Constitutional Law Reporter

Amendment1
- Establishment ClauseFree Exercise Clause
- Freedom of Speech
- Freedoms of Press
- Freedom of Assembly, and Petitition
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Amendment2
- The Right to Bear Arms
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Amendment4
- Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
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Amendment5
- Due Process
- Eminent Domain
- Rights of Criminal Defendants
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Preamble to the Bill of Rights

Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

Richard Saunders (Benjamin Franklin)

Benjamin Franklin was a prolific writer. He pe...

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW REPORTER RSS FEED

This week at the court

16 December 2018 - Andrew Hamm

The Supreme Court is between sittings. The justices will meet next for their January 4 conference; J [...]

Legal Theory Lexicon: Narrative and Normativity

16 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Introduction Many law students learn about "narrative" at some point in law school. Of cou [...]

On this day, The Boston Tea Party lights a fuse

16 December 2018 - NCC Staff

On December 16, 1773, a group of Colonists destroyed a large British tea shipment in Boston harbor. [...]

Legal Theory Bookworm: "Legal Validity and Soft Law," edited by Westerman, Hage, Kirste, & AMackor

15 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Legal Validity and Soft Law, edited by Pauline Westerman, Jaap [...]

Download of the Week: "Fuller and the Folk" by Donelson & Hannikainen

15 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

The Download of the Week is Fuller and the Folk: The Inner Morality of Law Revisited by Raff Donelso [...]

Happy birthday, Bill of Rights!

15 December 2018 - NCC Staff

Today we celebrate the anniversary of the first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights (ratified [...]

Five items Congress deleted from Madison’s original Bill of Rights

15 December 2018 - NCC Staff

When James Madison spoke to the First Congress he proposed nearly 20 amendments as a Bill of Rights, [...]

Eight basic facts about the Bill of Rights

15 December 2018 - NCC Staff

Here are eight key facts about this enduring testament to liberty and freedom! [...]

Court Strikes the Entire Affordable Care Act

15 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

Judge Reed O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) today issued a sweeping and breathtaking ruling striking the en [...]

Goldstein on Republican Contributions to the 25th Amendment

15 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Joel K. Goldstein (Saint Louis University - School of Law) has posted The Bipartisan Bayh Amendment: [...]

Texas federal judge strikes down entire Obamacare law

15 December 2018 - Lyle Denniston

Eight years after Congress wrote a massive overhaul of the nation’s health care industry, a federal [...]

Gless on Predictive Policing

15 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Sabine Gless (University of Basel) has posted Predictive Policing – In Defense of ‘True Positives’ ( [...]

Thank you for completing our survey

14 December 2018 - Andrew Hamm

A week ago we posted a survey soliciting reader feedback (which can be found here). We received many [...]

Ninth Circuit Halts Interim Rules on ACA Contraception Exemptions, but Only as to Plaintiff States

14 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court's preliminary injunction barring the government from enf [...]

Witte on the Reformation and New Legal Systems in Europe

14 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

John Witte (Emory University School of Law) has posted Faith in Law: The Legal and Political Legacy [...]

Virginia House of Delegates asks justices to intervene in redistricting dispute

14 December 2018 - Amy Howe

Last month the Supreme Court announced that it would, for the second time, review a case from Virgin [...]

Sunstein on Algorithms & Biases

14 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)) has posted [...]

Petitions of the week

14 December 2018 - Aurora Barnes

This week we highlight petitions pending before the Supreme Court that address, among other things, [...]

A new government challenge to transgender in the military

14 December 2018 - Lyle Denniston

Federal government lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to get permission to enforce a new transgend [...]

Mnookin on the Future of Forensic Science

14 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Jennifer Mnookin (University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law) has posted The Uncer [...]

Friday round-up

14 December 2018 - Edith Roberts

Amy Howe reports for this blog, in a post that first appeared at Howe on the Court, that the federal [...]

The mysterious death of George Washington

14 December 2018 - NCC Staff

On December 14, 1799, George Washington died at his home after a brief illness and after losing abou [...]

Wiessner on the Rule of Law

14 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Siegfried Wiessner (St. Thomas University School of Law) has posted The Rule of Law: Prolegomena (Ze [...]

O'Connor on Science as Contemplative Systemic Study

14 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Sean M. O'Connor (University of Washington - School of Law) has posted The Means of Innovation, [...]

Claussen & Grewal on Trade Law Under Trump

14 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Kathleen Claussen and David Singh Grewal (University of Miami School of Law and Yale University - La [...]

Government returns to Supreme Court on military transgender ban

13 December 2018 - Amy Howe

Last month the Trump administration asked the justices to allow it to bypass the courts of appeals a [...]

