Designing Institutions that Promote Foot Voting and Minimize Potential Downsides
Fifth and final post in a series based on my new book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
Federalism
States Can Reform Qualified Immunity on their Own
State reform isn't a complete substitute for abolition of the federal judicial doctrine. But it can achieve a lot. A recent Colorado law provides a model other states would do well to imitate.
This Republican Senator Calls Three Black Men Peacefully Carrying Long Guns 'Mob Rule'
A Second Amendment hypocrite with a plan to undermine federalism
Three Types of Foot Voting
Third in a series of posts based on my new book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom."
Turning Local Disturbances into Federal Cases
The Department of Justice is finding creative ways to file federal charges against rioters and looters.
Audio of Federalist Society Teleforum on My Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
The event includes questions and commentary by Northwestern University law Professor John McGinnis
Introduction to my Book "Free to Move" Now Available for Free on SSRN
The Introduction summarizes the book's argument and provides an outline of the chapters that follow.
My New Book "Free to Move" - And Why I Wrote it
The first in a series of posts based on my book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Trump Administration Appeal of the California "Sanctuary State" Case
The ruling is yet another setback for the administration, though legal battles over sanctuary jurisdictions will continue.
Audio Edition of My Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
It is now available for preorder, and will be delivered by June 23.
Adler v. Larkin on Marijuana Federalism
A podcast debate and discussion about the virtues and vices of Marijuana Federalism.
Tim Waters and Frank Buckley Respond to Critics in the Balkinization Symposium on Secession
In this post, I link to their responses and offer a brief rejoinder to Waters.
Video Based on My New Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting and Political Freedom"
The video was produced by the Institute for Humane Studies, and goes over some key themes of the book.
Trump's Threat to Withhold Federal Funds from States that Expand Voting By Mail Highlights Growing Menace to Federalism and Separation of Powers
A president who can attach his own new conditions to federal grants to states could use that power to undermine state autonomy on many issues - especially now that federal spending has been massively expanded during the coronavirus crisis.
Two Interviews About My New Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom" [Updated with Link to Audio of a Recent Radio Interview]
Videos of interviews by political commentator Amy Peikoff and immigration lawyer Nathan Brown.
Balkinization Symposium on Secession
The symposium, which includes a contribution from me, reviews important new books on secession by Timothy William Waters and Frank Buckley.
The Limiting Principle for Congress' Power to Subpoena Presidential Records Isn't Hard to Find [Updated With Response to Josh Blackman]
Why the Supreme Court can rule in favor of Congress in the Trump financial records cases without thereby giving Congress any unlimited power.
Seventh Circuit Rules Against Trump Administration in Major Sanctuary City Decision
The latest in a long series of setbacks to the adminstration's efforts to pressure sanctuary jurisdictions by attaching conditions to federal grants.
The Pandemic Has Produced a Radical Experiment in Federalism
Varying state responses will provide the thing we need most right now: information.
How the Coronavirus Bailout Is Like the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Yes, the Reason Roundtable podcast has gone quarantine-crazy.
The Attorney General Defends Civil Liberties Against Overreaching COVID-19 Control Measures
While denying Donald Trump's dictatorial impulses, William Barr notes that public health emergencies do not give governments unlimited powers.
Kindle Edition of My Forthcoming Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom" Now Available
It's available for preorder now, and will be delivered on April 23
My New USA Today Op Ed on Coronavirus and Federalism
The article explains why the coronavirus crisis does not justify weakening constitutional limits on federal government power.
Will COVID-19 Help Americans Break the Habit of Deferring to Centralized Authority?
We may find that we like making our own decisions.
Marijuana Federalism Web Events
Your opportunity to learn more about Uncle Sam and Mary Jane.
Trump Can Encourage States to Lift Their COVID-19 Lockdowns, but He Can't Decree That Outcome
The president has a history of asserting powers he does not actually have.
Trump Claims He Has 'Total' Authority Over When States End Social Distancing Rules. He's Wrong.
Plus: Americans plan to stay home for months, courts block more abortion bans, Amash "looking closely" at presidential run, and more...
No, Trump Cannot Open the Country Back Up Whenever He Wants
The president again insisted that the federal government can open the country by fiat. It cannot.
No, Trump Does Not Have the Power to Declare a National Stay-at-Home Order
The president also cannot reopen the country whenever he pleases.
Federalism and the Coronavirus Crisis
States have so far taken the lead in battling the coronavirus, and there is some merit to this decentralized approach, which fits the original meaning of the Constitution. But it also has flaws, and there is still a good chance the crisis will ultimately lead to an expansion of federal power.
First Circuit Rules Against Trump Administration in Sanctuary Cities Case
The ruling is in line with numerous other court decisions on the same subject, but conflicts with an anomalous recent ruling by the Second Circuit.
The Trump Administration's Uncooperative Environmental Federalism
The EPA has talked the talk of cooperative federalism, but it's not yet fully walking the walk.
The Looming Supreme Court Showdown Over Sanctuary Cities
The legal battle over immigration, federalism, and executive power heats up.
Marijuana Federalism: Uncle Sam and Mary Jane
A book released next month will explore the conflict between federal and state marijuana laws, and what to do about it.
Why Libertarian-Leaning Reps. Massie and Amash Voted Against the House's Anti-Lynching Bill
Lynchings are already illegal. But the law would give prosecutors more power—including what amounts to an expansion of the federal death penalty.
Trump Wins Second Circuit Case Against Sanctuary Cities, in Ruling that Goes Against Broad Consensus of other Court Decisions
The decision allows the Justice Department to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal grants to state governments, and goes against numerous other court decisions striking down the exact same policy.
My Very First Article on International Migration as a Tool for "Voting With Your Feet"
My 2008 article on this subject is now available on SSRN.
Trump Administration Files New Lawsuits Against Sanctuary Jurisdictions
The new lawsuits against the state of New Jersey and King County, Washington have many of the same constitutional flaws as the administration's other efforts to to target sanctuary cities.
DOJ Intervention Dramatically, Irrationally, and Unconstitutionally Increases the Penalty Faced by a Woman Accused of Slapping Jews
How can prosecuting a black woman for slapping Jews in 2020 be authorized by the constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in 1865?
My Forthcoming Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
It will be published by Oxford University Press in April.
Videos of Panels on Sanctuary Cities and Constitutional Property Rights
I took part in panels on these topics at the recent Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention
Puppies and Kittens Trump the Constitution
The new federal ban on animal cruelty converts the Commerce Clause into a general police power.
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Hear Sanctuary Cities Case
The constitutional showdown over federalism and immigration approaches SCOTUS.
Trump Administration Loses a Sanctuary City Case - Yet Again
The latest in a long line of court decisions ruling against Trump's efforts to pressure sanctuary cities into helping deport undocumented immigrants features an opinion by two conservative Republican judicial appointees.
Podcast on Federalism and Sanctuary Cities
Prof. Brian Frye of the University of Kentucky Law School interviewed me on this subject, as part of his series of "Ipse Dixit" podcasts.
Trump Administration Seeks Supreme Court Review of California "Sanctuary State" Case
California has largely prevailed in the lower courts, and the administration's petition focuses on the part of the law with the strongest backing from Supreme Court federalism precedent. It's a case the administration deserves to lose.
Sen. Mike Lee Would Let You Decide if Drones Can Fly Less Than 200 Feet Above Your House
The Drone Integration and Zoning Act seeks to expand private property rights and give localities more say in airspace regulation.
