The 37th “Convention of States” Discovered!
Recently a professor teaching constitutional law at a prestigious university wrote in one of the nation’s top newspapers that we should oppose an Article V convention of states in part because the 1787 Constitutional Convention is “the only precedent we have.” As occurs too often among law professors, he obviously had not researched the subject […]
Convention Rules from the “Assembly of State Legislatures:” Two Cheers Only
This posting was updated on Jan. 18, 2023. In June, 2016 the Assembly of State Legislatures (ASL), a planning group of state lawmakers (now apparently defunct), issued suggested rules for an Article V Convention for Proposing Amendments. The rules were a commendable effort. But they also fell short in a number of ways, partly because […]
How to end up with Pence or Kaine in the White House: Suspend the 12th Amendment
This semi-tongue-in-cheek article was first published at the American Spectator. Dissatisfaction with the presidential nominees of both major parties is at record levels, and Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton continue to make embarrassing missteps. By the time the Electoral College meets to choose the president on December 19, the dissatisfaction may be overwhelming. Both Republicans […]
More Founding-Era Evidence that Some State Functions Derive Only From the Constitution (With Some Comments on the Amendment Process)
In prior posts, I’ve discussed two key elements of constitutional law: 1. The Constitution grants some powers to persons and entities other than the federal government. These persons and entities include state legislatures, state governors, state conventions, the Article V “Convention for proposing Amendments,” Congress as a free-standing assembly, and the Electoral College. 2. When […]
New Edition of the Article V Handbook Now Available!
In 2011 a national trade group of state lawmakers asked me to summarize Article V research for state legislators around the country. The group, the non-partisan American Legislative Exchange Council, wanted a practical guide for how state decision makers could begin the task of curing our dysfunctional federal government. The result was the Article V […]
Report on the Constitutionality of the “Compact for America” Plan Expanded
The Article V Information Center has updated and expanded Rob Natelson’s report on the constitutionality of the “Compact for America” (CFA) plan to amend the Constitution. The original report found that the CFA plan suffered from serious constitutional defects, and that it was unlikely to survive judicial challenge. After it was issued, Rob received […]
What the 1777 Georgia Constitution Tells Us About the Article V Convention Process
When interpreting a legal document, you often can get clues from looking at any predecessors to the document. For example, what did earlier drafts say? What did previous documents that served as models provide? Did the framers of the final version mirror earlier wording, or did they change it? If a phrase in an earlier […]
The 4th Edition of Prof. Natelson’s Article V Treatise Is Now Here!!
In 2014 the first legal treatise ever on the Constitution’s amendment process was published: Prof. Rob Natelson’s work, State Initiation of Constitutional Amendments: A Guide for Lawyers and Legislative Drafters. The work was commissioned by the Convention of States Project of Citizens for Self Governance. Over the past two years, the treatise has undergone updating and expansion. […]
Cruz Withdrawal Postpones “Natural Born” Issue
This article first appeared in the Forth Worth Star Telegram. A silver lining to the withdrawal of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, from the presidential race is that we will be spared a battle over whether he met the Constitution’s requirement the president be a “natural born citizen.” The evidence is not all one way, but […]
Is the “Compact for America” Procedure to Amend the Constitution Constitutional?—An Update
Because of widespread interest in the Article V Information Center’s report on the legality of the “Compact for America” approach to amending the Constitution, we are reprinting it here. Distilled to its essence, the “Compact” approach is unconstitutional because it seeks to change, through state legislative action (statutes and interstate compacts), the amendment procedure specified in […]
Newly-Published Ratification Documents Confirm Our Conclusions on the Amendment Process
The Wisconsin Historical Society publishes successive volumes of the Documentary History of the Constitution of the United States. As its name indicates, the Documentary History is a multi-volume set of books containing documents from the debates over the Constitution’s ratification. The Wisconsin Historical Society published fairly recently two volumes from the debates in Maryland. There […]
Book Review: Stealing America: What My Experience with Criminal Gangs Taught Me About Obama, Hillary, and the Democratic Party
I expected this book, written by Dinesh D’Souza and published by Broadside Books, to be bitter. For one thing, the title conveys bitterness. And Dinesh D’Souza has reason to be bitter: A first offender, he had been threatened with prison and then sentenced to confinement for an offense usually not even prosecuted: two misreported […]
