Claims that Senator Cruz is not “Natural Born” Need to be Taken Seriously
Note: A shorter version of this article originally appeared at The Originalism Blog at the University of San Diego. Some commentators are dismissing as merely frivolous the claim that Senator Ted Cruz is not a “natural born citizen” as the Constitution uses that term, and therefore ineligible for the presidency. This dismissive attitude is a […]
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 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 […]
Rob Explains Why We Need a Convention of States
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. […]
The Materials You Need for Researching the Original Constitution
Note: This article originally appeared at The American Thinker. When lawyers and judges interpret legal documents, they usually try to ascertain the understanding of the parties to the document—or, more precisely, something they call the “intent” behind the document. The Founding Era phrase was “intent of the makers.” The “intent of the makers” is what […]
A Woman as President? The Gender-Neutral Constitution.
Note: This article was originally published at the leading constitutional law website, The Volokh Conspiracy, which is affiliated with the Washington Post. Consider these two quotations: “Indeed, the argument is made that under originalism it would be unconstitutional to elect a woman as president or vice president because the Constitution refers to these officeholders as […]
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 […]
The Constitution's Financial Terms
Note: This was originally a four-part series published at the leading constitutional law website, “The Volokh Conspiracy,” which is affiliated with the Washington Post. This succession of four parts discusses such questions as why the Supreme Court was wrong to characterize the Obamacare insurance penalty as a “tax,” why the apportionment requirement was adopted and […]