Fifth Circuit Dismisses Texas's Plea for Declaratory Relief on Anti-Sanctuary Bill

13 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

The Fifth Circuit dismissed Texas's case seeking a declaration that its anti-sanctuary-city bil [...]

Wriggins on Domestic Violence & Gender Equality

13 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Jennifer Wriggins (University of Maine - School of Law) has posted Domestic Violence and Gender Equa [...]

Empirical SCOTUS: The heightened importance of the Federal Circuit

13 December 2018 - Adam Feldman

This term, the Supreme Court will hear argument in its 100th case decided below by the U.S. Court of [...]

Symposium: Crosses and constitutional clarity

13 December 2018 - Lindsay See

Lindsay See is the solicitor general of West Virginia, which led a group of 27 other states and the [...]

Solum & Sunstein on Chevron as Construction

13 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Lawrence B. Solum (Georgetown University Law Center) & Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School; Har [...]

Second Circuit Lets Eviction-Settlement Challenges Move Forward

13 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

The Second Circuit ruled that a case challenging New York officials' eviction-settlement practi [...]

Symposium: Cross purposes — Why a Christian symbol can’t memorialize all war dead

13 December 2018 - Richard B. Katskee

Richard B. Katskee is Legal Director at Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Symbols [...]

Thursday round-up

13 December 2018 - Edith Roberts

Briefly: At CNBC, Tucker Higgins reports that “Justice Brett Kavanaugh has only been on the bench fo [...]

Tew on Stealth Theorcacy

13 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Yvonne Tew (Georgetown University Law Center) has posted Stealth Theocracy (Virginia Journal of Inte [...]

Once again, holiday displays face First Amendment questions

13 December 2018 - Scott Bomboy

It is the season for controversy about public holiday displays, and this year’s stories include a fi [...]

Nyhan on Translocal Ideas of Indigeneity

13 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Emma Nyhan (University of Melbourne - Melbourne Law School) has posted Translocal Ideas of Indigenei [...]

Sandro on Legal Validity

13 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Paolo Sandro (University of Salford - Salford Business School) has posted Unlocking Legal Validity: [...]

Hunt on Police-Informant Agreements

13 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Luke William Hunt (Radford University) has posted Informants, Police, and Unconscionability (Institu [...]

Möller on the Culture of Justification

13 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Kai Möller (London School of Economics - Law Department) has posted Justifying the Culture of Justif [...]

Issacharoff on Judicial Review & Democratic Governance

12 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Samuel Issacharoff (New York University School of Law) has posted Judicial Review in Troubled Times: [...]

Court Tosses San Francisco's Challenge to Trump Walk-Back of Regulatory Guidance

12 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

Judge Jon S. Tigar (N.D. Cal.) ruled that San Francisco lacked standing to challenge the Trump Admin [...]

Pardo on the Paradoxes of Legal Proof

12 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Michael S. Pardo (University of Alabama School of Law) has posted The Paradoxes of Legal Proof: A Cr [...]

Can President Trump be Criminally Charged? And Should He Be?

12 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

In the wake of the government's release of sentencing memos for Michael Cohen--and their finger [...]

Hockett on Ten Years After the Financial Crisis

12 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Robert C. Hockett (Cornell University - Law School) has posted Ten Years On: What Have We Learned? W [...]

On this day, Bush v. Gore settles 2000 presidential race

12 December 2018 - NCC Staff

On December 12, 2000, the Supreme Court ended a Florida vote recount in the presidential election co [...]

Supreme Court drawn into asylum controversy

12 December 2018 - Lyle Denniston

The Trump Administration rushed to the Supreme Court Tuesday, asking permission to put back into pla [...]

McCoy on Undermining the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

12 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Patricia A. McCoy (Boston College Law School) has posted Inside Job: The Assault on the Structure of [...]

Lin on Corporate Social Activism

12 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Tom C. W. Lin (Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law) has posted Incorporating Social A [...]

Linarelli on Global Legal Pluralism & Commercial Law

12 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

John Linarelli (Durham University) has posted Global Legal Pluralism and Commercial Law (Paul Schiff [...]

Call for Papers: Michigan Junior Scholars Conference

11 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

Michigan Law posted this announcement and call for papers for its Fifth Annual Junior Scholars Confe [...]

District Court Dismisses FACA Challenge to Trump's Infrastructure Council

11 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle (D.D.C.) dismissed a suit challenging President Trump's Infrastructur [...]

Erbsen on Wayfair and Nicastro

11 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Allan Erbsen (University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - School of Law) has posted Wayfair Undermines N [...]

Organizations Have Standing to Challenge USDA Inaction on Birds (again), but Lose (again)

11 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

Judge Trevor N. McFadden (D.D.C.) ruled in American Anti-Vivisection Society v. USDA that plaintiff [...]

Ross on Administrative Agencies & Suspect Classes

11 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Bertrall L. Ross (University of California, Berkeley School of Law; University of California, Berkel [...]

