Original Understanding News Today

It is today routinely believed that under the Citi­zenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, mere birth on U.S. soil is sufficient to obtain U.S. citizen­ship. However strong this commonly believed inter­pretation might appear, it is incompatible not only with the text of the Citizenship Clause (particularly as informed by the debate surrounding its adoption), but also with the political theory of the American Founding.

A careful history of the United States reveals a kind of “Christian nation,” but not the one many expect: not a political faith, enshrined from above, but a cultural one, spread from below.

Dean Chemerinsky is arguing against a form of originalism that hasn't been widespread since the 1980s.

Commentary The previous installment in this two-part series described the Supreme Court’s current interest in the law of ...

Tim Lanzendorfer has posted Originalism at Home: The Original Understanding of Ohios Home Rule Amendment on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Ohio’s home rule amendment has great importance today. As Ohio’s progressive cities and conservative legislature repeatedly collide on questions...

The Atlantic The Senate must convict Trump in order to disqualify him from ever holding public office again. January 16, 2021 Getty / The Atlantic Later this month, the Senate will come back into session and will soon consider whether to convict Donald Trump, following his bipartisan impeachment by the House of Representatives. The Senate must vote to convict Trump, even though by then he will be out of office and a private citizen. The reason is that only by convicting Trump can the Senate pro...