Has the distribution of simulus funds been influenced by political factors? A study by Veronique de Rugy suggested a partisan tilt in the disbursement of stimulus funds; she found a strong correlation, but no definitive evidence of causation. This prompted a response from Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight. de Rugy replied here, prompting a surreply from […]
Archive | 2010
Sunday Song Lyric
Is the Easter Bunny a white rabbit? I’ve always assumed so. The Easter Bunny may be a white rabbit but he or she still does not have much to do with Grace Slick’s “White Rabbit,” the classic song she immortalized with Jefferson Airplane in 1967. The rabbit of which Slick sang was the nervously late […]
What TSA is doing
The press has been spending a lot of time on TSA’s new policy. This New York Times story is representative (I’ve linked to it here because it has the first ever MSM reference to Skating on Stilts). Despite all the attention, though, there’s a surprising lack of certainty about exactly what TSA is doing that’s […]
“Handicapper”
A very strange bit of legal usage — in various Michigan statutes, for reasons that elude me, handicapped people were called “handicappers” from 1976 to 1998. I have seen no examples of this usage in statutes or cases outside Michigan; there, when “handicapper” is used at all, it’s used only in its standard dictionary sense […]
This is what courts defer to?
So let me explain again how the “judicial restraint” approach to the Constitution is supposed to work. The Supreme Court is supposed to defer to Congress and uphold any law it enacts so long as the justices can imagine a possible reason why Congress might have enacted a law. If the Supreme Court does anything […]
An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen
This 1798 statute (5 Cong. Ch. 77, July 16, 1798, 1 Stat. 605) is currently making the blogospheric rounds as purported proof that the 2010 congressional mandate to purchase health insurance from a private company is based on long-established practice. Incorrect. Sections 1 and 2 of the act impose a 20 cent per month tax […]
What’s Wrong with This Assertion?
From a San Jose Mercury News story, datelined Mar. 31, not Apr. 1: Chocolate was a particularly important trading commodity for Jews in 15th century Spain. When the Jewish population was expelled from that country in 1492, they introduced chocolate to the Netherlands and possibly France. So bittersweet chocolate doesn’t just offer families a chance […]
Editorial Comment in the Annals of Congress
Prof. Brian Kalt reports: I’m researching the legislative history of the Twelfth Amendment and I just stumbled across this great editorial comment from the folks who compiled the Annals of Congress (as the Library of Congress website where I access the Annals puts it, “The Annals were not published contemporaneously, but were compiled between 1834 […]
New Leiter Rankings on Scholarly Impact, By School and By Professor
Brian Leiter’s new “scholarly impact” rankings, measuring impact from 2005-2009, are here. Update (from TZ): Professor Leiter tells me via email that his report actually wasn’t intended to go live quite yet and that he is still editing it, so that there are expected revisions to come.
Standing and Ripeness in State Lawsuits:
Ilya notes the standing and ripeness issues in the health care suits. A few weeks ago, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli spoke at GMU law school (following a now-established tradition of having newly-minted AG’s speak at the law school). I asked him exactly these questions about Standing and Ripeness. With respect to standing, AG Cuccinelli […]
Destroying the Constitution’s Structure is not Constitutional
By David Kopel on April 2, 2010 3:38 am in Constitutional History, Constitutional Theory, Federalism, Fourteenth Amendment, Health Care, Militia, Taxes
Thus far, the argument among law professors over the constitutionality of Obamacare has been well represented by scholars who have made pro and con arguments over particular clauses in the constitution, such as the interstate commerce clause, or the tax power. In this post, I would like to examine an insight by Jonathan Turley, which […]
Standing and Ripeness Issues in the Lawsuits Against Obamacare
This is the first in my projected series of posts on issues likely to arise in the various lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Obama health care bill. To briefly recap, the lawsuits in question are one filed by 13 state governments challenging the individual mandate and various mandates and grant conditions imposed by the […]
A Better Question
In light of David K.and Ilya’s posts on the constitutionality of the health care mandate, let me propose a better question to ask. It’s a little more complicated, but I think it will be more illuminating. Here’s the idea. Instead of asking experts “Is the health care mandate constitutional?,” we should ask experts this question: […]
The Myth of an Expert Consensus on the Constitutionality of the Health Care Mandate Revisited
Back in December, I wrote a post debunking “The Myth of an Expert Consensus on the Constitutionality of an Individual Health Insurance Mandate.” Despite claims by some Democratic politicians and activists, there are numerous prominent constitutional law scholars who believe that the mandate is unconstitutional. I noted several of them in my post, including Richard […]
You Must Check Out Legal Theory Blog
You really must check out the new articles and abstracts posted on today’s Legal Theory Blog by Laura Rosenbury, Larry Alexander, Akhil Amar, Jack Balkin, and Ted Eisenberg and Michael Heise. Some truly incredible stuff worth well checking out.