When They Start Throwing Black’s Law Dictionary at You—Duck!

If you are involved in politics, sooner or later someone will “prove” his point by quoting to you a line from Black’s Law Dictionary, Corpus Juris Secundum, or a similar source. He may tell you that these are “definitive” legal sources, not to be doubted. Whatever he’s selling, don’t buy it. These sources are not […]

The Impending Convention for Proposing Amendments — Part VI

Note: This is the last in a series of six articles that originally appeared in the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. Parts I – V appear below this post. How the Procedures for a Modern Amendments Convention May Unfold Parts I to V of this series discussed the background and nature […]

The Impending Convention for Proposing Amendments — Part V

Note: This series of six articles originally appeared in the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. Parts I II, III, and IV appear below this post, and Part VI will be posted in the near future. How the Convention for Proposing Amendments Became the Subject of Popular Mythology Throughout the century and […]

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 […]