Battle for the Constitution: Week of August 10th, 2020 Roundup
Below is a round-up of the latest from the Battle for the Constitution: a special project on the constitutional debates in American life, in partnership with The Atlantic.
Trump Has Launched a Three-Pronged Attack on the Election
By Laurence Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor Emeritus, Harvard Law School; Jennifer Taub, Professor of Law, Western New England University School of Law; and Joshua Geltzer, Executive Director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, Georgetown University Law Center
Laurence Tribe, Jennifer Taub, and Joshua Geltzer write that Donald Trump is launching a multi-front assault on voting and the election’s legitimacy, and suggest several ways to combat it.
Reform the Court, but Don’t Pack It
By Ryan D. Doerfler, Professor of Law and Herbert and Marjorie Fried Research Scholar, University of Chicago Law School and Samuel Moyn, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence, Yale Law School
Ryan D. Doerfler and Samuel Moyn argue against adding more Justices to the Supreme Court, and say reformers should instead look at other ways to change it, such as stripping the Court of the ability to rule on certain types of cases or requiring supermajorities to overturn federal legislation.
The Whole Concept of ‘Unlawful Assembly’ Is a Mess
By Garrett Epps, Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law
Garrett Epps says that the notion of “unlawful assembly” is wrong, since the Constitution specifically protects the right to assemble, and that it should be recognized as a right on its own, as opposed to conflating it with freedom of speech.
The Other Way Trump Could Destroy the Next Presidency
By Rebecca Friedman Lissner, Assistant Professor, U.S. Naval War College
Rebecca Friedman Lissner warns that, in the event he loses, even if Donald Trump does not create a constitutional crisis by refusing to accept the election results, he could seriously damage an incoming Biden administration by hampering the transition process.