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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Constitution's Forgotten Cover Letter: An Essay On The New Federalism And The Original Understanding, Daniel A. Farber
The Constitution's Forgotten Cover Letter: An Essay On The New Federalism And The Original Understanding, Daniel A. Farber
Daniel A Farber
At the end of the summer of 1787, the Philadelphia Convention issued two documents. One was the Constitution itself. The other document, now almost forgotten even by constitutional historians, was an official letter to Congress, signed by George Washington on behalf of the Convention. Congress responded with a resolution that the Constitution and "letter accompanying the same" be sent to the state legislatures for submission to conventions in each state.
The Washington letter lacks the detail and depth of some other evidence of original intent. Being a cover letter, it was designed only to introduce the accompanying document rather than …
Amending The Constitution, Erwen Chemerinsky
Amending The Constitution, Erwen Chemerinsky
Erwin Chemerinsky
The ultimate measure of a constitution is how it balances entrenchment and change. On the one hand, a constitution differs from all other laws in that it is much more difficult to revise. For example, the next session of Congress can amend or repeal a statute, but altering the U.S. Constitution requires a complex process involving supermajorities of both houses of Congress and the states. A constitution thus reflects a desire to place a society's core values of governance - such as the structure of government and the rights of individuals - in a document that is hard to revise. …
The Iraq Paradox: Minority And Group Rights In A Viable Constitution, Makau Mutua
The Iraq Paradox: Minority And Group Rights In A Viable Constitution, Makau Mutua
Makau Mutua
On October 15, 2005 an Iraq ravaged by a civil war spawned by the 2003 American invasion and subsequent occupation voted to decide the fate of a permanent constitution for the country. Although many Sunni Arabs took part in the vote, the referendum lost in the three governorates where they form a majority. But the constitution was approved because opponents only succeeded in recording "no" votes larger than two-thirds in only two of Iraq's eighteen provinces, in effect one province short of a veto. A two-thirds rejection in three provinces would have doomed the charter and the transition to a …
How The United States Supreme Court Diminished Constitutional Protections Of The Right To Vote And What Congress Can Do About It, Henry Rose
Henry Rose
No abstract provided.
The Declaration Of Independence As Introduction To The Constitution, Alexander Tsesis
The Declaration Of Independence As Introduction To The Constitution, Alexander Tsesis
Alexander Tsesis
No abstract provided.
The Constitution As Poetry, Samuel J. Levine
The Constitution As Poetry, Samuel J. Levine
Samuel J. Levine
Building upon a body of scholarship that compares constitutional interpretation to biblical and literary interpretation, and relying on an insight from a prominent nineteenth century rabbinic scholar, this Article briefly explores similarities in the interpretation of the Torah—the text of the Five Books of Moses—and the United States Constitution. Specifically, this Article draws upon Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin’s (“Netziv”) intriguing suggestion that the interpretation of the text of the Torah parallels the interpretation of poetry. According to Netziv, this parallel accounts for the practice of interpreting the Torah expansively in ways that derive substantive legal rules and principles far …
What Is The Best Model For Investigating Presidential Wrongdoing Today, Bruce Ledewitz
What Is The Best Model For Investigating Presidential Wrongdoing Today, Bruce Ledewitz
Bruce Ledewitz
Taking The Threat To Democracy Seriously, Bruce Ledewitz
Taking The Threat To Democracy Seriously, Bruce Ledewitz
Bruce Ledewitz
What Has Gone Wrong And Can We Do About It, Bruce Ledewitz
What Has Gone Wrong And Can We Do About It, Bruce Ledewitz
Bruce Ledewitz