What Did the Word 'the' Mean in 1755? And Why Does the Court Care?
A decision on Obama's recess appointment power shows why judicial originalism is an exciting game without any rules. More »
Advertisement
Garrett Epps, a former reporter for The Washington Post, is a novelist and legal scholar. He teaches courses in constitutional law and creative writing for law students at the University of Baltimore and lives in Washington, D.C. His new book is Wrong and Dangerous: Ten Right Wing Myths About Our Constitution.
A decision on Obama's recess appointment power shows why judicial originalism is an exciting game without any rules. More »
Rick Snyder, Scott Walker, John Kasich -- would you rather be remembered like John Jay or like Reince Priebus? More »
On Friday, judges ruled that Obama appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional. After years of Bush-era grandstanding, Democrats have no one to blame but themselves. More »
Like the sophisticated defenders of Proposition 8, DOMA's proponents are making a strong argument -- but one that may belong in a different case. More »
No president can do the job without them. Let's try to be clear about which ones are valid and which aren't. More »
The USA Network legal drama examines the power dynamics and anxiety that govern a gilded enclave. More »
Conservative jurist Richard Posner made a joke out of a deadly serious case. Now his colleagues have an opportunity to put things right. More »
The president says only Congress can lift the debt ceiling, but what if they refuse? More »
Don't look to the courts; elected leaders have to fix the problem themselves. More »
Is this treatment protected speech? Two California courts disagree. More »
Days before Newtown, the Seventh Circuit extended the Second Amendment beyond even the Supreme Court's decisions. More »
Justice Anthony Kennedy may ultimately cast the vote that decides whether federal and state gay marriage bans are ruled unconstitutional. More »
According to some legal scholars, doing nothing might be the "least unconstitutional" option for Obama. More »
The law says such programs benefit society as a whole. But the judges—on both sides—think of it as a favor that "we" do for "them." More »
A federal judge tells California not to silence therapists until their therapy is proven harmful. More »
The way Holdfast sees it, it's not morning in America. More »
Three days after an election that dramatically tested the right to vote, the court sends a major signal to Obama and Congress. More »
Our founding document needs fresh understanding. Who better to provide it than a former constitutional law professor now reelected president? More »
The Giants won the World Series using the designated hitter. The next president will be chosen through the electoral college. In both cases, it's a win, fair and square. More »
No one disagrees that police canines are noble. But are they reliable? And can cops use them on private homes without a warrant? More »
