“Originalism 3.0”
Michael Ramsey
I am in Chicago today (with co-blogger Mike Rappaport) for the Northwestern University Law Review Symposium "Originalism 3.0". Here is the program description: As originalist modes of argument come to dominate Supreme Court opinions and argument, understanding and debating this theory of constitutional interpretation has only become more relevant. NULR is excited to host this important and timely […]
Birthright Citizenship: The Other Side
Michael Ramsey
Some media reports make it sound like no legal experts endorse the President's reading of the Constitution's birthright citizenship clause. I do not endorse it. But some do, typically on originalist grounds. Here is some recent commentary: Hans A. von Spakovsky: Trump is right – ending birthright citizenship is constitutional. (Fox News). Peter H. Schuck and Rogers M. […]
Seth Barrett Tillman: Canonical Cases and Other Quodlibets: A Response to Professor Fallon
Michael Ramsey
Seth Barrett Tillman (National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUI Maynooth) – Faculty of Law) has posted Canonical Cases and Other Quodlibets: A Response to Professor Fallon (97 Texas Law Review Online __ (forthcoming circa Dec. 2018)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In a far ranging 2018 article in Texas Law Review, Professor Fallon opines on […]
More on Birthright Citizenship
Michael Ramsey
Predictably there has been an outpouring of commentary on birthright citizenship in light of the President's comments. Without attempting anything comprehensive, here are a few highlights: At Vokokh Conspiracy, Ilya Somin and Eugene Volokh (both of whom have some policy reservations about birthright citizenship for U.S. born children of illegal immigrants) nonetheless think it is […]
Does Illegal Immigration Necessarily Consist of “Aliens in Amity” With the U.S.?
Andrew Hyman
Birthright citizenship is much in the news right now. In the leading case of Wong Kim Ark (1898), the U.S. Supreme Court discussed the old law of England (my emphasis in bold): The fundamental principle of the common law with regard to English nationality was birth within the allegiance, also called "ligealty," "obedience," "faith," or […]
Responses to Andrew Hyman and Michael Ramsey
Eric Segall
Thanks to Andrew Hyman for engaging with my post. We agree on most matters but do have one bone of contention. He writes that "non-originalists have a variety of approaches to constitutional law; they are no more monolithic than originalists, and often they have no compunction about giving the constitutional text a new meaning that […]
An Interpretive Conundrum in Jam v . IFC
Michael Ramsey
The Supreme Court hears oral argument today in Jam v. International Finance Corporation (SCOTUSblog coverage here and here). It's a statutory case with an interesting interpretive twist. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an international organization based in Washington D.C., claims it is immune from suit under the International Organizations Immunities Act (IOIA), a federal law enacted […]
Birthright Citizenship and Constitutional Interpretation
Michael Ramsey
Various media outlets are reporting that President Trump is considering an executive order modifying rules on birthright citizenship. They are also typically reporting or heavily implying that this order would violate the Constitution. I think the issue is more complicated than it's being portrayed. There are two separate issues, (a) whether the Constitution allows the […]
Professor Segall is Mostly Correct “IMHO”
Andrew Hyman
I agree with Professor Eric Segall’s recent blog post on several points. For example, he writes that there are different kinds of originalists (i.e. “not all have” the same approach), and says that original meaning “often requires that the application of the text evolves as modern circumstances evolve.” I agree with all of that. Segall […]
What is Original About Original Meaning?
Eric Segall
[Editor's note: For this guest post we again welcome Eric Segall, the Kathy and Lawrence Ashe Professor of Law at Georgia State University College of Law.] Over the last three weeks, I have given talks at six law schools discussing my recent book Originalism as Faith. In my book, I go all the way back […]