Congress’ Power to Deploy Troops?
Michael Ramsey
The Senate has passed a resolution calling for the continued deployment of troops in Afghanistan and Syria, despite the President's announced plans for withdrawal. Sadly (from an academic perspective) the resolution is nonbinding, so it creates no actual constitutional controversy. But suppose Congress did direct continued deployment of troops in Afghanistan and Syria by statute […]
Eric Segall on Baude & Sachs on Originalism as Our Law
Michael Ramsey
At Dorf on Law, Eric Segall: Originalism off the Ground. From the beginning: Professors Will Baude and Stephen Sachs are at it again. They have continued their quest to convince the world that originalism is, indeed, our law. Their new article is "Grounding Originalism." In previous articles and essays, Baude and Sachs have set forth a positivist […]
Alexander Pearl: Originalism and Indians
Michael Ramsey
Recently published, in the Tulane Law Review, M. Alexander Pearl (Texas Tech): Originalism and Indians (93 Tul. L. Rev. 269 (2018)). Here is the abstract: Indian tribes, in the context of U.S. constitutional theory, do not fit. They are an anomaly in American governmental structure. Tribal governments exist today within the constitutional framework of the […]
The President’s Power to Suspend and Terminate Treaties
Michael Ramsey
The Trump administration's announcement that it is suspending the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia, and that it will terminate the treaty in six months unless Russia moves toward full compliance, has produced little reaction in legal commentary. (I couldn't find anything on it on reliably anti-Trump national security law blogs like Lawfare or Just […]
Jeremy Telman: Originalism and Second-Order Ipse Dixit Reasoning in Chisholm v. Georgia
Michael Ramsey
D.A. Jeremy Telman (Valparaiso University Law School) has posted Originalism and Second-Order Ipse Dixit Reasoning in Chisholm v. Georgia (Cleveland State Law Review, forthcoming; 56 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article presents a new perspective on the Supreme Court’s constitutional jurisprudence during the Early Republic. It focuses on what I am calling […]
Robert Natelson: What Is Originalism?
Michael Ramsey
At the Epoch Times, Robert Natelson (Independence Institute) has this essay for a general audience: What Is Originalism? From the introduction: When President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, it was widely claimed he was appointing “originalists.” What is an originalist? Although originalists disagree among themselves over some details, […]
Lawrence Solum: Originalism versus Living Constitutionalism
Michael Ramsey
Lawrence B. Solum (Georgetown University Law Center) has posted Originalism versus Living Constitutionalism: The Conceptual Structure of the Great Debate. Here is the abstract: This Essay explores the conceptual structure of the great debate about “originalism” and “living constitutionalism.” The core of the great debate is substantive and addresses the normative question, “What is the best […]
Emoluments and Corpus Linguistics (Updated)
Michael Ramsey
In the Washington Post, reporter Aaron Blake has this story: A big Trump case hinges on the definition of ‘emoluments.’ A new study has bad news for him. From the introduction: The [new] study concerns the “emoluments clause” case, which was brought by the attorneys general in Maryland and the District of Columbia. The case […]
Nathan Chapman: Due Process of War
Michael Ramsey
Nathan S. Chapman (University of Georgia School of Law) has posted Due Process of War (Notre Dame Law Review, Vol. 94, 2018) on SSRN (71 pages). Here is the abstract: The application of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the government’s deprivation of rights during war is one of the most challenging […]
William Baude & Stephen Sachs: Grounding Originalism
Michael Ramsey
William Baude (University of Chicago – Law School) and Stephen E. Sachs (Duke University School of Law) have posted Grounding Originalism (Northwestern University Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: How is the Constitution to be interpreted? The "positive turn" in legal scholarship treats constitutional interpretation, like statutory or contractual interpretation, as governed […]