Was Hayek an Originalist?
Mike Rappaport
Two of my academic interests – one might even call them obsessions – have been Friedrich Hayek and Originalism. So, it is natural that I have long thought of writing about whether Hayek was an originalist. But now 11th Circuit Court Judge William Pryor has written an article on the closely related subject “Hayek and […]
Eric Segall on Originalism and History
Michael Ramsey
Ar Dorf on Law, Eric Segall: Originalism Without History: A Response to Professor Randy Barnett (responding to Professor Barnett's comments on the Kvanaugh hearings, noted here). From the introduction: At the Volokh Conspiracy, Professor Randy Barnett has a long post about Brett Kavanaugh's testimony concerning originalism (and other matters). Barnett focuses some of his remarks on the following three […]
Randy Barnett on Judge Kavanaugh on Originalism
Michael Ramsey
At Volokh Conspiracy, Randy Barnett has excerpts from the Kavanaugh hearings in which Judge Kavanaugh discusses originalism with various Senators including Mike Lee, Ted Cruz and John Kennedy. Kavanaugh Testimony, Part 1: On Originalism. Here's a bit from Judge Kavanaugh on intent and public meaning, and the originalist case for Brown v. Board of Education: […]
Our Bipartisan Due Process Clause
Chris Green
I have posted to SSRN Our Bipartisan Due Process Clause, prepared as part of the big IJ/Law & Liberty Center Fourteenth Amendment symposium at Scalia/Mason this Friday. 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 […]
Cato Institute Symposium on Federal Immigration Power
Michael Ramsey
At Cato Unbound, a symposium on federal immigration power, featuring Ilya Somin with the lead article and responses (to come) by Gabriel Chen and John Eastman. From Professor Somin: Immigration has become one of the most controversial legal and policy issues on the national agenda, especially since Donald Trump won the presidency on a highly […]
Michael Stokes Paulsen on the Justification for Originalism
Michael Ramsey
At NRO, Michael Stokes Paulsen (St. Thomas): Originalism: A Logical Necessity. It begins: There is only one proper way to faithfully interpret the Constitution. And that is to ascertain the actual meaning of the words of the text, taken in their proper social and linguistic context. That meaning must be the objective meaning — not the reader’s subjective understanding or […]
Mark Pulliam on Peter Wallison’s New Book on the Administrative State
Michael Ramsey
At Liberty Law Blog, Mark Pulliam: Dismantling the Administrative State (discussing Peter J. Wallison’s "easily-digestible monograph" Judicial Fortitude: The Last Chance to Rein in the Administrative State (Encounter Books, forthcoming 2018)). From the introduction: A remarkable movement is underway in the legal world, unlike any other during my lifetime. Growing skepticism regarding the conceptual underpinnings of the “administrative state”—the alphabet […]
John McGinnis on Originalist Interpretation
Michael Ramsey
At Liberty Law Blog, John McGinnis has a series of posts on methods of originalist interpretation: Originalism Encompasses Text and Structure “Democracy” Cannot Unlock the Meaning of the Constitution How Originalism Addresses Consequences From the beginning of the initial post: I had the pleasure of being on panel with Pamela Karlan of Stanford Law School […]
Kent Barnett: Rethinking Murray’s Lessee
Michael Ramsey
Kent H. Barnett (University of Georgia School of Law) has posted Due Process for Article III—Rethinking Murray's Lessee (Geo. Mason L. Rev. __ (2019)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Founders sought to protect federal judges’ impartiality primarily because those judges would review the political branches’ actions. To that end, Article III judges retain their […]
Originalism and the Kavanaugh Hearings [Updated]
Michael Ramsey
At City Journal, John McGinnis has this assessment: Republican senators repeatedly invited Kavanaugh to nail his colors to textualism in statutory interpretation and public-meaning originalism in constitutional interpretation. He happily did so. The Democrats notably did not challenge him on these responses. Thus, the most important message from the hearings on constitutional law—as opposed to […]