Barnett on Lochner

11 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Randy E. Barnett (Georgetown University Law Center) has posted After All These Years, Lochner Was No [...]

Witte on Marital Covenants in John Calvin’s Geneva

11 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

John Witte (Emory University School of Law) has posted The Marital Covenant in John Calvin’s Geneva [...]

Price on Precedent & Polarization

11 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Zachary Price (University of California Hastings College of the Law) has posted Precedent in a Polar [...]

Litton on Traumatic Brain Injury & Criminal Responsibility

10 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Paul Litton (University of Missouri School of Law) has posted Traumatic Brain Injury and a Divergenc [...]

Donelson& Hannikainen on Experimental Jurisprudence & Fuller's Inner Morality of Law

10 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Raff Donelson (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge) & Ivar Hannikainen (University of Sheffi [...]

Call for Papers: Private Law Junior Scholars Conference at Tel Aviv

10 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Title: Call for Papers - Autonomy in Private Law: Past, Present, Future Organization: The Private La [...]

Stein on Evidence Law

10 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Alex Stein (Israel Supreme Court) has posted Evidence Law—What For? (Preface, in Foundations of Evid [...]

Crowe, Field, Toohey, & Partridge on Bargaining in the Shadow of Folk Law & Family Dispute Resolution

10 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Jonathan Crowe (Bond University - School of Law), Rachael Field (Bond University - School of Law), L [...]

Legal Theory Lexicon: Communicative Content and Legal Content

9 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

Introduction One of the most basic ideas in legal theory is the distinction between "communicat [...]

Legal Theory Bookworm: "Blockchain and the Law" by De Filippi & Wright

8 December 2018 - Lawrence Solum

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Blockchain and the Law: The Rule of Code by Primavera De Filipp [...]

William Barr's Unitary Executive

7 December 2018 - Steven D. Schwinn

If you want to know what William P. Barr, President Trump's nominee for Attorney General, think [...]

Don’t Block Twitter Followers, First Amendment Activists Tell Trump

6 June 2017 - Jacob Gershman

Is there a constitutional right to follow President Donald Trump on Twitter? It’s a question that no [...]

Justice Alito: ‘My Faith Gives Me an Answer’

18 May 2017 - Jacob Gershman

Addressing future Catholic priests, Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday talked about his faith and war [...]

More Plaintiffs Join ‘Emoluments’ Lawsuit Against Trump

18 April 2017 - Jacob Gershman

An organization of restaurant workers and a hotel booking agent in Washington, D.C. have joined a fe [...]

Tennessee AG: ‘In God We Trust’ License Plate Law Would be Unconstitutional

27 March 2017 - Jacob Gershman

Tennessee lawmakers are considering a bill that would require vehicle registration plates to bear th [...]

When Neil Gorsuch was a Rebel College Journalist

2 March 2017 - Jacob Gershman

A look back at Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch's time as a conservative college journalist a [...]

Plaintiffs’ Firm Squares Off with Trump Administration

15 February 2017 - Joe Palazzolo

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a 90-lawyer plaintiffs' firm known for suing big compan [...]

Gorsuch’s Case Against Assisted Suicide

1 February 2017 - Jacob Gershman

Before becoming a federal judge, U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch wrote prolifically about as [...]

Legal Community Reacts to the Nomination

1 February 2017 - Sara Randazzo

Legal experts offer opinions on President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. [...]

Judge Gorsuch: In His Own Words

1 February 2017 - Jacob Gershman

Highlights from a few of Judge Neil Gorsuch's opinions and dissents. [...]

Gorsuch: A Justice Made in Scalia’s Image?

1 February 2017 - Jacob Gershman

President Donald Trump has said Supreme Court vacancy should be filled by someone “in the mold” of t [...]

Judge: Environmentalism Isn’t a Religion

24 January 2017 - Jacob Gershman

Environmentalism doesn’t constitute a religion, a federal judge ruled. The relationship between gree [...]

Obama Leaves His Mark on the Lower Courts

20 January 2017 - Joe Palazzolo

President , newly sworn in, says he plans to name his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court within two [...]

N.Y. Attorney General Invokes Tenth Amendment in ‘Sanctuary City’ Guidance

20 January 2017 - Jacob Gershman

It’s been called the Tea Party’s favorite part of the Constitution. But it’s not just conservatives [...]

Do Reversed Convictions Come With a Money-Back Guarantee?

9 January 2017 - Jess Bravin

The state of Colorado has a unique way of refunding the fines, fees and other costs it imposes on de [...]

IMDb.com Steps up First Amendment Fight With California Over Law Shielding Actor Birth Dates

6 January 2017 - Jacob Gershman

IMDb.com is stepping up its First Amendment fight with the state of California, refusing to comply w [...]

