The Originalism Blog

The Blog of the Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism at the University of San Diego School of Law

Category: Film

Aditya Bamzai & David Goldman on Knick v. Township of Scott
Michael Ramsey

At the Yale Journal on Regulation's Notice and Comment Blog,  Aditya Bamzai & David N. Goldman: The Takings Clause, the Tucker Act, and Knick v. Township of Scott.  From the introduction: Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Knick v. Township of Scott, a case that presents the question whether “the Court should reconsider the portion of Williamson […]

Christopher Green: Our Bipartisan Due Process Clause
Michael Ramsey

Christopher R. Green (University of Mississippi – School of Law; The Originalism Blog) has posted Our Bipartisan Due Process Clause (George Mason Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:   What it meant to “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law” was very well-known to the men who proposed […]

Alexander Hamilton and the Vice President’s Tiebreaker
Andrew Hyman

Following up on co-blogger Mike Ramsey’s recent post about Federalist 69, the sentence in question by Alexander Hamilton is as follows:    In the national government, if the Senate should be divided, no appointment could be made; in the government of New York, if the council should be divided, the governor can turn the scale, […]

Justice Kavanaugh, Originalist?
Michael Ramsey

Congratulations to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, 114th Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.  But will he be an originalist Justice? At the confirmation hearings (before they took an unpleasant turn), he said he would be (see this excerpt of the hearings compiled by Randy Barnett).  In an essay for Politico (for the symposium linked yesterday), Professor […]

Ilya Somin on the Court and Justice Kavanaugh
Michael Ramsey

Politico has this online symposium on the Supreme Court after Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation.  Mainly it's of little originalist interest, as it is (predictably) mostly liberals gnashing their teeth and (a few) conservatives acting quietly satisfied.  But I like this point from Ilya Somin:  Can the conservative majority on the court do anything to forestall the […]

The Vice President and Ties in Senate Confirmation Votes
Michael Ramsey

At Balkinization, an interesting originalist argument from guest blogger John Langford (Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, Yale Law School): Did the Framers Intend the Vice President to Have a Say in Judicial Appointments? Perhaps Not.  Here is the main argument: Typically, the Vice President breaks a tie in the Senate.  Article I, section 3, clause 6 of the […]

Michael Allan Wolf: Right Environmentalism
Michael Ramsey

Michael Allan Wolf (University of Florida – Fredric G. Levin College of Law) has posted Right Environmentalism: Repurposing Conservative Constitutionalism (Arizona State Law Journal, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2018) on SSRN.  Here is the abstract: The new normal of environmental law will likely feature reduced enforcement of existing federal environmental statutes, elimination of federal regulations deemed […]

Philip Hamburger Responds to Mark Pulliam on Section 501(c)
Michael Ramsey

At Liberty Law Blog, Philip Hamburger: Section 501(c)(3)’s Legacy of Prejudice: Mark Pulliam Sees No Evil (responding to this post by Mark Pulliam).  Here is the introduction: My new book, Liberal Suppression, argues that section 501(c)(3)’s speech restrictions are prejudiced and unconstitutional. These conclusions run counter to widespread assumptions, and it is therefore understandable that Mark Pulliam and […]