The House of Representatives cannot only refuse, but they alone can propose, the supplies requisite for the support of government. They, in a word, hold the purse that powerful instrument by which we behold, in the history of the British Constitution, an infant and humble representation of the people gradually enlarging the sphere of its […]
Archive | Constitutional Law
Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action: Forgetting the Narrative
By David Bernstein on October 2, 2013 9:39 am in Affirmative Action, Constitutional Law, Supreme Court
[See update below. This term, the Supreme Court will decide Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. The Sixth Circuit, in an en banc 8-7 opinion, invalidated a Michigan constitutional amendment, passed by referendum, that forbids racial preferences by government institutions, including public universities The court held that the amendment violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal […]
Neomi Rao, Guest-Blogging about Windsor, Dignity, Recognition, and Individual Rights
Prof. Neomi Rao (George Mason) has a very interesting essay on Windsor — one of the same-sex marriage cases — called The Trouble with Dignity and Rights of Recognition [UPDATE: link fixed], and I’m delighted to say that she’ll be guest-blogging about it for the next few days. Here’s a summary of the paper: In […]
The New York Times Loves Arguendo
By Nick Rosenkranz on September 25, 2013 9:32 am in Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech
A few weeks ago, I posted about Arguendo, a new show by Elevator Repair Service Theater (ERS), which opened last night at the Public Theater in New York City. Arguendo is a sort of topsy-turvy dramatization of the oral argument in Barnes v. Glen Theatre, an important Supreme Court case about nude dancing and the […]
Conan the Librarian
The Library of Congress’s The Constitution: Analysis & Interpretation — a clause-by-clause treatise summarizing U.S. constitutional law and citing to relevant cases — is now out. (The URL is http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-CONAN-2013/pdf/GPO-CONAN-2013.pdf.) The PDF is huge; if it’s taking too long for you to load, go here and follow the link you need for the particular Article […]
The Biggest Democracy’s Bigger Death Penalty
By Eugene Kontorovich on September 13, 2013 6:42 am in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Criminal Law, Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, International Law
India has just sentenced four men to death in the infamous Delhi rape/murder case. India has apparently ended an eight-year moratorium on executions last year, greatly altering the global capital punishment map. At the same time, it also passed a new rape law, which would allow for execution in aggravated cases (not necessarily involving minors) […]
Upcoming Talk on Property Rights at Cato Constitution Day
Next Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 1 PM to 2:15, co-blogger Ken Anderson and I will be taking part in a panel at the Cato Institute’s annual Constitution Day symposium, which will cover the major decisions of the Supreme Court’s 2012-13 term. My talk will focus on the Court’s important property rights decisions in Koontz v. […]
The Colorado Recalls Explained
By David Kopel on September 11, 2013 3:16 am in "Bullying" Bans, Constitutional Law, Fifth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Guns, Libertarianism, Popular Constitutionalism
Yesterday voters in Colorado recalled two State Senators. One result was not a surprise, and the other is a shock. Of course the votes are Second Amendment victories for the right to arms, but more fundamentally, they are Fourteenth Amendment victories for Due Process of Law. Former State Senate President John Morse represented Colorado Springs, […]
Former Solicitor General Seth Waxman to Participate in Elevator Repair Service Theater Benefit
By Nick Rosenkranz on September 5, 2013 12:26 am in Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech
Last week, I posted about the excellent avant-garde theatre company Elevator Repair Service and the upcoming world-premiere of their new show, Arguendo, at the Public Theater in New York City. Arguendo is a dramatization of the oral argument of Barnes v. Glen Theatre, an important Supreme Court case about nude dancing and the First Amendment. […]
Additional Thoughts on the Draft Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Syria
Here are a few additional thoughts on the Obama administration’s draft authorization for the use of military force in Syria, beyond those I put forward in my last post. First, as Jack Goldsmith and others have pointed out, the constraints on presidential power created by the resolution’s limitations on the range of objectives the president […]
Thoughts on the Text of the Obama Administration’s Proposed Authorization to Use Military Force in Syria
Co-blogger Dale Carpenter rightly poses the question of what an authorization to use military force in Syria would actually authorize. The Obama Administration has just released the text of its proposed congressional resolution, which might help answer that question. Here is the most important part: AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES (a) Authorization. […]
What Will A Proposed Authorization for Military Force in Syria Authorize?
By Dale Carpenter on August 31, 2013 6:05 pm in Constitutional Law, Military, Obama, War and Armed Conflict
Now that the president has vowed to seek Congress’s approval even for what he promises will be very limited military action in Syria, an interesting question arises. What will the authorization authorize him to do? The president will want an expansive resolution, allowing him maximum flexibility to do what he thinks necessary to accomplish what […]
Obama Will Seek Congressional Approval for Military Intervention in Syria
By Ilya Somin on August 31, 2013 2:57 pm in Congress, Constitutional Law, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
President Obama announced today that he will seek congressional approval for US military action against Syria in retaliation for the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons [BUT SEE IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW]: President Barack Obama said that the United States “should take military action against Syrian targets” in a Rose Garden address Saturday. However, he said […]
VA Must Extend Benefits to Married Same-Sex Couples, District Court Says
By Dale Carpenter on August 30, 2013 3:25 pm in Beyond DOMA, Constitutional Law, Equal Protection, Sexual Orientation, Supreme Court
In the aftermath of United States v. Windsor, the Obama administration is adopting a generous position on the availability of federal benefits to married same-sex couples, as co-blogger Will Baude pointed out yesterday in a post on the IRS ruling regarding their federal tax status. So far, in contrast to their almost open resistance to Lawrence […]
Obama May Plan Only a Very Limited Intervention in Syria
In reaction to Britain’s refusal to take part in military operations against the Syria government, Obama administration officials are saying that the operation they plan is so limited that they won’t need much allied support: President Barack Obama is prepared to act without Britain, officials said, noting that unlike U.S. involvement in the 2011 military […]