Is and Ought in Constitutional Law
A response to Joel Alicea on whether originalism needs a moral defense.
Constitutional Interpretation
Trump Fires Democratic FTC Commissioners
The removals challenge Humphrey’s Executor, a Supreme Court precedent that protects independent agency officials from political firings.
A Federal Judge in Utah Orders Local Officials To Return a Religious Group's Psychedelic Sacrament
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jill Parrish emphasizes that religious freedom must protect "unpopular or unfamiliar religious groups" as well as "popular or familiar ones."
In Trump's Revenge Fantasy, Biden Did Not Actually Pardon Members of the January 6 Committee
The president says those legislators are "subject to investigation at the highest level," notwithstanding their pardons and the Speech or Debate Clause.
Republicans May Regret Undermining Judicial Independence
Threats to impeach federal judges who rule against the government are a naked attack on their constitutionally crucial function.
Is it Constitutional To Deport Immigrants for Political Speech?
President Donald Trump has begun kicking immigrant “Hamas sympathizers” out of the U.S.
Tennessee Supreme Court Rules State Can Revoke Personalized '69' License Plate Because It's Government Speech
Most courts have ruled that vanity license plates are private speech and protected from viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment.
Is the Jones Act Unconstitutional?
The law is wasteful and protectionist. Now, a new lawsuit argues that it is unconstitutional too.
Randy Barnett: How Legal Is Trump's Agenda?
Georgetown constitutional law professor Randy Barnett discusses the legality of DOGE, Trump's executive orders, and birthright citizenship.
Trump Has Good Reason To Complain About Limits on His Ability To Fire Executive Officers
His position is grounded in concerns about the separation of powers that presidents of both major parties have raised for many years.
Two Injunctions Against Trump's Citizenship Decree Expose the Weakness of His Arguments
Federal judges in Washington and Maryland say the president's attack on birthright citizenship flouts the 14th Amendment and 127 years of judicial precedent.
The Twelfth Amendment and the ERA
New historical evidence on the ERA's invalidity.
Biden Attempts To Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment by Blog Post
Biden announced today that the Equal Rights Amendment is the "law of the land," but the Justice Department and the national archivist disagree.
President Biden, the ERA, and Constitutional Vandalism
A deeply mistaken decision on the way out of office.
Supreme Court Punts on Racial Discrimination Case
The Supreme Court's refusal to hear Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence v. The School Committee for the City of Boston is bad news for equality under the law.
Trump Cannot Restrict Birthright Citizenship by Presidential Edict
The executive order that the president-elect plans to issue contradicts the historical understanding of the 14th Amendment.
In Praise of Ignoring Facts: A Review of Jack Balkin's "Memory and Authority"
Why constitutional theory needs more theory.
Washington Sued for 'Racially Conscious' Homeownership Program
Washington's Covenant Homeownership Program excludes certain applicants on the basis of race.
American Journal of Law and Equality Symposium on the 70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
The symposium includes contributions by many prominent legal scholars. I am among the contributors.
Illinois Scholarship Program Explicitly Excludes White Applicants
The Minority Teachers for Illinois Scholarship Program is blatantly unconstitutional.
Justice Pat DeWine on Interpreting the Ohio Constitution
A forthcoming paper from a Justice on the Ohio Supreme Court on constitutional interpretation in Ohio.
Second Circuit Rules Intent To Racially Balance NY High Schools Is Unconstitutional
Judge Joseph Bianco’s decision emphasizes that constitutional rights and protections belong to individuals, not groups.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Mississippi's Jim Crow–Era Felon Voting Ban
"In short, 'cruel and unusual' is not the same as 'harmful and unfair,'" the court wrote.
The Supreme Court May Be on the Brink of Radically Restricting Bureaucrats' Power
Chevron deference, a doctrine created by the Court in 1984, gives federal agencies wide latitude in interpreting the meaning of various laws. But the justices may overturn that.
A Collective-Action Theory of the Constitution's Federal Structure
Fourth in a series of guest-blogging posts.
Constitutional Interpretation in The Collective-Action Constitution
Third in a seris of guest-blogging posts.
The Collective-Action Constitution: A Brief History of an Idea
Second in a series of guest-blogging posts.
The Collective-Action Constitution: Introduction
First in a series of guest-blogging posts.
Neil Siegel Guest-Blogging About His New Book "The Collective-Action Constitution"
The book argues that the structural elements of the Constitution should be interpreted in a way that empowers the federal government to address collective action problems facing the states.
California's Telemedicine Restrictions Are Forcing Rare Disease Patients To Travel Out of State for Care
A new lawsuit argues the state's requirement that doctors must be licensed in California to do remote consultations with patients there is unconstitutional.
Supreme Court Rules No Due Process Right to Preliminary Hearings in Civil Asset Forfeiture Cases
The cars of two Alabama women were seized for more than a year before courts found they were innocent owners. The Supreme Court says they had no constitutional right to a preliminary hearing.
Ohio Pastor Criminally Charged for Letting People Sleep In Church. Again.
Plus: California's landmark law ending single-family-only zoning is struck down, Austin, Texas, moves forward with minimum lot size reform, and the pro-natalist case for pedestrian infrastructure.
Does the Constitution Protect the Right To Get High?
Columbia law professor David Pozen recalls the controversy provoked by early anti-drug laws and the hope inspired by subsequent legal assaults on prohibition.
Dormant Commerce and Corporate Jurisdiction
A look at personal jurisdiction after Mallory.
Study Estimates Nearly 96% of Private Property Is Open to Warrantless Searches
The Institute for Justice says its data show that a century-old Supreme Court doctrine created a huge exception to the Fourth Amendment.
Will Elon Musk's Twitter Sex Jokes End the Administrative State?
SpaceX argues the federal agency trying to punish it for firing employees critical of Musk is itself unconstitutional.
Zoning Board Orders Longtime Tenants' Homes Dismantled
Plus: the Supreme Court weighs housing fees and homelessness, YIMBYs bet on smaller, more focused reforms, and a new paper finds legalizing more housing does in fact bring costs down.
According to Law
A keynote address to the Symposium on Common Good Constitutionalism.
Federal Judge Questions 'Evolving Standards' Test for Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The Supreme Court judges Eighth Amendment cases with "evolving standards of decency." Some conservative jurists don't like it.
