Justice Clarence Thomas’s Wise Words About ‘Experts’
Experts and professional associations always have been influenced by economic considerations. Today, few are immune from political pressure as well.
Justice Thomas’s Latest Dissent: The Constitution and Federal Spending
Justice Clarence Thomas frequently uses concurring and dissenting opinions to explain the Constitution’s fundamental principles.
Even with Amy Coney Barrett, we don’t really have a conservative Supreme Court
At the close of every annual court term, commentators express surprise that so many of the court’s decisions over the previous year have been liberal. They never make the simple deduction that if the court is producing so many liberal decisions, then perhaps it is not “conservative” after all.
Justice Thomas again shows he’s the Supreme Court’s only consistent originalist
Although Justice Thomas agreed that the protection against excessive fines applies to the states, he was the only member of the court to do so on plausible originalist grounds.
Legislative Reapportionment: The Supreme Court Steps Back
This article originally appeared in The American Spectator The Supreme Court recently stepped back from its campaign to impose its political preferences on the states. In Evenwel v. Abbott, the justices held while the U.S. Constitution requires states to apportion their legislatures solely by population, the Constitution does not prescribe a particular way of counting […]
A "Prestige Journal" Effort to Rebut Rob
Most of the “prestige” law journals have shown no interest in publishing my articles, including those that later turned out to be influential. This is not surprising, since year after year those journals remain firmly in the hands of the legal Left. But the prestige journals have shown considerable interest in publishing articles that cite […]
Supreme Court’s Order Great for TABOR
For a video in which Rob and Justin Longo talk about the Arizona Legislature case and why it is good for TABOR, click here. A slightly abbreviated form of this article first appeared in the Denver Post. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent order in the case against Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is a […]
The Most Radical Decision Ever?
This article first appeared in The American Thinker. A complete commentary on the same sex marriage case would take far more than a single short article. Accordingly, I offer only some discrete thoughts: * A big expansion of federal power. Many libertarians believe the courts should use the Fourteenth Amendment to protect rights unenumerated in […]
New Study Shows Campaign Disclosure Rules Violate First Amendment
This article was first published at the American Thinker website. Many commentators and politicians have attacked the Supreme Court’s 2010 case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission for holding that citizens do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they organize under state corporation law. The Vermont state legislature has even adopted an application […]
More Evidence From Last Term That It’s Not a “Conservative Supreme Court”
Note: This article was first published at cns news. There is a common media myth that the current U.S. Supreme Court, or at least a majority of the current justices, is “conservative.” But if a “conservative” justice is one who consistently interprets the Constitution in accordance with traditional methods of judging—as the Founders intended for […]
Town of Greece Case Returns the Establishment Clause To Its Original Meaning
Last week I reported on Justice Thomas’ citation of my work in his concurring opinion in Town of Greece v. Galloway, a widely-discussed decision on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This week, I’ll put the decision in context. The meaning of the Establishment Clause (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of […]
Rob Natelson Cited Again at Supreme Court—This Time in a Religion Case
I’m pleased to report that this past week the brilliant Justice Clarence Thomas cited my work on the Necessary and Proper Clause in his concurring opinion in Town of Greece v. Galloway, an Establishment Clause case that received wide publicity. This was the thirteenth citation in the third Supreme Court case in the past 11 […]
