Battle for the Constitution: Week of October 5th, 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.
What Happens If a President Becomes Incapacitated or Dies
By Brian C. Kalt, Professor of Law & The Harold Norris Faculty Scholar, Michigan State University College of Law
Brian C. Kalt charts out the rules for what happens if a president becomes gravely ill or passes away, especially so close to an election, and notes that while there are procedures in place, it could still create chaos.
By Nicholas Bagley, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
Nicholas Bagley writes about how a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision, striking down the Governor’s state of emergency order and related restrictions as a violation of the nondelegation doctrine—the idea that legislatures cannot delegate lawmaking powers to the executive branch—was an ominous warning of what a conservative Supreme Court may do in the future.
The Man Who Wanted to Save the First Amendment by Inverting It
By Stephen Bates, Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Stephen Bates discusses the philosopher William Ernest Hocking, who wanted to invigorate the First Amendment by interpreting it to include certain positive rights that the public was entitled to and that would promote free speech, instead of it only acting as a restriction on government.
Courts Are Taking Away One of Americans’ Best Options for Fixing Voting
By David Daley, Senior Fellow, FairVote
David Daley recounts how state and federal courts have been overturning ballot initiatives passed by the citizenry and closing paths for improving representation and voting.
What’s So Great About a Written Constitution?
By Brian Christopher Jones, Lecturer in Law, University of Sheffield School of Law
Brian Christopher Jones argues that having a written constitution is not always beneficial for countries, and that systems with an unwritten constitution can ultimately prove just as successful.