“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
The current Supreme Court is a vigorous defender of property rights. In general, I like that. But as I observed in a column last year, the court sometimes goes beyond what an accurate reading of the Constitution can justify. The Fifth Amendment is part of the Bill of...
In the next few weeks, the Supreme Court will be finishing up its October Term. The term gets its name from the fact that it begins Oct. 1. The next few columns will unpack some of the court’s most important decisions. I will be focusing mostly (although not entirely)...
When the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade (pdf), most of the outrage came from those who believe the U.S. Constitution protects abortion rights. However, a few argued that the Constitution mandates a national standard forbidding abortion. This essay explains why...
I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” -Thomas Jefferson, Jan. 30, 1787 When Thomas Jefferson wrote to his friend, neighbor and colleague, James Madison, his view that...
“No person … shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” — Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Abdulsalam al-Hela is a 53-year-old Yemeni cleric who has been incarcerated by the United States at the Guantanamo...
As the Supreme Court’s recent Obamacare case illustrates, the justices no longer enforce most of the Constitution’s limits on the federal government. But a new property rights decision demonstrates how they are super-enforcing the Bill of Rights. First some...