Prior Restraint: New Jersey Says Judge Was Right to Censor Newspaper

13 December 2016 - Jacob Gershman

It’s rare for a court to prohibit a newspaper from writing about something — even when it implicates [...]

A Post-Election Legal Challenge to the Electoral College

8 December 2016 - Jacob Gershman

President-elect is weeks away from taking the oath of office, but for two Colorado presidential elec [...]

Lawsuit: New York’s Stun Gun Ban Violates Second Amendment

7 December 2016 - Jacob Gershman

Second Amendment advocates are challenging New York’s ban on stun guns in a lawsuit asserting a cons [...]

White Lawyer Accuses Texas Bar of Unconstitutional Racial Quotas

5 December 2016 - Jacob Gershman

A white, male lawyer from Texas is suing the state bar for requiring that at least four members of i [...]

Preet Bharara: McDonnell Ruling No Grounds to Toss Silver Conviction

1 December 2016 - Jacob Gershman

What does former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s triumph at the Supreme Court mean for the federal cor [...]

India High Court Orders Movie Theaters to Play National Anthem

30 November 2016 - Jacob Gershman

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people, Dispenser of India’s destiny. Thy name rouses the hea [...]

Trump Breaks Ranks With Scalia on Flag Burning

29 November 2016 - Jacob Gershman

The president-elect made clear Tuesday his view that the freedom of speech shouldn't encompass [...]

Trump Breaks Ranks With Scalia on Flag Burning

29 November 2016 - Jacob Gershman

The president-elect made clear Tuesday his view that the freedom of speech shouldn't encompass [...]

Can North Carolina Lawmakers Decide the Governor’s Race?

22 November 2016 - Jacob Gershman

North Carolina lawmakers can declare the winner of a contested election under the state's elect [...]

Justice Sotomayor: ‘We Can’t Afford for a President to Fail’

16 November 2016 - Jess Bravin

Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday urged Americans who share her views not to “despair” at the elect [...]

Justice Ginsburg: ‘There is an Existing Vacancy, and President Trump Will Fill It’

15 November 2016 - Jess Bravin

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once dismissed Donald Trump as a “faker” who didn’t deserve the presiden [...]

Can Trump ‘Open Up’ Libel Laws?

14 November 2016 - Jacob Gershman

President-elect Donald Trump as a candidate vowed to "open up" the nation's libel law [...]

IMDb Sues California Over Law Allowing Actors to Conceal Their Ages

11 November 2016 - Jacob Gershman

Popular movie and TV database IMDb.com is claiming that a new California law steps on the First Amen [...]

What Happens If the Electoral College Is Tied?

8 November 2016 - Michelle Hackman

On Tuesday night, a months-long presidential contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump finall [...]

Judge Upholds New York’s Ballot Selfie Ban

3 November 2016 - Jacob Gershman

Another federal court has punched a hole in the effort to legalize ballot selfies. A U.S. district j [...]

Can a President Self-Pardon?

3 November 2016 - Jacob Gershman

Can presidents pardon themselves? Few times in American history has the question commanded serious a [...]

Law Professors Grapple With Trump

2 November 2016 - Jacob Gershman

In this extraordinary election season, law professors and constitutional scholars are venturing into [...]

Justices Consider Copyright in Fashion

31 October 2016 - Jacob Gershman

What is a cheerleader uniform? It may sound like a simple question. But in a case before the Supreme [...]

Would the Supreme Court Be Fine With Fewer Than Nine?

27 October 2016 - Jacob Gershman

Some conservatives, considering the likely prospect of a Clinton presidency, say they wouldn't [...]

Justice Thomas Absent from Smithsonian African-American Museum

24 October 2016 - Jacob Gershman

Some are questioning Justice Clarence Thomas's absence from the new Smithsonian's National [...]

Law-Enforcement Legends Team Up in Death-Penalty Fight

17 October 2016 - Jess Bravin

Edwin Meese III and Robert Morgenthau, two law-enforcement legends from different political camps, h [...]

First Amendment Experts: Downloading Hacked Clinton Campaign Emails Not a Crime

17 October 2016 - Jacob Gershman

Can you get into legal trouble for possessing the hacked Clinton campaign emails published by Wikile [...]

Justice Ginsburg Apologizes for Criticism of Quarterback’s National Anthem Protests

14 October 2016 - Jess Bravin

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg apologized Friday for criticizing professional football pl [...]

New Jersey Asks Supreme Court to Hear Sports-Betting Case

14 October 2016 - Jacob Gershman

With the help of a star litigator, Gov. Chris Christie has taken the state's high-stakes fight [...]

How a Frog Habitat in Louisiana May Begin to Curb Administrative Agency Power in Weyerhaeuser Company v United States Fish and Wildlife Service

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