The Impending Convention for Proposing Amendments — Part IV

Note: This series of six articles originally appeared in the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. Parts I, II, and III appear below this post, and Parts V and VI will be posted in the near future. How the judiciary’s decisions shed light on the federal amendments convention Although there has not […]

The Impending "Convention for Proposing Amendments" — Part III

Note: This series of six articles originally appeared in the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. Parts I and II appear below this post, and Parts IV-VI will be posted in the near future. How the States Have Used Article V and How They Have Continued to Meet in Convention During the […]

The Impending “Convention for Proposing Amendments” — Part III

Note: This series of six articles originally appeared in the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. Parts I and II appear below this post, and Parts IV-VI will be posted in the near future. How the States Have Used Article V and How They Have Continued to Meet in Convention During the […]

The Impending "Convention for Proposing Amendments" — Part II

Note: This series of six articles originally appeared in the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. Part I appears below, and Parts III-VI will be posted in the coming weeks. How Article V was Drafted and Ratified  The commissioners who met in Philadelphia to propose a plan to render the American […]

The Impending “Convention for Proposing Amendments” — Part II

Note: This series of six articles originally appeared in the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. Part I appears below, and Parts III-VI will be posted in the coming weeks. How Article V was Drafted and Ratified The commissioners who met in Philadelphia to propose a plan to render the American political […]

The Impending “Convention for Proposing Amendments” – Part I

Note: This is Part I of a six-part series I wrote on Amendment Conventions for the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. Links have not been reproduced, because all supporting information is on this website and can be found with by word search. * * * * How Past Conventions Inspired the […]

Soros-Funded Groups Attack the Article V Movement

Article V activists have had to deal with the defamatory, and potentially actionable, charge that they are supported by socialist billionaire George Soros. As far as I can determine, however, no one in the movement has been able to identify any pro-Article V Soros money at all. On the contrary, Soros-funded groups have repeatedly assailed […]

The Silver Lining in the Mistakes at the Assembly of State Legislatures

Note: This article was first published in the American Thinker. The Assembly of State Legislatures (ASL) has adjourned from its latest meeting, still without having produced a set of rules for an Article V amendments convention. I have been an enthusiastic supporter of ASL. I have to acknowledge, however, that missteps have impeded its progress. […]

Answering Questions About the Voting Rules at a Convention for Proposing Amendments

Note: This column appeared originally at the American Thinker. In a recent post, I examined suggestions that a convention of the states for proposing amendments adopt a supermajority rule for proposing any amendment. Most commonly suggested is that the convention replace the traditional “majority of states decides” standard with a two thirds requirement. I explained […]

Trying to Alter the Traditional Amendments Convention Voting Rule Is a Mistake

Note: This article first appeared in The American Thinker. Advocates of a federal balanced budget amendment are closing in on the 34 states necessary to require Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments. Other groups, such as the Convention of States project, are working assiduously toward the same goal. If they succeed, it will […]