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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The Great Forgetting0
- February 26, 2012
The Constitution was created in a special legal environment. The Founders were raised with a particular educational canon. They also had certain common experiences. During the 19th century, important details about those matters began to slip away. Constitutional law forgot them. In other words, information crucial to understanding 18th century words was lost during the 19th
READ MOREII files unique Supreme Court brief in Obamacare case0
- February 16, 2012
We have just filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief with the Supreme Court arguing that (1) under current Supreme Court rulings, Obamacare’s individual mandate, if it can be justified at all, must be justified under the Constitution’s Necessary and Proper Clause, and (2) scholarly research into the meaning of the Necessary and
READ MOREContraceptives and Catholic hospitals: The primary issue is Obamacare, not the First Amendment0
- February 12, 2012
Does the mandate forcing Catholic hospitals to offer abortifacients and contraception violate the First Amendment? The surprising answer is: Probably not. True, there are serious moral and political issues inherent in requiring religious institutions to offer “treatments” they find theologically offensive. But, despite the claims of many Catholic and conservative commentators, the U.S. Department of
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Are the detainment provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act serious?0
- February 5, 2012
Are the detainment provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act serious? Yes they are. This is a complicated area, and there has been a lot of word-fudging in spinning this subject. So bear with me as we take things step by step. * The U.S. Constitution generally guarantees the “Privilege of the Writ of
READ MOREChickens come home to roost: Obama’s plan to cut federal aid to colleges that don’t limit tuition increases0
- January 29, 2012
I observe with some satisfaction that the higher-education establishment is finally learning that if you play with snakes you get bitten. It is no secret that academics were heavily in President Obama’s corner when he ran for President in 2008. Part of the reason was his commitment to transfer other people’s money to them—i.e., more
READ MORESome Questions for “Progressives” Carping about the Citizens United Campaign Finance Case0
- January 22, 2012
The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC has generated a great deal of uninformed, and sometimes hypocritical, whining. In Citizens United, the Supreme Court held that people organized in the corporate form have the same First Amendment rights they enjoy when they organize in other ways. Some opponents of the decision are even
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Contact
Rob Natelson, Senior Fellow, Constitutional Jurisprudence
Email: rob.natelson1@gmail.com
Phone: 303-279-6536, ext 114