Why Biden Can’t Use the 14th Amendment to Raise the Debt Ceiling
Not raising the debt limit doesn’t cause default; it just forces the federal government to run a balanced budget.
Understanding the Constitution: Why it doesn’t protect the unborn
As Justice Samuel Alito pointed out in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health (pdf)—and as the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia said repeatedly—the Fifth and 14th Amendment Due Process Clauses really have nothing to do with abortion.
Understanding the Constitution: the 14th Amendment: Part II
As flexible as the Equal Protection Clause is, the Supreme Court has managed to exceed its scope.
Understanding the Constitution: the 14th Amendment: Part I
This two-part essay is a primer on the longest amendment ever adopted—the 14th.
Can Trump be disqualified from the presidency?
Congress cannot disqualify Trump from serving as president again.
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.
First decision of the Supreme Court Term: a unanimous liberal result
The statute is based on an overly-expansive definition of congressional power . . . But no member of the court wrote a concurring opinion to point that out . . .
About birthright citizenship
Claims on both sides that the Constitution or case precedent clearly answer this question are not accurate.
What should you remember when drafting a constitutional amendment?
Last month, Citizens for Self Governance sponsored a simulated convention for proposing amendments in Williamsburg, Virginia. I was an adviser for the project, and just before the initial meeting I spoke to the assembled commissioners. My purpose was to provide them with some last-minute tips on drafting proposed constitutional amendments. Several people have asked me […]
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 […]
Antonin Scalia, RIP
Justice Antonin Scalia was one of the most eloquent opinion writers in the history of the United States Supreme Court–perhaps the greatest of all. His dissents may have been the most powerful ever written. Justice Scalia was more than an outstanding lawyer: He was an perceptive social commentator. In tribute, I reproduce below his […]
What does “Due Process of Law” mean? Hint: SCOTUS had it wrong: It’s irrelevant to same-sex marriage
Note: An earlier version of this article appeared in The American Thinker. The Fifth and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution each has a Due Process Clause. The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause prohibited the federal government from depriving any person of “life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The Fourteenth Amendment extended that […]
