[This post is co-authored with Professor Seth Barrett Tillman]
On January 18, Professor Akhil Reed Amar and Professor Vikram Amar filed an amicus brief in Trump v. Anderson, the Section 3 case. The brief was styled as in support of neither party, but the clear import of the brief is that the Supreme Court should disqualify Trump from the ballot. Professor Jason Mazzone describes the brief as "eye-popping and game-changing." We think that characterization is apt, but not for the reasons Mazzone described. As we read the brief, the Amars have retreated from the central position they put forward in an influential 1995 Stanford Law Review article. As their brief and other current commentary does not note their changed intellectual position, we wonder if they realize what they have done.
