New Book: “The Spirit of the Constitution” by David Schwartz
Michael Ramsey
Recently published: The Spirit of the Constitution: John Marshall and the 200-Year Odyssey of McCulloch v. Maryland (Oxford Univ. Press 2019), by David S. Schwartz (Wisconsin). Here is the book description from Amazon: 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of one of the most important Supreme Court decisions in American history: McCulloch v. Maryland. The state of […]
Scott Gerber on Corey Robin on Justice Thomas
Michael Ramsey
At Law & Liberty, Scott Gerber: A Marxist Takes a Swing and a Miss at Justice Thomas’s Jurisprudence (reviewing [harshly] Corey Robin, The Enigma of Clarence Thomas (Metroploitan Books 2019)). From the introduction: Corey Robin’s The Enigma of Clarence Thomas has certainly attracted a lot of attention. To mention a few of the highlights: the New Yorker excerpted it; […]
Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention, Featuring Originalism
Michael Ramsey
The Federalist Society's National Lawyers Convention is this weekend (Thursday through Saturday) in Washington D.C, with the title "Originalism" and the opening panel "What Is Originalism?" Video of Thursday's sessions is available here. At Dorf on Law, Michael Dorf has his contribution to the panel "Why Be, or Not Be, an Originalist?" He concludes: But […]
Steven Calabresi on the Impeachment Process (and Responses) (Updated)
Michael Ramsey
At the Daily Caller, Steven Calabresi (Northwestern): House Democrats Violate The 6th Amendment By Denying Trump A Public Trial. The "public trial" point has been a bit overtaken by events as the House process is now public, but the essential claim remains relevant — that the Sixth Amendment requires the procedures of a criminal trial. […]
James Pfander & Jacob Wentzel: The Common Law Origins of Ex parte Young
Michael Ramsey
James E. Pfander (Northwestern University School of Law) and Jacob Wentzel (Northwestern University – Pritzker School of Law) have posted The Common Law Origins of Ex parte Young (Stanford Law Review, forthcoming) (62 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Few doubt the significance of Ex parte Young as a cornerstone of modern constitutional litigation. But […]
Don’t Fear Bivens
Michael Ramsey
Today is the Supreme Court oral argument in Hernandez v. Mesa, the cross-border shooting case. One important background to the case is the suspicion with which originalist and originalist-leaning judges (including the late Justice Scalia) have viewed Bivens claims (Hernandez seeks to bring a Bivens claim against Mesa, a border patrol officer, for the shooting). […]
Josh Blackman on the DACA Case [Updated]
Michael Ramsey
At Volokh Conspiracy, Josh Blackman: DOJ finally identifies the "constitutional defects" in DACA. From the beginning: In a 2017 letter, Attorney General Sessions concluded that DACA suffered from "constitutional defects." Over the past two years, the Department of Justice has steadfastly refused to acknowledge what these "constitutional defects were." In DHS v. Regents of the University of California, Ilya […]
James Rogers on Ken Kersch on Originalism and Conservatism
Michael Ramsey
At Law & Liberty, James R. Rogers (Texas A & M, Political Science): Originalism, Conservatives, and the Constitution (reviewing Conservatives and the Constitution: Imaging Constitutional Restoration in the Heyday of American Liberalism, by Ken I. Kersch [Cambridge 2019]). From the introduction: In Conservatives and the Constitution: Imaging Constitutional Restoration in the Heyday of American Liberalism, Ken […]
George Christie: The Well-Intentioned Purpose but Weak Epistemological Foundation of Originalism
Michael Ramsey
George C. Christie (Duke University School of Law) has posted The Well-Intentioned Purpose but Weak Epistemological Foundation of Originalism (Connecticut Law Review, Vol. 51, No. 2, p. 451, 2019) (31 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The attraction of an originalist approach to constitutional interpretation is understandable. It is maintained that only that method can […]
New Book: “The Free Exercise of Religion in America” by Ellis West
Michael Ramsey
Recently published, by Ellis M. West (Richmond, Political Science): The Free Exercise of Religion in America: Its Original Constitutional Meaning (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). Here is the book description from Amazon: This book explains the original meaning of the two religion clauses of the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law [1] respecting an establishment of […]