Constitution360 is a hub for resources on the Constitution and public policy in Congress, the administration, and the courts.
The full site is under development. While it grows, I hope you’ll enjoy the blog.
A little bit on me:
I’m Steve Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where I teach and write on issues related to constitutional law and public policy.
The same federal district court that earlier enjoined the Trump Administration from enforcing President Trump’s EO on mail-in balloting again halted the Administration. The move came yesterday, after the Supreme Court stayed the district court’s original injunction and after the plaintiffs renewed their motions in light of the now-issued USPS…
The Supreme Court today stayed a lower-court ruling that halted implementation of President Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting. The ruling means that the Administration can move to implement the EO. This could have a significant impact on mail-in voting in the upcoming mid-term elections. But the ruling was limited…
Judge Indira Talwani (D. Mass.) issued a preliminary injunction halting the Postal Service from “implementing, giving effect to, or enforcing” a key portion of President Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting in the upcoming elections. The ruling means that the Postal Service can’t move forward with its regulations that specify…
The Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion this week that the President’s executive privilege covers communications with private individuals, and not just certain government employees. The opinion represents an effort to expand the privilege beyond what any court has specifically held. I say “an effort” because…
The full (en banc) Ninth Circuit ruled on Friday that voter-rights organizations lacked standing to challenge one Arizona election law, and that they were not likely to win in their challenge against another. The standing ruling is significant, because it walks-back the Ninth Circuit’s more permissive approach to organizational standing…
President Trump issued an executive order last week that again tried to limit birthright citizenship, even after the Supreme Court struck his first effort just over a month ago, in Trump v. Barbara. (Our analysis of that case is here.) Under the new EO, the following individuals (among other) do…
The D.C. Circuit today affirmed a lower court’s refusal to halt the implementation of President Trump’s EO on mail-in voting. The ruling would allow the Administration to move forward with its implementation of the EO. But at the same time, the decision comes just days after the Second Circuit declined…
The Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to stay a lower court ruling that enjoined the Administration from enforcing portions of President Trump’s executive order on elections. If the Court grants a stay, the Administration could move forward in implementing President Trump’s EO. If it doesn’t, the Administration can only…
The Second Circuit earlier this week upheld New York’s school vaccination requirement, which includes a medical exemption but not a religious one. The ruling means that New York can continue to enforce its vaccination requirement even against those who have a religious objection. Sooner or later, the issue seems likely…
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that President Trump’s executive order purporting to limit birthright citizenship violated the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling leaves in place the long- and well-established rule that a person born in the United States is a citizen of the United States, with only…
The Supreme Court ruled today that Federal Trade Commissioners’ statutory independence violates the separation of powers. The ruling was not unexpected. It builds on a string of decisions out of the Roberts Court over the last couple decades or so. Still, the ruling will likely have dramatic impacts. The logic…
The Supreme Court allowed the Trump Administration to proceed with its hasty termination of temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrians. The ruling means that hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians may not lawfully remain in the United States. At the same time, they cannot safely return to their…
Judge Indira Talwani (D. Mass.) ordered the government to halt implementation of key portions of President Trump’s executive order on elections. The ruling prevents federal government agencies from compiling a list of eligible voters; it prevents the Postal Service from initiating rulemaking on mail-in ballots; and it halts the government…
The Second Circuit vacated a lower court ruling that dismissed a parent’s challenge to a school district’s policy of using “the name and pronoun that corresponds to the gender identity the student consistently asserts at school” without requiring notification to the parents. The ruling is notable, among other reasons, because…
The Supreme Court today ruled that a Hawaii law that prohibits firearms on private property open to the public without the express and affirmative consent of the property owner violates the Second Amendment. The ruling means that gun owners in Hawaii can now carry their weapons into restaurants, stores, gas…
The Supreme Court ruled today that the prosecution of a casual marijuana user for unlawful gun possession violates the Second Amendment. The ruling extends Second Amendment rights to a casual marijuana user, but otherwise says little new about the Court’s historical-tradition approach to the Second Amendment. The case, United States…
The Supreme Court today set the standard for criminal appeal waivers: They are unenforceable if they would result in a “miscarriage of justice.” The ruling sets a uniform standard for criminal appeal waivers, which are an increasingly common part of a criminal plea in federal court. The standard is lower…
The Supreme Court ruled today that federal district courts lack jurisdiction to hear challenges to state-court judgments that are subject to further review in state appellate proceedings. The ruling applies the Rooker-Feldman doctrine to those state-court judgments, and thus limits the power of federal district courts to weigh-in on state-court…
The Eleventh Circuit ruled last week that Georgia’s campaign-finance law that allows incumbent governors and lieutenant governments to raise funds without limit, while at the same time limiting contributions for other candidates, likely violates the First Amendment. This bottom-line ruling isn’t surprising: the First Amendment flatly prohibits asymmetrical contribution limits.…
