More Evidence From Last Term That It’s Not a “Conservative Supreme Court”
Note: This article was first published at cns news. There is a common media myth that the current U.S. Supreme Court, or at least a majority of the current justices, is “conservative.” But if a “conservative” justice is one who consistently interprets the Constitution in accordance with traditional methods of judging—as the Founders intended for […]
The Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Non-Decision: Cowardly and Irresponsible
This article was first posted at cnsnews.com. The Supreme Court’s decision to reject all requests for review of lower-court homosexual marriage cases was cowardly and irresponsible. Certainly it is absurd to call this non-decision, as liberal commentator Cass Sunstein did, a manifestation of “the passive virtues.” There are two possible reasons for the Court’s avoidance. […]
Montana Supreme Court’s War Against the Rule of Law Finally Getting The Attention It Deserves
Respect for the rule of law is fundamental to a free society. It also is necessary for economic well being. Montana is among the nation’s poorest states. I was a law professor there for over 23 years and I also serve as Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence at the Montana Policy Institute. In a 2012 […]
Eric Holder & Other Overreaching Prosecutors vs. the Independence Institute
An important citizen protection against government is the rule that in criminal prosecutions, criminal statutes are interpreted strictly. In other words, if the government wants to punish someone for violating a statute, it has to show that the wording of the statute unambiguously rendered the defendant’s conduct illegal. Citizens are not held criminally responsible for […]
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, […]
The Founders as Mythology
Recently when commenting on how Americans view the Founding, an associate of mine observed that in many people’s minds the Founders had become mythological rather than historical figures. That is, many people routinely ascribe ideas and actions—both good and bad, wise and stupid—to them that have little to do with historical reality or even human […]
The Famous Case of Coleman v. Miller—and, No, It Doesn't Give Congress Total Control Over the Amendment Process
Not long ago, I was listening to a radio talk show and was assured by a caller that the Supreme Court, in the case of Coleman v. Miller, had delegated all important decisions over the amendment process to Congress. In other words, the caller said, Congress can make all decisions on every amendment issue: how […]
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 […]
