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Constitution, the Law, and the Courts Constitution, the Law, and the Courts

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The Second Amendment in a Time of Civil Unrest

Constitution and Flag

Please view a discussion with Antonin Scalia Law School professors David Bernstein, Nelson Lund, and Joyce Malcolm about their recent papers on the status of the right to keep and bear arms in light of the looting, rioting, and violence that broke out in cities across the country this summer. This event is moderated by Trevor Burrus, research fellow in the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and editor in chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review.

After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency

Event name and date -- Wednesday, December 2nd, 2020, 11am - noon -- in front of a picture of the White House under construction

In a timely new book, Bob Bauer, former White House counsel under President Obama, and Jack Goldsmith, former assistant attorney general in the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel under President George W. Bush, provide a comprehensive roadmap for reforming the presidency. They offer more than 50 concrete proposals, each preceded by rich descriptions of relevant history, background law, and norms. Commenting on them will be J. Michael Luttig, former Fourth Circuit judge and head of the Office of Legal Counsel under President George H.W. Bush. Watch the event for a promising discussion.

Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In‐​Laws

Two men in tuxedos putting rings on each other's fingers

As William Eskridge and coauthor, Christopher Riano, argue in their new book, Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In‐​Laws, the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges requiring states to recognize same‐​sex marriages came faster and with broader public support than anyone would have thought possible in 2001. This book tells the inside story of the judicial deliberations in marriage equality cases but also defends these decisions from the perspective of the original public meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, constitutional precedents, the institution of marriage itself, and even sincere and learned analyses of scripture. The authors conclude with three chapters about the contours of ongoing debates about religious liberty, the relationship options that states ought to recognize, and abortion. Watch the event for this discussion of such a pivotal Supreme Court decision.

Experts

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Trevor Burrus
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Gene Healy
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Robert A. Levy
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Clark Neily
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Walter Olson
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Roger Pilon
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Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz
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Ilya Shapiro
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William Yeatman
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Todd Zywicki

Subtopics

  • Campaign Finance
  • Constitutional Studies
  • Elections and Election Law
  • Labor Law and Regulation
  • Law and Economics
  • Property Rights
  • Supreme Court
  • The Nanny State

Featured

Commentary

Judging Biden

By Ilya Shapiro. Washington Examiner.

Biden became Judiciary Committee chairman when the Democrats won back that chamber in the 1986 midterm elections, just in time to preside over the Robert Bork hearings.

Blog

Pelosi’s Bizarre 25th Amendment Gambit

By Gene Healy.

If being chased out of the Capitol by a Trump‐​inspired mob chanting “hang Mike Pence” hasn’t motivated Mike Pence to trigger the 25th Amendment, an ultimatum from Nancy Pelosi isn’t going to do it. 

Blog

The Right to Present Evidence Is Fundamental

By Thomas A. Berry.

The Supreme Court should make clear that due process requires a meaningful opportunity to present evidence in court.

Commentary

The Cancellation of Josh Hawley’s Book Deal Isn’t a First Amendment Issue

By Ilya Shapiro. Newsweek.

The First Amendment certainly can’t compel a publisher to publish a book, whether that book is written by a public official or otherwise.

Blog

The Blanket Ban on Felons Possessing Firearms Is Unconstitutional

By Trevor Burrus and Spencer Davenport.

When the government wants to strip an individual of his right to possess a gun, it must demonstrate that the deprivation survives an exacting level of scrutiny.

Commentary

Stop Protecting Unconstitutional Judges

By Thomas A. Berry. Washington Examiner.

The Supreme Court should hold that judicially imposed exhaustion rules make no sense when an agency refuses even to address an issue.

Subtopics

  • Campaign Finance
  • Constitutional Studies
  • Elections and Election Law
  • Labor Law and Regulation
  • Law and Economics
  • Property Rights
  • Supreme Court
  • The Nanny State

Multimedia

Josh Blackman discusses Parler suing Amazon Web Services (AWS) on The Michael Berry Show

Featuring Josh Blackman. January 14, 2021.

Trump Impeached (Again)

Featuring Gene Healy and Caleb O. Brown. January 13, 2021.

