Second Amendment: Not Constitutional Dysfunction, But Necessary Safeguard

Constitutional Amendment by Constitutional Desuetude

Scholars have shown that written constitutions may be informally amended in various ways, for instance by judicial interpretation, statute, or executive action. But scholars have yet to fully appreciate that written constitutions may also be informally amended by desuetude. Informal amendment by constitutional desue-tude occurs when a constitutional provision loses its binding force upon politi...

A Constitutional Amendment for Deworming

In February 2009, The Washington Post reported that three South American countries, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, have either launched or completed ambitious efforts to rewrite their constitutions in order to expand the social and economic rights guaranteed to its citizens [2]. For the most part these new charters are considered populist documents, reflecting the leanings of newly elected le...

Rethinking Rewriting: Tribal Constitutional Amendment

This Essay examines the recent wave of American Indian tribal constitutional change through the framework of subnational constitutional theory. When tribes rewrite their constitutions, they not only address internal tribal questions and communicate tribal values, but also engage with other subnational entities, i.e. states, and the federal government. This Essay applies that framework to a stud...

Could a Constitutional Amendment Be Unconstitutional?

Policy Capacity Is Necessary but Not Sufficient; Comment on “Health Reform Requires Policy Capacity”

Policy capacity focuses on the managerial and organizational abilities to inform policy decisions with sound research and analysis, and facilitate policy implementation with operational efficiency. It stems from a view of the policy process that is rational and positivistic, in which optimal policy choices can be identified, selected, and implemented with objectivity. By itself, however, policy...