The Constitutional Studies Center combines careful, objective scholarship into the original understanding of the Constitution with advocacy for human freedom under law. It produces books, issue papers, articles, and legal briefs reporting the results of its research. Since 2010, the Center has had enormous influence on constitutional law cases and commentary, but also on policy makers and grass roots activists. For example, the Center’s research findings galvanized the massive and growing “Article V” movement to restore constitutional limits on the federal government.
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Latest Posts
A New Triumph for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (and for II's Dave Kopel)0
- February 14, 2014
A federal court of appeals has just vindicated the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in a big way. And II’s own Dave Kopel was largely responsible. California denied citizens the right to carry firearms outside their homes, unless they obtained a concealed weapons permit. But to get such a permit, citizens had
READ MORERob’s Harvard Article on “Recess Appointments” Is Published—and Goes to the Supreme Court0
- February 8, 2014
Last May, I reported that litigation over President Obama’s “recess appointments” was going to the Supreme Court. In fact, oral argument was held a few weeks ago. The Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy has just published my article on the original meaning of the Recess Appointments Clause. It reports that the Constitution uses
READ MOREStruggling With Nullification0
- February 3, 2014
Does a state have the right to nullify federal statutes the state considers unconstitutional? This depends largely on how you define “nullification.” It also depends on what you mean by “right” and what kind of document you understand the Constitution to be. In other words, it depends on your premises. Unfortunately, people often discuss—and debate,
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Obaminable Nullification & Division Among Constitutionalists0
- January 24, 2014
“Progressives” often attack as indefensible proposals by some conservatives that states nullify federal laws those states deem unconstitutional. But “progressive” politicians now are engaged in a nullification campaign far more audacious and lawless than anything suggested by conservatives. The latest example is the decision by Virginia’s new attorney general, Mark Herring, to join the attack
READ MOREThe Santa Fe Convention: A 20th Century Convention of States0
- January 17, 2014
For over 300 years, American states (and before Independence, American colonies) have cooperated with each other as equal sovereigns to address common problems. One device for doing so is the formal, diplomatic meeting of state delegations (called “committees”) consisting of delegates (called “commissioners”). Meetings of state commissioners may be bilateral—as when two states form a
READ MOREThe Framers’ Bloopers0
- January 12, 2014
The Constitution’s Framers were very great men, but they were not gods. They made mistakes. By “mistakes,” I’m not talking about matters of political judgment, such as how much to accommodate slavery. I mean drafting errors of the forehead-slapping kind. Consider first a matter of style: The Constitution in its final form was drafted by
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Contact
Rob Natelson, Senior Fellow, Constitutional Jurisprudence
Email: rob.natelson1@gmail.com
Phone: 303-279-6536, ext 114