American Agonistes
Caldwell's Age of Entitlement argues that the civil rights state is the anvil upon which our nation wages its incessant political contests.
Overhead view of the massive crowd assembled during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington DC, August 28, 1963. (Photo by Robert W. Kelley/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)Justifying Originalism
How Kavanaugh Should Respond to Senators’ Questions, Part I
Expect to see these questions and lines of attack at Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, because senators often use them, regardless of the nominee.
Brett Kavanaugh delivers remarks after President Donald J. Trump announces his nomination to be Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, July 9th, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Credit: Alex Edelman/CNP /MediaPunch/Alamy Stock Photo).Moreno on the Original Meaning and Brown v. Board of Education: Part II
U.S. Supreme Court. Orhan Cam/ShutterstockMoreno on the Original Meaning and Brown v. Board of Education: Part I
Panorama of the United States Supreme Court at dusk in Washington DC, USA (Joe Ravi/Shutterstock.com).The Brown Decision: Even Less Coherent Than You Thought
A Mostly Mediocre Marshall
It says a lot about the versatility of Reginald Hudlin that he directed House Party, a fun and frothy 1990 teen comedy, and Marshall, the new biopic about an early case taken by future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Unsettling Thoughts on Liquidation
It is subtle, or at least ironic, to use a term—“liquidate”—that has lost its original meaning to initiate a discussion of constitutional interpretation. Today the word still has a legal usage, referring to the payment and settlement of debts. The OED finds that meaning in English publications at the time that Madison and Hamilton employed it to refer to construing the Constitution in The Federalist. Both Webster’s and the OED give as a secondary definition “to make clear,” with Webster’s citing Hamilton himself, and they agree that that usage of the term is now rare or obsolete. Gordon Lloyd and…
More Responses
Gordon Lloyd and Steve Ealy provide considerable material to ponder. The gist of their argument seems to be that rather than a Progressive political culture centered on quadrennial presidential elections and a governmental system featuring a considerable policy-making authority for both the president and the Supreme Court, we ought to prefer a “Madisonian” system. While…
Gordon Lloyd and Steve Ealy make a compelling case for liquidation, what they call “Originalism for the Living Generation,” as the most Madisonian means of settling constitutional meaning. Grounded as it is in Madisonian text and example, from The Federalist to the bank veto, the superb account Lloyd and Ealy offer is difficult to assail…
Give Me Madison, Please!
Gordon Lloyd and Steve Ealy provide considerable material to ponder. The gist of their argument seems to be that rather than a Progressive political culture centered on quadrennial presidential elections and a governmental system featuring a considerable policy-making authority for both the president and the Supreme Court, we ought to prefer a “Madisonian” system. While sympathetic toward, and indeed enthusiastic for, their criticisms of our current political culture, I demur from their ascription of their views to James Madison. Their Madison is not Madison as I understand him, and I prefer the real thing. Consider the Lloyd/Ealy account of Madison’s response…
More Responses
It is subtle, or at least ironic, to use a term—“liquidate”—that has lost its original meaning to initiate a discussion of constitutional interpretation. Today the word still has a legal usage, referring to the payment and settlement of debts. The OED finds that meaning in English publications at the time that Madison and Hamilton employed…
Gordon Lloyd and Steve Ealy make a compelling case for liquidation, what they call “Originalism for the Living Generation,” as the most Madisonian means of settling constitutional meaning. Grounded as it is in Madisonian text and example, from The Federalist to the bank veto, the superb account Lloyd and Ealy offer is difficult to assail…
Congress as the Guardian of Individual Rights: A Conversation with Louis Fisher
This episode of Liberty Law Talk is a conversation with congressional scholar Louis Fisher on his recent book, Congress: Protecting Individual Rights. Fisher argues that contrary to popular belief, Congress, not the Court, has been the foremost champion in protecting the rights of racial minorities, children, Native Americans, and religious liberties.
