This makes me think of a really interesting recent article by @ericjeisner.bsky.social about the pressure in southern legal systems to permit testimony from Black witnesses, because it was often helpful to white litigants and the white community. www.cambridge.org/core/service...

As @ericjeisner.bsky.social and I explain here, the Constitution is only as strong as the people who breathe life into its words. That's why John Tyler could get away with an unconstitutional claim to be president—an error that has stuck. If we don't stand up for the Constitution, it quickly erodes.

The Constitution Does Not Speak for Itself

In 1841, John Tyler said he was the president. The Constitution said he wasn’t. What happened next?

hnn.us

Often, the media treat the Constitution as an inviolable, external limit on political life. There is no need to take seriously Trump’s musings about a 3rd term, they assume. The Constitution forbids it. The Constitution forbid Tyler from claiming the presidency, too. www.hnn.us/article/the-...

The Constitution Does Not Speak for Itself

In 1841, John Tyler said he was the president. The Constitution said he wasn’t. What happened next?

hnn.us

🗃️ Read @ericjeisner.bsky.social and @dfroomkin.bsky.social on John Tyler and how “the Constitution is only as strong as the people who breathe life into its words.” www.hnn.us/article/the-...

The Constitution Does Not Speak for Itself

In 1841, John Tyler said he was the president. The Constitution said he wasn’t. What happened next?

hnn.us

Check out Part III for why even the cynical anti-democratic textual argument doesn’t hold up on its own terms — with thanks to @dfroomkin.bsky.social and @ericeisner.bsky.social papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Now in a reputable news outlet. If you want careful legal analysis for why this wordsmithing fails on its own terms, see @dfroomkin.bsky.social and @ericeisner.bsky.social’s great article on Officers (link below). But don’t let these conmen piss on your leg and tell you it’s raining.

As Trump says "there are methods" for serving a third term, here's what to know about the 12th and 22nd Amendments

President Donald Trump again suggested he may try to run for a third term in office, despite limits set by the 12th and 22nd Amendments.

cbsnews.com

Noah Rosenblum@narosenblum.bsky.social · last yr.

Yes I know the 22nd amendment only says “election” but its whole point was to put term limits on serving as president; it didn’t say more because no one thought the country would ever become so craven; we don’t do that here. These quislings are going to “well actually” us into a banana republic.

As @ericjeisner.bsky.social and I have argued, the word “election” in the Constitution does not refer exclusively to a popular election. That's why the pre-Seventeenth Amendment Constitution could understand the selection of Senators by state legislatures as an “election.”

The idea that there is a "loophole" in the Twenty-second Amendment, such that someone can serve a third term as President without being "elected," is wrong. The argument misunderstands how the Constitution uses the word "election." The word "election" just means the selection of an official.

We are going to need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to sort out the wreckage of the Trump administration.

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · last yr.

Hundreds of asylum seekers from around the globe are being trapped by the US in a Panama hotel where they'll eventually be sent to a camp in the jungle. One Chinese man said “I thought: America is a free country with respect for human rights. I had no idea it was like a dictatorship.”

Just posted: "The Substitution Clause," in which @ericjeisner.bsky.social and I argue that the Constitution's so-called Succession Clause is known by a misnomer. An officer performing the duties of an incapacitated President only acts as President; she does not become President. Comments welcome!

I was going to wait to share my latest until it had passed through SSRN moderation, but apparently it is already getting downloads. In this paper, @ericjeisner.bsky.social and I investigate the overarching structure of the Constitution's officer/office provisions. papers.ssrn.com/abstract=502...