Author Archive | Randy Barnett

Larry Solum recommends Jack Balkin’s new article Abortion and Original Meaning. Although I must resist the temptation to read it until next week, on the basis of its abstract and Jack’s blogging I recommend it as well. There is a reason my first article defending originalism, and the chapter on originalism in Restoring the Lost […]

Heather McDonald has this provocative posting in the Corner. (Hat tip: Washington Syndrome): To claim that the GOP and conservatism rest on the “remnant of religious feeling in America” strikes me as a shaky foundation upon which to base a political theory. At the very least, such a purported lifeline can not explain the many […]

In a post entitled Constitutional Authority and Theories of Constitutional Interpretation, Larry Solum responds to several recent contributions to the debate over originalism triggered here on the Volokh Conspiracy. I highly recommend Larry’s latest post, in which you will also find links to the various responses that have been posted elsewhere in the blogosphere. Because […]

Jim’s query on the original meaning of the Fourth Amendment has provoked yet another round of debates on originalism. In addition to Ilya’s post below, Larry Solum has the update here, along with his response to recent posts by originalist Jack Balkin and nonoriginalist Brian Leiter. I share Larry’s opinion that Jack has raised an […]

Not being a specialist on the Fourth Amendment, and having done no scholarship of my own on its original meaning, I am wondering what Orin’s (or others’) opinion is of Akhil Amar’s reading of the Amendment in his book, The Bill of Rights (at pp. 68-77). Essentially, Akhil questions whether there is any “warrant requirement” […]

Larry Solum has a wonderfully concise new entry in his Legal Theory Lexicon on Libertarian Legal Theory. (This is on the beta version Legal Theory Blog.) Legal Theory Lexicon is, by the way, and excellent resource for anyone who is heading for law school in the fall. Larry even mentions Social Statics (1852) by Herbert […]

I just had another thought about citizen involvement in the GWOT. Many have long contended that organized sports is an emotional substitute for warfare. Consider how involved fans become with their teams. They even buy at great expense “official” clothing and wear it to show their support. Teams cultivate their fans, at least smart ones […]

Jack Balkin has a very nice post Hamdan as a Democracy-Forcing Decision, the essence of which is: What the Court has done is not so much countermajoritarian as democracy forcing. It has limited the President by forcing him to go back to Congress to ask for more authority than he already has, and if Congress […]

I have not been blogging lately and I do miss it. However, I am committed to finishing a draft of a new casebook on constitutional law by August. This project has required a single-minded focus that does not permit me to blog. My previous post is an exception I could not resist. The good news […]

I think I agree with DaveK in this comment on Jonathan’s post Limits on Federal Power After Raich that Justice Scalia’s concurring opinion in Raich offers a way to reconcile it logically with Lopez/Morrison — though this “reconciliation” greatly expands federal power beyond the line apparently drawn in those previous cases. Justice Scalia is one […]

How to raise the LSAT’s of a law school’s “Fall entering class”? Simply admit those with lower scores into your “Summer” class. Tom Bell has the story at Baylor. Update: And a similar story at University of Florida.

Now here’s a nice on-line resource brought to the web by Edward O’Connor. A version of the Federalist Papers to which it is easy to link. Of course, there are various webbed versions of the Federalist Papers on the Internet already. . . . Unfortunately, I haven’t been able find one that was simultaneously nice-looking […]

I don’t often read stories about my high school, Thornton Fractional Township High School North (“Home of the Meteors!” AKA “T.F. North”) in Calumet City, Illinois, but this one made the Best of the Web. From the Chicago Sun-Times: For Maquisha Cosey, vice president of Thornton Fractional North High School’s class of 2006, graduation day […]

This morning, I did an hour-long show for Minnesota Public Radio on “the meaning of liberty, and how it has changed since the U.S. Constitution was framed.” It is a wonderful luxury to have a whole hour to elaborate one’s views, but even so I can think of so many things I wish I had […]

Who wrote: Should Congress, in the execution of its powers, adopt measures which are prohibited by the constitution; or should Congress, under the pretext of executing its powers, pass laws for the accomplishment of objects not entrusted to the government; it would become the painful duty of this tribunal, should a case requiring such a […]