Today is a day unlike any other than I can remember.
At 10:00 a.m., the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Trump v. Barbara. In this case, the Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to rule that the Fourteenth Amendment does not grant birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens. Many scholars, including myself, had thought this issue had been settled for more than 150 years. But over the past year, there has been an explosion of scholarship that has presented arguments on both sides of the case. I have concluded that this issue is much closer than when I first studied it, but on balance, I think the plaintiffs have the stronger argument.
In another first, President Trump attended the oral argument. This is apparently the first time a sitting President has attended a Supreme Court case--especially one about him. President Nixon wanted to argue the Pentagon Papers case, but decided against it. Here is how Randy and I described the exchange in our 100 Cases book:
