
Michael Ramsey
At Jotwell, James Pfander (Northwestern): Due Process and National Injunctions (reviewing Mila Sohoni, The Lost History of the “Universal” Injunction, 133 Harv. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2020)). From the introduction: National and universal injunctions have been in the news. In the wake of an outpouring of scholarly interest in decrees that offer non-party protections, especially in litigation with the federal government, the Supreme […]
Skeptical on Impeachment
Michael Ramsey
I’ll put the conclusion first: I think supporters of the present impeachment have largely stated the law correctly, but I’m skeptical of their application of the law to the facts. As indicated in a prior post, I mostly agree with the Majority Counsel’s scholarly and strongly originalist account of the law of impeachment. My approach […]
Originalism, the Fourth Amendment, and New Technology
Mike Rappaport
One of the important issues for originalism is whether it can be applied to new circumstances that were not envisioned at the time of the original Constitution. Perhaps this issue is encountered most often when considering the application of the Fourth Amendment to new technology. In this essay and my next, I explain how these […]
Martin Salvucci on Stephen Budiansky on O.W. Holmes
Michael Ramsey
At the Claremont Review of Books, Martin J. Salvucci: Dissenting from Holmes (reviewing Stephen Budiansky, Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas (W.W. Norton 2019)). From the introduction: Often quoted yet rarely understood, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) might reasonably be accused of achieving fame in large part for […]
John McGinnis on Attorney General Barr’s Speech
Michael Ramsey
At Law & Liberty, John McGinnis: Checks and Balances Needs More Balance. From the introduction: In our polarized times, we need nuance, context, and careful analysis, not simple denunciation of legal claims, including those made by government officials. One might have expected such dissection to come from the group calling itself Checks and Balances, composed largely […]
Originalism and the Impeachment Hearings (so far)
Michael Ramsey
Apparently the law professors' testimony in the impeachment hearings last week had a fair bit of originalist-oriented discussion. Michael Dorf and Saul Cornell have different views on whether that's appropriate for (presumably) non-originalist scholars. In the New Republic, Professor Cornell argues: Don’t Embrace Originalism to Defend Trump’s Impeachment. Professor Dorf sees it differently: Law professors […]
Josh Blackman & Seth Barrett Tillman on Bribery and Impeachment
Michael Ramsey
At Lawfare, Josh Blackman & Seth Barrett Tillman: Defining a Theory of ‘Bribery’ for Impeachment. Form the introduction: [House Speaker] Pelosi contends that Trump solicited a bribe because the benefit from the proposed investigations by Ukraine into the family of presidential candidate Joe Biden would be personally valuable to the president. Benjamin Wittes drew a similar […]