Amarica's Constitution

Funds are impounded. Board members are summarily dismissed. Funds appropriated by Congress are impounded. Inspectors General are removed without notice or cause. And arguments are still being made to undermine birthright citizenship. Are all these actions unconstitutional? It turns out that it appears that many may well be, but others that may seem nearly identical may if fact be legal, if of questionable wisdom or propriety. We explain where the constitutional lines are for many of these matters, or in some tricky cases we show how one goes about looking for those lines. And while we are at it, we believe we have dug the last shovels worth in the grave of the attempt to distort, pervert, or reduce birthright citizenship. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges at podcast.njsba.com.

Our recent podcasts, and their discussions of the constitutional landscape that will follow the release of the Dobbs opinion, have been heard, amplified, distorted, echoed, and - of course - tweeted in forms true and unrecognizable. We were the impetus for a lead op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, the subject of various blogs, and the target of innumerable media posts. Nevertheless, we carry on, looking at key precedents and their future, analyzing Justice Alito’s framework for evaluating unenumerated rights, and beginning to think about how it might happen that Alito may not have the last word in this case.

Amarica’s Constitution takes to the road, as the Yale Club of the Palm Beaches, Florida, hosts us with a live audience of constitutional aficionados! The long-delayed book tour of “The Words That Made Us” finally assumes a recognizable form, as Akhil gives a whirlwind tour of the first 80 years of America’s Constitutional Conversation. Aside from a sense of the book, you should come away from this episode knowing 20-30 things you either didn’t know, or wrongly understood before. The audience then questions Professor Amar from founding to Trump - literally, as no holds are barred.

Our series on books and authoring takes a look back at - what else? - the opening of a book. What comes first can make all the difference, but what makes for a great opening? And there are things before the opening - the forward, the preface, the dedication, the title, the cover. It’s all grist for our mill, with classic openings as well as deep dives into Akhil’s own books’ kickoffs.

Remember “18 reasons for 18 years?” Well, so did the Biden Commission, and as they reject court packing, they flirt with the 18 year plan. A few voices are raising in the media and even some on the commission, so we review their arguments and analyze their possible merits. A big question - can it be implemented by statute, or is a constitutional amendment required? No surprise that Akhil has a clear opinion on this. If this happens, you heard it here first - or rather, you read it first back in 2002 when Akhil and his co-author came up with it.