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.
The Supreme Court Should Never Go Back to Its Pre-Coronavirus Ways
By Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
Melissa Murray writes that even after the COVID-19 crisis passes, the Supreme Court should continue its new practice of streaming live audio of oral arguments.
Trump’s Backwards Federalism Could Actually Work
By Jane Chong, Lawyer and Former Clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Jane Chong argues that, while Donald Trump cannot mandate states lift stay-at-home orders and reopen, there is plenty he can do to indirectly make that happen—such as shaping public perception.
Zoom Congress Is Perfectly Constitutional
By Deborah Pearlstein, Professor of Law and Co-Director of Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy, Yeshiva University Cardozo School of Law
Deborah Pearlstein asserts that, despite a belief by some on Capitol Hill that having congressmembers vote virtually is unconstitutional, nothing in the Constitution says so.
America’s Disaster Is a Setback for Democracy
By Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Larry Diamond contends that if the United States is not able to effectively respond to the COVID-19 crisis—and particularly if authoritarian states such as China are viewed as having done so—it will pose a significant problem for democracy at home and abroad.
The Flaw in the President’s Newest Constitutional Argument
By Adam J. White, Assistant Professor of Law and Executive Director of The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law
Adam J. White discusses why, at first glance, there may be some validity to the argument that the president can adjourn Congress if there is a disagreement between the two Houses about shuttering, in light of Article I, Section 5 (which states, “neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days”) the reasoning does not hold up.
Trump is Threatening to Subvert the Constitution
By Neal Katyal, Former Acting Solicitor General of the United States and Thomas Schmidt, Lawyer, Hogan Lovells
Neal Katyal and Thomas Schmidt say that Donald Trump’s attempt to adjourn Congress so that he can federal appointments violates the text and spirit of the Constitution.
