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
What now?0
- November 9, 2012
The November 6 election outcome has many friends of the Constitution dispirited. As so often before, they hoped that by defeating federal candidates contemptuous of constitutional limits and replacing them with others, they could help restore our Constitution. Obviously, that decades-long strategy has failed—spectacularly. They also have long hoped that by appointing the right people
READ MOREThe Constitution and One State's "Campaign Finance Reform" Mess0
- November 2, 2012
From Montana come valuable lessons about campaign finance “reform.” Montana has a long history of adopting restrictive campaign laws. But such laws often violate citizens’ rights of free speech, as protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They also can be ways of manipulating the electoral process to benefit some interests at the
READ MORENew II Issue Paper Rebuts Myth that Citizen Review of Laws and Taxes Violates the Republican Form0
- October 26, 2012
If you are exposed to enough politics, sooner or later you’ll hear the old saw that the U.S. is “a republic and not a democracy.” Along with that saying goes the following claim: Allowing voter initiatives and referenda is unconstitutional: If a state lets voters enact laws or veto tax hikes, the state is too
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Obama's "American Jobs Act" Ploy Convinces Some, Anyway0
- October 21, 2012
The Obama administration’s “American Jobs Act”—a token measure forgotten by all but a few—is back in the news. Just over a year ago, I reported on the constitutional defects of President Obama’s “American Jobs Act” (AJA), a bill clearly designed to force Republicans to vote against it, thereby giving the President political “cover” on his
READ MOREFederal “Campaign Finance” Laws are Mostly Unconstitutional0
- October 14, 2012
In a recent posting, I wrote: [I]t is dubious whether the Constitution even gives Congress power to regulate the source and amount of campaign contributions and expenditures. The background and meaning of the Constitution’s “Time, Places and Manner Clause”—which Congress uses to justify such laws—strongly suggests not. The Time, Places and Manner Clause is Article
READ MORECelebrating Justice O’Connor: Parade Magazine Muffs the Job0
- October 1, 2012
Yesterday’s Parade Magazine, the Sunday insert, featured a cover article on former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. It was a terrific choice: Justice O’Connor has lived an inspirational life. But Parade essentially muffed the job. While displaying its eagerness to celebrate some of her more liberal views, the article entirely overlooked Justice O’Connor’s truly
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Contact
Rob Natelson, Senior Fellow, Constitutional Jurisprudence
Email: rob.natelson1@gmail.com
Phone: 303-279-6536, ext 114