Constitutional Studies

Some of the Colorado Supreme Court’s Mistakes in the Douglas County School Choice Case 0
- October 22, 2015
As people who follow education reform already know, the Colorado Supreme Court recently struck down the Douglas County school board’s school choice program. It did so based on Article IX, Section 7 of the state constitution. This is sometimes called Colorado’s “Blaine Amendment,” although that phrase is technically a misnomer. Actually, the Blaine Amendment was
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“Where the Columbines Grow”—One Last Time 0
- October 18, 2015
Just before preparing an article on Colorado’s state song, Where the Columbines Grow, for the Colorado Springs Gazette, I noticed something I had not previously seen. As documented in my Issue Paper on the subject, Arthur Fynn’s lyrics are filled with contrasts. The most notable is the contrast between the eagle and the dove, an
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Still More Evidence That An Amendments Convention is a "Convention of States"0
- October 15, 2015
The term “convention of states” (or “convention of the states”) dates at least from the year 1780. By 1788 it was being applied specifically to a convention for proposing amendments under the new Constitution. Throughout the 19th century, the phrase “convention of states” was probably the most common way to denominate an Article V convention—even
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What Did The Founders Mean by “Due Process of Law?” Hint: SCOTUS to the contrary, it had nothing to do with same-sex marriage 0
- October 9, 2015
Note: This article originally appeared in The American Thinker. The Fifth and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution each has a Due Process Clause. The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause prohibited the federal government from depriving any person of “life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The Fourteenth Amendment extended that prohibition to the
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Colorado’s First State Song: Worthy of Revival 0
- October 5, 2015
Note: An edited version of this article originally appeared in the Denver Post. This year marks the centennial of the adoption of Where the Columbines Grow as Colorado’s first official state song. Surprisingly, there is little public awareness of Columbines, despite the state legislature’s directive that it be “used on all appropriate occasions.” The neglect
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Creating Constitutional Protections Against American Socialism 0
- October 4, 2015
Note: This article is cross-posted on CNSNews. If any public policy lesson stands out from the experience of the 20th century, it is that socialism doesn’t work. I use the word “socialism” in its technical sense of government ownership of the means of production—or, in lay language, government operation of business enterprises. Socialism in this
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