The Latest Breaking News from Michael McConnell

SCOTUS "road map" to prosecute Trump

Special counsel has "more than enough incriminating evidence" to move forward if he cuts official acts from charges

Salon · Aug 20, 2024

Prof. Michael McConnell: "'Narrow' or 'Sweeping'—What Does Originalist Evidence Have to Say?"

I'm delighted to pass along this item from Prof. McConnell (Stanford), one of the leading American originalist scholars: I most often agree with my good friends and casebook co-authors Will Baude and Michael Paulsen on matters of constitutional interpretation. But not about the attempted disqualification of Donald Trump for running…

Reason · Feb 7, 2024

The Objection: "But He Hasn't Been Convicted Of Anything"

[Note: This is the fourth in a series of essays responding to objections that have been made to enforcing Section Three of the Constitution. The first three essays can be found here, here, and here.] Some critics have made the argument that Section Three cannot or should not be used…

Reason · Feb 5, 2024

One-star ratings and threats: Review-bombing targets firms amid Gaza war

Businesses in the US are reporting fiery online backlash to Palestinian products and messages about the war in Gaza.

Al Jazeera · Nov 28, 2023

Insurrectionists Who Think they are Upholding the Constitution are Still Insurrectionists—and Still Subject to Disqualification Under Section 3 the Fourteenth Amendment

If false beliefs about legality exempt people from Section 3 disqualification, leading Confederates would have been exempt as well.

Reason · Sep 22, 2023

Prof. Larry Lessig (Harvard) Criticizing the § 3 Disqualification Argument as to Trump

An excerpt from Lessig's article in Slate (read the whole piece for more), discussing the same issue that has been discussed on this blog by Profs. Ilya Somin, Steve Calabresi, Will Baude, and Michael McConnell (and see also Jonathan Adler's post citing Prof. Derek Muller): The provision of the 14th…

Reason · Sep 21, 2023

Teaching Notes on Students For Fair Admissions v. Harvard

Michael Stokes Paulsen, Michael McConnell, Sam Bray, and I recently completed and posted the 2023 online supplement to our constitutional law casebook: The Constitution of the United States. (I shilled for the book earlier on this blog -- at the start of the Trump administration -- as "A new constitutional…

Reason · Sep 7, 2023

Groups seek to use the Constitution's 'insurrection' clause to block Trump from 2024 ballots

Liberal groups are trying to end Donald Trump's attempt to return to the White House by arguing that he is no longer eligible to be president after trying to overturn the 2020 election results

The Independent UK · Aug 31, 2023

Could Trump be barred under the constitution’s ‘engaged in insurrection’ clause?

Experts suggest language in section 3 of 14th amendment is ‘actually very clearcut’ and could mean disqualification

The Guardian - US · Aug 20, 2023

Prof. Michael McConnell, Responding About the Fourteenth Amendment, "Insurrection," and Trump

"We must not forget that we are talking about empowering partisan politicians such as state Secretaries of State to disqualify their political opponents from the ballot, depriving voters of the ability to elect candidates of their choice. If abused, this is profoundly anti-democratic."

Reason · Aug 12, 2023