Law Commons^™

The Great American Gun Violence Lottery, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

Reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, this very short essay compares the experience of gun violence in America to the dystopian game of chance in Shirley Jackson’s classic American short story, “The Lottery.” With references to the role of Constitutional law, media consumption, and cultural change, it urges an available, common-sense middle ground on gun policy. The essay was first published by the American Constitution Society (Dec. 17, 2013) and later appeared in the Huffington Post (Dec. 20, 2013).

The Once And Future Challenges Of American Federalism: The Tug Of War Within, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

This essay is drawn from a lecture for the “Ways of Federalism” conference (University of the Basque Country, October 19, 2011) and a new book, "Federalism and the Tug of War Within" (Oxford, 2012) (http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Law/ConstitutionalLaw/?view=usa&ci=9780199737987), which explores how constitutional interpreters struggle to reconcile the core tensions within American federalism. The essay reviews the current challenges of the American federal system through the theoretical lens developed in the book, focusing on the role of state-federal bargaining within the U.S. federal system. It appears as a chapter in a book of selected conference proceedings, The Ways of Federalism in Western Countries and …

Obamacare And Federalism's Tug Of War Within, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

This month, the Supreme Court will decide what some believe will be among the most important cases in the history of the institution. In the “Obamacare” cases, the Court considers whether the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) exceeds the boundaries of federal authority under the various provisions of the Constitution that establish the relationship between local and national governance. Its response will determine the fate of Congress’s efforts to grapple with the nation’s health care crisis, and perhaps other legislative responses to wicked regulatory problems like climate governance or education policy. Whichever way the gavel falls, the decisions will likely impact …

Spending Power Bargaining After Sebelius, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) decision, it’s easy to get lost in debate over the Chief Justice’s stated theory of the commerce power, or what precedential effect it will have under the Marks doctrine (given that his only supporters wrote in dissent). Still, the practical implications for existing governance is likely to be small, at least in the foreseeable future. After all, much of the debate over the individual mandate focused on how unprecedented it was: despite months of trying, nobody produced a satisfying example of this particular Congressional tool used in previous health, …

Negotiating Federalism Past The Zero Sum Game, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

Beyond I-Got-Mine-Jack Health Care, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

This op-ed urges those who warn that health care reform will lead to rationing not to forsake the victims of the rationing we already have, with a personal story.

Breaking Ground On The New Green Deal, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

This op-ed urges reluctant members of Congress to act on stimulus proposals to invest in a renewable energy economy.

A Swing State Voter’S Epiphany, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan

This op-ed forecasts redemption for the fractured American electorate based on deep election-day kindnesses in politically divided southeastern Virginia.

Reporting On Palin: Negotiations In Political Theater, Erin Ryan

Erin Ryan