Obama’s Ebola Order: Is it Constitutional to Send Troops to Hand out “Home Health Kits” in Africa?
The Constitution says that the president “shall be Commander in Chief of the Army . . . of the United States.” Does that give him authority to utilize our armed forces for a purely non-military purpose like addressing the Ebola outbreak in Africa? The Denver Post thinks so, editorializing that Obama’s decision is “fully justified.” […]
The Constitution on Latin TV (And by “Latin,” we don’t mean Latin American)
Institute Research Director Dave Kopel has long urged me to do a broadcast production on the Constitution in the Latin language, and now it’s here! Produced by II web monkey Justin Longo, the program features an interview of me by my daughter Sarah on the American Founding and the nature of the Constitution. Sarah, 23, […]
No, the Necessary and Proper Clause Does NOT Empower Congress to Control an Amendments Convention
A few days ago I heard a presentation by a spokesman for a group that claims to defend the Constitution and revere the Founders. Yet the spokesman trashed the Constitution’s framers for allegedly exceeding their authority and claimed they added a provision that largely rendered another provision useless. In other words, the spokesman charged the […]
Rob Discusses How He Researches the Constitution
Failure to Call Amendments Conventions Helps Explain Modern Federal Overreaching
This Article is a modified version of one appearing in the American Thinker. If President after President failed to veto bills, would it surprise you if congressional power grew at the expense of the presidency? If the Senate never blocked the President’s appointments, would it surprise you if presidential power expanded at the expense of […]
“Progressive” Misrepresentations of the Public Trust Doctrine
While hosting a Montana radio talk show in the late 1990s, I interviewed a prominent left-wing environmental activist. He was promoting an anti-mining ballot measure. During the interview, he read from a 16th-century book that (he said) had shown that mining had all sorts of evil effects. But something about the quote did not ring […]
New Article: Government's Obligation To Be Impartial
The Constitution was adopted amid a belief that government is a public trust.* Does the Constitution require federal and state governments to adhere to formal duties of public trust—that is, to fiduciary duties? In some places, at least, it clearly does: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment imposes on the states what is […]
New Article: Government’s Obligation To Be Impartial
The Constitution was adopted amid a belief that government is a public trust.* Does the Constitution require federal and state governments to adhere to formal duties of public trust—that is, to fiduciary duties? In some places, at least, it clearly does: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment imposes on the states what is […]
How Much Authority Does Congress Have Under the Treaty Power? The Question the Supreme Court Dodged in Bond v. U.S.
In its recent decision in Bond v. United States, the Supreme Court avoided deciding whether Congress, in executing a treaty, could exceed the enumerated powers to which the Constitution otherwise restricts it. For example, if a treaty requires a signatories to make it a crime to use a particular chemical, may Congress pass a law […]
Problems in the Recess Appointments Case (Even though Rob was cited again)
(This article originally appeared in The American Thinker.) I applaud the result of the recess appointments case and I am happy to have been cited again in a Supreme Court opinion (this time by Justice Scalia). But in several respects the case exemplifies what is wrong with constitutional jurisprudence today. In National Labor Relations Board […]
The Results Are In: The Obamacare “Penalty” Didn’t Violate the Origination Clause, but Obamacare’s Regulations Did
Is the penalty for not buying insurance in the Affordable Care Act (ACA—Obamacare) unconstitutional as a “tax” that originated in the Senate? Under the Constitution’s Origination Clause, the answer appears to be “no”—the Senate’s decision to add the penalty to the underlying bill was not a violation of that Clause. But under the same provision, […]
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 […]
