Constitutional Theory
-
The Sex Appeal of Power
I’ve noticed a disturbing trend recently, in both politics and law. The idea is what I call the “one-way ratchet fallacy” of power. It goes like this: when an institution or entity obtains power of some kind, that power will only ever be used to fulfill certain goals rather than others. That is, people might… Continue reading
-
The Self-Own of Court-Packing
2020 dealt us another major blow last week, when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87. Justice Ginsburg, agree or disagree with her jurisprudentially, was an inspiration to many. Rightly so. She was a trailblazer. Incidentally, for anyone interested, there is a great movie about her life in the law: “On… Continue reading
-
Just Hook It to My Veins
Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s excellent lecture on statutory and constitutional interpretation Continue reading
-
A Citizen’s Guide to the Rule of Law
Introducing a chapter on the nature and importance of the Rule of Law Continue reading
-
Keeping Faith
A master class in public meaning originalism, delivered by the US Supreme Court’s Justice Elena Kagan Continue reading
-
Results-Oriented Conservatism: A Defence of Bostock
Should textualism lead to more “conservative” outcomes as a matter of course? No. Those who wish to transform textualism—a methodology of interpretation—into a vessel for conservative policy outcomes are in the wrong business. Instead of being in the business of law, they are in the business of politics. For years, a small group of Canadian… Continue reading
-
Against Administrative Supremacy
A response to the “Guest Posts from the West Coast” Series Continue reading
-
The Common Good Administrative State
The Internet has been captivated by Professor Adrian Vermeule’s provocative essay in The Atlantic on so-called “common good constitutionalism” (CGC). CGC could be describes as part of a larger theory that co-blogger Leonid Sirota calls “right-wing collectivism,” which “blends support for using the power of the state to advance traditional moral values, a hostility to… Continue reading
-
Can We Be Friends?: A Conservative Reply to Leonid Sirota’s “Refusionism”
This post is written by Thomas Falcone I was surprised, if a little taken aback, by Leonid Sirota’s recent declaration on Double Aspect that he is opposed to co-operation with conservatives whom he deems insufficiently committed to a rigid Hayekian philosophy. The reason for my surprise lay not in Sirota’s ideology laid bare – he… Continue reading
-
The Limits of Self-Government
Indigenous self-government cannot dispense with the Rule of Law and with democracy Continue reading
