In her latest rejoinder in our debate about “judicial activism,” Prof. Suzanna Sherry helpfully clarifies her view on what qualifies as a “universally condemned” Supreme Court decision. This is important, because Sherry claims that we have more reason to fear excessive judicial passivity than excessive “activism” (which she defines as striking down laws or official […]
Author Archive | Ilya Somin
Sacramento and Washington, DC Threaten to Use Eminent Domain to Take Property to Build Sports Stadiums
Nick Sibilla of the Institute for Justice describes Sacramento and Washington, DC’s ill-advised plans to use the threat of eminent domain to acquire property to build sports stadiums on: In less than a week, two capital cities are preparing to use eminent domain to build professional sports stadiums. Talk about foul play. The Sacramento city […]
My Forthcoming Article on “Jury Ignorance and Political Ignorance”
Having written extensively on the problem of voter ignorance, I was pleased to have the opportunity to write an article on the related problem of juror ignorance for the William and Mary Law Review Symposium on the Jury as a Political Institution. Although jury ignorance is a significant problem in some cases, overall I am […]
Rejoinder to Suzanna Sherry on the Case for “Judicial Activism”
Vanderbilt law professor Suzanna Sherry has written a thoughtful response to my and Orin Kerr’s critiques of her article “Why We Need More Judicial Activism.” To briefly recap, Suzanna contends that courts should err on the side of excessive “activism” (defined simply as striking down laws or other official actions) rather than excessive restraint, because […]
Political Ignorance and the Weakness of Consumer Demand for “Hard News”
Media writer Jack Shafer and economics columnist Megan McArdle have interesting pieces discussing the weakness of the market for “hard news.” Shafer notes that producing “hard news” has never been very profitable because most readers aren’t particularly interested in it and are reluctant to pay for it. McArdle points out that the hard news media’s […]
Obama Opposed to Changing Legal Status of Marijuana “at this Point”
The White House recently confirmed that President Obama continues to oppose the legalization of marijuana, despite growing public support for the idea: President Barack Obama does not support changes to the legal classification of marijuana, the White House said Wednesday, despite growing evidence of its medical benefits. White House spokesman Josh Earnest was asked for […]
Suzanna Sherry on the Case for “Judicial Activism”
By Ilya Somin on August 20, 2013 7:50 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory
Vanderbilt law professor Suzanna Sherry recently posted an interesting article on “Why We Need More Judicial Activism”, which led to a symposium at The Green Bag, and a critique by co-blogger Orin Kerr. I agree with Sherry’s main point: that we need more judicial review, not less, and that historically federal courts have erred more […]
My Forthcoming Book Chapter on “The Impact of Judicial Review on American Federalism”
My forthcoming book chapter, “The Impact of Judicial Review on American Federalism: Promoting Centralization More than State Autonomy,” is now available on SSRN. It will be published in Nicholas and Aroney and John Kincaid, eds., Courts in Federal Countries: Federalists or Unitarists? (Oxford University Press, forthcoming). This book examines the effects of judicial review on […]
Can Lawyers Ascertain the Meaning of the Living Constitution?
By Ilya Somin on August 19, 2013 6:11 pm in Constitutional Theory, Originalism, Representation-Reinforcement
I agree with most of what co-blogger Randy Barnett says in his recent post responding to critics who claim that lawyers and judges cannot determine the original meaning of the Constitution. But I think we should also pay attention to the opposite question of whether lawyers can figure out the meaning of the living Constitution. […]
George Shultz on the Failure of the War on Drugs
Former Reagan Administration Secretary of State and George Shultz has an interesting article on the failure of the War on Drugs: I have been concerned about the drug issue since I became secretary of labor in 1969, my first cabinet position in the Nixon administration…. One day Pat [Moynihan] and I were driving together to […]
The Justice Department’s New Memorandum to Federal Prosecutors on Charging Drug Offenders
In my last post, I gave a preliminary assessment of Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent speech on reforming charging policy for low-level drug offenders. I pointed out that whether or not this really marks a major policy change depends in large part on the details outlined in an internal memorandum Holder issued to federal prosecutors. […]
Assessing the Justice Department’s New Policy on Drug Offenders
In a speech to the American Bar Association today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced a potentially important new change in Justice Department policy on charging drug offenders. For reasons noted by Tom Angell of the Marijuana Majority, this is potentially an important step in curbing at least some of the excesses of the War on […]
My USA Today Column on the City of Richmond’s Plan to Condemn Mortgages
By Ilya Somin on August 12, 2013 5:12 pm in Eminent Domain, Just Compensation Clause, Property Rights
The USA Today website just published my column criticizing the Richmond, CA’s plan to condemn mortgages: The City of Richmond, California is threatening to use eminent domain to condemn over 600 mortgages on homes that are now worth less than the outstanding debt on the mortgages themselves. The city plans to write down the value […]
New Books on the Obamacare Case
By Ilya Somin on August 12, 2013 11:40 am in Commerce Clause, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Necessary and Proper
A little over a year has passed since the Supreme Court’s momentous decision in NFIB v. Sebelius. Not surprisingly, there is still no consensus on what the Court got right, what it got wrong, and what the long term significance of the case will be. But several interesting books about the case have just been […]
Using NSA Surveillance Data in the War on Drugs
By Ilya Somin on August 10, 2013 11:45 am in Growth of Government, Privacy, War on Drugs, War on Terror
On Monday, Reuters reported that the Special Operations Division, a secretive unit of the Drug Enforcement Administration is using NSA electronic surveillance data in the War on Drugs, and then deceiving judges and defense lawyers about the source of the evidence when it is used in criminal trials. As various experts quoted by Reuters point […]