Campaign Finance and American Democracy: What the Public Really Thinks and Why It Matters

Featuring David M. Primo, Jeffrey D. Milyo, and John Samples. January 12, 2021.

Josh Blackman discusses the future of the SCOTUS on KTRH’s Houston’s Morning News

Featuring Josh Blackman. January 12, 2021.
More Multimedia

Events

Live Online Book Forum

Campaign Finance and American Democracy: What the Public Really Thinks and Why It Matters

January 12, 2021 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST
Live Online

Featuring David M. Primo, Ani and Mark Gabrellian Professor, Professor of Political Science and Business Administration, University of Rochester; Jeffrey D. Milyo, Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, University of Missouri; moderated by John Samples, Vice President, Cato Institute.

Live Online Policy Forum

The Second Amendment in a Time of Civil Unrest

December 14, 2020 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST
Live Online

Featuring David Bernstein (@ProfDBernstein), University Professor and Executive Director of the Liberty & Law Center, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University; Nelson Lund, University Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University; Joyce Lee Malcolm, Professor Emerita, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University; moderated by Trevor Burrus (@TCBurrus), Research Fellow, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute.

Live Online Book Forum

After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency

December 2, 2020 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST
Live Online

Featuring the authors Jack Goldsmith (@jacklgoldsmith), Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Bob Bauer, Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence, New York University School of Law; with comments by J. Michael Luttig (@judgeluttig), former Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; moderated by Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro), Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute.

Live Online Policy Forum

John Roberts and Free Speech: A Report on the Roberts Court’s First Amendment Jurisprudence

October 12, 2020 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Live Online

Featuring study authors Ronald Collins, Harold S. Shefelman Scholar (retired), University of Washington School of Law; and David L. Hudson Jr., Assistant Professor, Belmont University College of Law; with comments by Robert Corn‐​Revere, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine, and Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute; and Lyrissa Lidsky (@LidskyLidsky), Dean and Judge C. A. Leedy Professor of Law, University of Missouri; moderated by Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro), Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute.

More Events

Cato Studies

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Property Rights without Transfer Rights: A Study of Indian Land Allotment

Christian Dippel, Dustin Frye, and Bryan Leonard.
January 6, 2021
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An Unnecessary Proposal: A WTO Waiver of Intellectual Property Rights for COVID-19 Vaccines

James Bacchus.
December 16, 2020
Research Brief 239 - Cover

Occupational Licensing and Labor Market Fluidity

Morris M. Kleiner and Ming Xu.
November 4, 2020
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Do Generous Parental Leave Policies Help Top Female Earners?

Gozde Corekcioglu, Marco Francesconi, and Astrid Kunze.
October 21, 2020
More Cato Studies

Of Special Note

Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America

Ten years after the Supreme Court’s infamous eminent domain decision, Kelo v. New London, Timothy and Christina Sanderfur’s Cornerstone of Liberty examines how dozens of new developments in courtrooms and legislatures across the country have shifted the landscape of private property rights since 2005. Through a combination of real‐​life stories and solid legal analysis, the authors explain how key issues like eminent domain, civil asset forfeiture, and environmental protection regulations have evolved and how they should be reformed.

New Site

Unlaw​ful​shield​.com

This new Cato project is focused on abolishing qualified immunity for police officers, which shields them from accountability.

SPECIAL! 10 COPIES FOR $10

Cato Pocket Constitution

To encourage people everywhere to better understand and appreciate the principles of government that are set forth in America’s founding documents, the Cato Institute published this pocket‐​size edition.

Supreme Court

Constitution Day 2020

Cato’s annual Constitution Day symposium marks the day in 1787 that the Constitutional Convention finished drafting the U.S. Constitution. We celebrate that event each year with the release of the new issue of the Cato Supreme Court Review and with a day‐​long symposium featuring noted scholars discussing the recently concluded Supreme Court term and the important cases coming up. Past speakers have included Judges Alex Kozinski, Diane Sykes, and Douglas Ginsburg, Professors Richard Epstein, Michael McConnell, and Nadine Strossen, and Supreme Court litigators Paul Clement, Neal Katyal, and Walter Dellinger.

Watch the symposium, September 17, 2020

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