Necessary and Proper Clause
What Does the Constitution Say About Federal Land Ownership?
The “Bundy stand-off” in Oregon at a federal wildlife refuge has triggered (or, rather, re-triggered) questions about the constitutionality of federal land ownership. Westerners in particular question why the federal government should own nearly 30% of the country. In...
State Regulation and the Necessary and Proper Clause
The Necessary and Proper Clause in the Constitution is commonly used to justify unconstitutional federal authority, and William Baude at the University of Chicago Law School believes a stricter interpretation of the clause is in order – albeit the feds still get...
The Original Meaning of the Necessary and Proper Clause
The legislative powers of Congress are few in number and specifically enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. The final enumeration, known as the Necessary and Proper clause, is unique. Unlike the other legislative powers, it does not describe an...
Even John Marshall Rejected a Liberal Construction of the Constitution
EDITOR’S NOTE: It is the thesis of Raoul Berger’s monumentally argued book, Government by Judiciary, that the United States Supreme Court – largely through abuses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution – has embarked on “a continuing...