Guest-blogger Rick Pildes has now written five long and eloquent posts defending the proposition that a treaty can increase the legislative power of Congress. But I must say that I am struck by how little of his argument has anything to do with the Constitution as written. Rick’s five posts — like the five pages […]
Author Archive | Nick Rosenkranz
Missouri v. Holland: The Intellectual History That Preceded The Holding
By Nick Rosenkranz on January 28, 2013 4:36 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Treaties, Uncategorized
Our treaty debate now seems to have several threads running at once. To make things a bit clearer, I plan to separate a few threads out into separate posts. In this post, I hope at least one thread can be put to rest: the intellectual history thread. I have criticized Justice Holmes for concluding — […]
David Mamet on Guns
Preeminent playwright David Mamet has a provocative essay about gun laws here. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says in this piece, but it is always a pleasure to see his libertarian instincts on full display. I am proud to say that I gave Mamet a copy of John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty in […]
The Conventional Wisdom Before Missouri v. Holland: Was It “Close To Universally Accepted” That a Treaty Could Increase The Legislative Powers of Congress?
I have criticized Missouri v. Holland for concluding — in one unreasoned sentence — that a treaty can increase the legislative power of Congress. But Rick insists that, by 1920, only one sentence was necessary. He writes: “That sentence in Holland merely reflects a position that had been close to universally accepted long before Holland […]
Penn Symposium — Back to the Basics: Originalism and Textualism in Constitutional Interpretation Today
By Nick Rosenkranz on January 21, 2013 11:44 am in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Originalism
The University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law is hosting a very promising symposium on Friday, January 25. My colleague and co-blogger Randy Barnett will be on the first panel. I will be giving the keynote address. And the second half of the symposium is largely dedicated to (eviscerating) my work!
Ranking Think Tanks
The Center for Global Development has a new ranking of think tanks, based on various objective measures of visibility and influence. For profile-per-dollars-spent, it is nice to see the excellent Cato Institute at the top of the list.
Somin on Bond
By Nick Rosenkranz on January 20, 2013 1:58 pm in Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional Law, Treaties
Ilya Somin has a thoughtful post on U.S. v. Bond here. I have only one quibble with what he has said. Ilya agrees with Justice Scalia and me that a treaty cannot increase the legislative power of Congress. But he reaches this conclusion in a slightly different way. The difference is actually an important window […]
Treaties Can Create Domestic Law of Their Own Force, But It Does Not Follow That Treaties Can Increase The Legislative Power of Congress
Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in United States v. Bond, which raises the question of whether a treaty can increase the legislative power of Congress. Guest Blogger Rick Pildes has already noted the cert grant here, and Ilya Somin posted his thoughtful take on the case here. I merely add that I am delighted […]
There Is No Textual Foundation For The Claim That Treaties Can Increase The Power of Congress
By Nick Rosenkranz on January 16, 2013 3:31 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Tenth Amendment, Treaties
Rick has offered several articulate criticisms of the argument in my treaty article, and I will respond to his specific criticisms in a subsequent post. For now, though, I would just point out that these criticisms seem to put the cart before the horse. Rick has not yet offered any textual basis for his claim […]
The Framers Gave Congress a Robust List of Powers; They Did Not Provide That These Legislative Powers Can Be Increased By Treaty
By Nick Rosenkranz on January 16, 2013 8:57 am in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Treaties
Rick Pildes has posted useful historical background for our debate about whether treaties can increase the legislative power of Congress. I agree with almost everything that he has said. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress lacked the power to enforce the Treaty of Peace with Great Britain in 1782, and that defect in the Articles […]
Introducing Guest-Blogger Prof. Rick Pildes of NYU, to Debate Whether a Treaty Can Increase the Legislative Power of Congress
At the Federalist Society Faculty Convention in New Orleans last week, Prof. Rick Pildes of NYU and I debated whether a treaty can increase the legislative power of Congress. (Video here.) In a case called Missouri v. Holland (1920), the Court, per Justice Holmes, seemed to say that the answer is yes. In an article […]
The Sad Irony of Affirmative Action
Gail Heriot has a powerful affirmative action piece over at National Affairs. Her piece elaborates on the important work of Richard Sander, who guest blogged here last year. They contend — and offer compelling empirical evidence — that affirmative action affirmatively harms its supposed beneficiaries. In the last paragraph, Gail wonders whether this argument will […]
Federalist Society Talks in San Francisco on January 14
I will be talking about The Subjects of the Constitution and The Objects of the Constitution on Monday, January 14th. The first talk is for the Boalt Hall (Berkeley) Chapter of the Federalist Society, 12:45-2:00pm. The second is for the San Francisco Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society, at Sheppard Mullin, 4 Embarcadero Center, 17th […]
Miracle on 34th Street
If (spoiler alert) the United States Postal Service delivers mail addressed to “Santa Claus” to a particular bearded fellow c/o a state court in New York, is that state court thereby preempted from holding that the fellow in question is insane for believing that he is, in fact, Santa Claus? Discuss.
Bill of Rights Monument in Arizona
There is a nice story in the New York Times today about a new Bill of Rights monument in Arizona. The best part is that this monument was apparently spearheaded by comedian and juggler Chris Bliss (fantastic juggling video here). How often do you find virtuosic juggling and the Bill of Rights in a single […]