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Paul Spella / The Atlantic Hamilton Would Not Have Stood for Trump’s New Constitutional Theory
Even the Founding Father with the most expansive view of executive power would have found Trump’s recent constitutional ideas troubling.
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E. R. Curtiss / Wisconsin Historical Society / ... How to Revive Madison’s Constitution
The American experiment requires virtuous leaders who place the public good over their own personal or partisan interests.
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Simon Montag The Fourth Battle for the Constitution
The latest struggle to define America's founding charter will define the country for generations to come.
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Carlos Barria / Reuters The Impartial Justice
As the Court shifted around him, John Paul Stevens endeavored to remain neutral, transparent, and focused on liberty.
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Zohar Lazar America Is Living James Madison’s Nightmare
The Founders designed a government that would resist mob rule. They didn’t anticipate how strong the mob could become.
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Joshua Roberts / Reuters Happy 150th Birthday, 14th Amendment
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has been a major influence on matters of racial equality, individual rights, and economic liberty. His replacement could be even more influential.
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Joshua Roberts / Reuters The Justice Who Believed in America
Anthony Kennedy thought officials have an obligation not only to respect the Constitution and the law but also to respect the promise of the nation’s values.
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Bettmann / Getty Images President Taft, the Anti-Trump
Much more than time separates the 27th president from the 45th: from their vastly different views on economics, to their conceptions of the presidency itself.
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Carlos Osorio / AP Ruth Bader Ginsburg Opens Up About #MeToo, Voting Rights, and Millennials
The Supreme Court justice talks about sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and the cases she’d like to see overturned.
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Jonathan Ernst / Reuters A Liberal-Conservative Alliance on the Supreme Court Against Digital Surveillance
Justices found common ground in asserting the relevance of the Fourth Amendment in the electronic age, even as they cited sharply different rationales.
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Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP The Twenty-Fifth Amendment Makes Presidential Disability a Political Question
Nothing in the text or history of the amendment is stopping the vice president, the Cabinet, and Congress from determining that the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
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Evan Vucci / AP Does Comey's Dismissal Fit the Definition of a Constitutional Crisis?
The term is often narrowly described, but under certain circumstances, one can be triggered.
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Gary Cameron / Reuters Political Polarization Killed the Filibuster
The practice once promoted debate and compromise, but now, the 60-vote requirement is tantamount to a legislative death sentence.
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Aaron Bernstein / Reuters A Supreme Court Nominee Alert to the Dangers of Big Business
Far from reflexively favoring big corporations over small competitors, Judge Neil Gorsuch has a nuanced view of antitrust law.
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Alex Brandon / AP Not Even Andrew Jackson Went as Far as Trump in Attacking the Courts
The former president was critical of Chief Justice John Marshall’s rulings. But it was on constitutional, rather than political or personal, grounds.
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Carolyn Kaster / AP A Jeffersonian for the Supreme Court
Neil Gorsuch’s record suggests a willingness to transform the law and to enforce constitutional limitations on the excesses of Congress and the president.
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AP The Curse of Bigness
Few American politicians cite his writing and judicial work. But his legacy is particularly relevant today.
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J. Scott Applewhite / AP What's at Stake in Selecting Justice Scalia's Replacement?
The fight over the open seat on the U.S. Supreme Court isn’t just a partisan struggle—it revolves around the very meaning of the Constitution.
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Evan Vucci / AP The Nomination of Merrick Garland Is a Victory for Judicial Restraint
The appellate judge enforces rights enumerated in the Constitution while deferring to legislatures and elected officials when the Constitution doesn’t speak clearly.
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Larry Downing / Reuters What Made Antonin Scalia Great
The U.S. Supreme Court justice was distinguished by the clarity of his constitutional vision—and his willingness to fight for it.
