The “Academic Highlight” over at SCOTUSblog features Bond v. United States and Executing the Treaty Power.
Archive | Federalism
The Solicitor General’s Brief in Bond v. United States
By Nick Rosenkranz on August 20, 2013 9:42 pm in Constitutional Law, Federalism, Tenth Amendment, Treaties
Regular readers are familiar with Bond v. United States, the pending case that presents the question of whether, per Missouri v. Holland, a treaty can increase the legislative power of Congress. I posted about Paul Clement’s brief on behalf of Ms. Bond here, and I posted about my brief on behalf of the Cato Institute […]
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 […]
Libertarianism and the Supreme Court
By Ilya Somin on July 29, 2013 6:14 pm in Commerce Clause, Federalism, Libertarianism, Property Rights, Supreme Court
Simon Lazarus of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center is correct to point out that the Supreme Court’s decisions have trended in a somewhat libertarian direction over the last year. I also agree with many of co-blogger Randy Barnett’s explanations for why this has happened. In addition to the cases cited by Lazarus, it’s also worth […]
Republicans Dispute Federal Power to Regulate Abortion
By Will Baude on July 25, 2013 5:03 pm in Abortion, Commerce Clause, Federalism, Fourteenth Amendment
Politico has a story about Marco Rubio’s attempted sponsorship of federal anti-abortion legislation. Apparently the bill is being delayed, however, by a dispute about federal power to regulate abortion: Rubio and 27 other Republican senators signed onto a bill from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) in 2011 that would require lawmakers to point to which piece […]
Why Some Libertarians Sympathize with the Confederacy
I heartily agree with everything my co-bloggers have said about how very unlibertarian it is to sympathize with the Confederacy. One factor that I don’t think was mentioned as to how some otherwise bright, non-racist libertarians might find themselves promoting the Confederacy’s cause is how much some libertarians hate “the Union,” that is, the federal […]
Slavery and Secession – The Documentary Evidence
Just a quick addendum to Ilya’s posts here and here about libertarianism, the Confederacy and the Civil War. I know it’s fashionable in some circles to argue that the Confederate states did not seceded in order to defend slavery. I’ve heard the arguments about tariffs and all that. In my mind, the most compelling counter-argument […]
John Stuart Mill on Slavery, the Confederacy, and the American Civil War
A reader reminded me that many of the same defenses of the Confederacy advanced by its modern apologists (including some of the libertarian ones discussed in my last post) were also advocated by wartime British sympathizers with the Confederates, and effectively rebutted by John Stuart Mill in his 1862 essay, “The Contest in America.” I […]
Room for Debate: Should Zimmerman Face Federal Charges?
The latest NYT Room for Debate feature asks the question: “Should Zimmerman Face Federal Charges?” My answer (as readers might anticipate given my prior post) is “No.” In my contribution to the debate, I argue that federal prosecution of individuals acquitted in state court should be a rarity, and should really only occur when there […]
Radley Balko’s Rise of the Warrior Cop
By Ilya Somin on July 14, 2013 2:35 pm in Criminal Law, Federalism, Political Ignorance, War on Drugs
Radley Balko’s Rise of the Warrior Cop describes the increasing militarization of America’s police forces over the last several decades, and the immense harm it inflicts. It is the best new book on a law-related topic I have read so far this year. I. The Growth of Militarized Policing. Balko describes the growing use of […]
Canada Day
By Ilya Somin on July 1, 2013 8:56 pm in Canada, Economic LIberties, Federalism, Growth of Government, Sports and Games
Since today is Canada Day, this is an appropriate time to thank that nation for giving us most of the greatest Boston Bruins players, including Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ray Bourque, and Rick “Nifty” Middleton (my favorite player when I was little). I even rooted for Canada more than the US in the 1984 and […]
Indian Commerce Clause in the Supreme Court
By David Kopel on July 1, 2013 7:43 pm in Child Protection, Commerce Clause, Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Federalism, Racial Discrimination, Supreme Court
Among the cases decided during final week of the Supreme Court term was Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (Scotusblog summary here.) Justice Alito’s opinion for a 5-4 majority begins: This case is about a little girl (Baby Girl) who is classified as an Indian because she is 1.2% (3/256) Cherokee. Because Baby Girl is classified […]
The First Anniversary of the Obamacare Decision
By Ilya Somin on June 28, 2013 1:30 pm in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Necessary and Proper, Spending Clause, Taxing and Spending Clause
Today is the first anniversary of NFIB v. Sebelius, the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in the Obamacare case. It is still too soon for us to fully appreciate the long-term impact of the ruling. We are also still far from reaching any kind of consensus about the correctness of the Court’s decision. For the moment, […]
The Impact of Today’s Gay Marriage Decisions
It may be a long time before the effects of today’s gay marriage decisions are fully evident. But it seems clear that they represent important progress for same-sex marriage and gay rights more generally. The DOMA case is also a modest success for those who seek to enforce constitutional limits on federal power. Obviously, the […]
The DOMA Decision and Federalism
Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion for the Court in the DOMA case relies partly on federalism considerations, striking down Section 3 of DOMA in part because it goes beyond the usual scope of federal authority. In reaching this conclusion, it cites (among other sources) the amicus brief submitted by several federalism scholars, including co-bloggers Randy […]