On April 25, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case with significant implications for immigration policy and enforcement well beyond the immediate statute at issue. Arizona v. United States is a challenge to much of the state enforcement scheme of Arizona Senate Bill 1070 (S.B. 1070), which…
Abstract: Next week, the Supreme Court will hear challenges to Obamacare (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) centered on the constitutionality of the legislation’s individual mandate and Medicaid expansion. From a legal perspective, the Court’s decision will…
On Tuesday, March 20, the Supreme Court hears oral argument in two cases involving the constitutionality of sentences of life without parole (LWOP) for teenage murderers. The real issue before the Court is this: Will the Court again “find” or “invent” a heretofore undiscovered constitutional prohibition and thus strike an…
Testimony before the Subcommittee on the Constitution,Committee on the Judiciary,United States House of Representatives December 14, 2011 My name is Andrew Grossman. I am a Visiting Legal Fellow in the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are…
Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security December 13, 2011 Edwin Meese IIIChairman, Center for Legal & Judicial StudiesThe Heritage…
Abstract: The past 75 years in America have witnessed an avalanche of new criminal laws, the result of which is a problem known as “overcriminalization.” This phenomenon is likely to lead to a variety of problems for a public trying to comply with the law in good faith. While many…
The 2011-2012 Term of the Supreme Court was most unusual in addressing numerous civil justice and tort related issues. In keeping with the Heritage Foundation’s Scholars & Scribes event format of seven minutes, I will very briefly analyze the top seven cases. Apart from being brief, my approach utilizes almost…
Testimony Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary June 29, 2011 My name is Robert Alt. I am the Deputy Director and…
Abstract: A clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, “The validity of the public debt of the United States…shall not be questioned.” Far from authorizing the President to incur more debt—a power vested solely in Congress—this clause bars Congress from repudiating debt that it has…
Willful blindness is not knowledge; and judges should not broaden a legislative proscription by analogy. —Justice Anthony Kennedy, May 31, 2011[1] A recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in a patent lawsuit may, somewhat surprisingly,…
Editor's Note: Between various presidential nominations now bottled up in the U.S. Senate, and now the intense focus on a nomination to the United States Supreme Court, there have been numerous musings about presidential nominations, the advice and consent of the Senate, and the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and other officers of the…
From the retaliatory raids on the Barbary pirates at the turn of the 19th century to the ongoing bombing campaign in Libya, American Presidents have deployed military force several hundred times in the nation’s history. Yet Congress has declared war on only five occasions—and…
Abstract: Liberals are currently engaged in a concerted effort to redefine judicial activism. Rather than accepting the true definition of judicial activism—when a judge applies his or her own policy preferences to uphold a…
Under the Articles of Confederation, all war power was vested in a Congress and the United States lacked a formal executive. This arrangement proved unworkable as America’s foreign policy and defense, deprived of executive guidance, floundered. Recognizing the need for an executive to act…
Before being confirmed to the United States Supreme Court, Elena Kagan must first be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. But before Kagan can be confirmed to this lifetime appointment, she has to answer questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kagan comes to the committee with one…
A month before the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of Obamacare, liberal supporters are...…
It’s not every day that a member of one branch of the federal government tries to be the boss of the leader of a...…
For the second year in a row, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an immigration case out of the State of Arizona. And...…
During the course of Obamacare oral arguments in late March, an interesting exchange between Justice Samuel Alito and...…
Although the Supreme Court Justices are tight-lipped, most everyone else has condemned President Obama for the attack he...…
In a Washington Post opinion piece, Charles Krauthammer makes the case that it is ObamaCare that is on trial—not the...…
This week, President Barack Obama lashed out at the Supreme Court, slamming it as an “unelected group of people” who...…
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is currently blocking implementation of voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas,...…
Instead of responding to the 5th Circuit Court’s explicit request regarding President Obama’s untoward comments about...…
Obamacare’s day in court didn’t go so well, and liberals are in a panic. Sensing the demise of Obamacare, they have...…