Who Decides When America Goes to War?
Who actually decides when the United States goes to war—Congress or the president? Richard Epstein traces the Constitution’s original division of war powers from 1789 to the present and explains how practice, politics, and modern warfare have steadily shifted authority toward the presidency. Along the way, they explore declarations of war that never happen, authorizations that never expire, emergency actions that become routine, and why Congress so often prefers not to decide at all. Professor Epstein argues that America now operates under two constitutions—the one we wrote and the one we live with.
The Libertarian
Surf’s Up: Roman Law and Beach Houses
Episode 4 of The Libertarian with Richard Epstein and Charles C.W. Cooke
Posse Comitatus: Trump, Troops, and the Limits of Presidential Power
Episode 5 of The Libertarian with Richard Epstein and Charles C.W. Cooke
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Constitutionalism
Amicus Brief: Hon. William P. Barr and Hon. Michael B. Mukasey in Support of Petitioners
Former AGs Barr and Mukasey Cite Civitas in a SCOTUS Brief
Rational Judicial Review: Constitutions as Power-sharing Agreements, Secession, and the Problem of Dred Scott
Judicial review and originalism serve as valuable commitment mechanisms to enforce future compliance with a political bargain.
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State Courts Can’t Run Foreign Policy
Suncor is also a golden opportunity for the justices to stop local officials from interfering with an industry critical to foreign and national-security policy.
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When Can a Crass Political Remark Be Deemed an Indictable “Threat of Violence”?
When can a crass political remark be deemed an indictable “threat of violence”? When those charged with recognizing the law’s “supremacy” and the “limitations” on their authority disavow both principles.
Struck By Lightning Fifty Years Later: The Court’s Broken Promise on the Death Penalty
The Supreme Court has become the source of the very arbitrariness it set out to eliminate.
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