Unintended Consequences Of Constitutional Amendment

Author : David E. Kyvig
Publisher : University of Georgia Press
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0820321915

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Unintended Consequences of Constitutional Amendment by David E. Kyvig Pdf

Constitutional amendments, like all laws, may lead to unanticipated and even undesired outcomes. In this collection of original essays, a team of distinguished historians, political scientists, and legal scholars led by award-winning constitutional historian David E. Kyvig examines significant instances in which reform produced something other than the foreseen result. An opening essay examines the intentions of the Constitution’s framers in creating an amending mechanism and then explores unexpected uses of that instrument. Thereafter, authors focus on the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments, addressing such subjects as criminal justice procedures, the presidential election system, the Civil War’s impact on race and gender relations, the experiment in national prohibition, women’s suffrage, and, finally, limits on the presidency. Together these contributions illuminate aspects of constitutional stability and evolution, challenging current thinking about reform within the formal system of change provided by Article V of the Constitution. Forcefully demonstrating that constitutional law is not immune to unanticipated consequences, the eight scholars underscore the need for care, responsibility, and historical awareness in altering the nation’s fundamental law.

Author : John R. Vile
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 941 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2015-07-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9798216065265

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Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789–2015 [2 volumes] by John R. Vile Pdf

Now in its fourth edition and completely updated, this is the most comprehensive book on constitutional amendments and proposed amendments available. Although only 27 amendments have ever been added to the U.S. Constitution, the last one having been ratified in 1992, throughout American history, members of Congress have introduced more than 11,000 amendments, and countless individuals outside of Congress have advanced their own proposals to revise the Constitution—the wellspring of America's legal, political, and cultural foundations. At a time when calls for a new constitutional convention are on the rise, it is essential for students of political science and history as well as American citizens to understand proposed alternatives. This updated edition of the established standard for high school and college libraries as well as public and law libraries serves as the go-to reference for learning about existing constitutional amendments, proposed amendments, and the issues related to them. An alphabetically arranged two-volume set, it contains more than 500 entries that discuss amendments that have been proposed in Congress from 1789 to the present. It also discusses prominent proposals for extensive constitutional changes introduced outside Congress as well as discussions of major amending issues.

Author : John R. Vile
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 767 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2023-10-19
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781440879531

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Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2023 [2 volumes] by John R. Vile Pdf

Written by a leading scholar of the constitutional amending process, this two-volume encyclopedia, now in its fifth edition, is an indispensable resource for students, legal historians, and high school and college librarians. This authoritative reference resource provides a history and analysis of all 27 ratified amendments to the Constitution, as well as insights and information on thousands of other amendments that have been proposed but never ratified from America's birth until the present day. The set also includes a rich bibliography of informative books, articles, and other media related to constitutional amendments and the amending process.

Author : Edward Blum
Publisher : A E I Press
Page : 92 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : History
ISBN : STANFORD:36105064239200

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The Unintended Consequences of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act by Edward Blum Pdf

The book highlight the real-world consequences of the changes to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Edward Blum draws on public records, press accounts, and extensive personal interviews with state and local officials to reveal the transformation of the VRA from a law protecting voting rights to a gerrymandering tool used to further the electoral prospects of incumbent politicians of all races.

Author : John Seery
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2015-09-10
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780271056807

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Too Young to Run? by John Seery Pdf

Under the Constitution of the United States, those with political ambitions who aspire to serve in the federal government must be at least twenty-five to qualify for membership in the House of Representatives, thirty to run for the Senate, and thirty-five to become president. What is the justification for these age thresholds, and is it time to consider changing them? In this provocative and lively book, John Seery presents the case for a constitutional amendment to lower the age barrier to eighteen, the same age at which citizens become eligible to vote. He divides his argument into three sections. In a historical chapter, he traces the way in which the age qualifications became incorporated in the Constitution in the first place. In a theoretical chapter, he analyzes the normative arguments for office eligibility as a democratic right and liberty. And in a political chapter, he ruminates about the real-world consequences of passing such an amendment and the prospects for its passage. Finally, in a postscript, he argues that younger citizens in particular ought to be exposed to this fundamental issue in civics.

Author : Adrian Vermeule
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2012-05-24
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780199914098

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Law and the Limits of Reason by Adrian Vermeule Pdf

Law and the Limits of Reason asks "what are the consequences of recognizing the limits of reason within the legal system?" In particular, what are the consequences for the allocation of lawmaking authority among judges, legislators, and administrative agencies or executive officials? Vermeule examines the conditions under which the limits of reason support a greater or lesser allocation of authority to one institution or another.

Author : Roger C. Hartley
Publisher : Vanderbilt University Press
Page : 331 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2021-04-30
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780826503961

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How Failed Attempts to Amend the Constitution Mobilize Political Change by Roger C. Hartley Pdf

Since the Constitution's ratification, members of Congress, following Article V, have proposed approximately twelve thousand amendments, and states have filed several hundred petitions with Congress for the convening of a constitutional convention. Only twenty-seven amendments have been approved in 225 years. Why do members of Congress continue to introduce amendments at a pace of almost two hundred a year? This book is a demonstration of how social reformers and politicians have used the amendment process to achieve favorable political results even as their proposed amendments have failed to be adopted. For example, the ERA "failed" in the sense that it was never ratified, but the mobilization to ratify the ERA helped build the feminist movement (and also sparked a countermobilization). Similarly, the Supreme Court's ban on compulsory school prayer led to a barrage of proposed amendments to reverse the Court. They failed to achieve the requisite two-thirds support from Congress, but nevertheless had an impact on the political landscape. The definition of the relationship between Congress and the President in the conduct of foreign policy can also be traced directly to failed efforts to amend the Constitution during the Cold War. Roger Hartley examines familiar examples like the ERA, balanced budget amendment proposals, and pro-life attempts to overturn Roe v. Wade, but also takes the reader on a three-century tour of lesser-known amendments. He explains how often the mere threat of calling a constitutional convention (at which anything could happen) effected political change.

Author : Yaniv Roznai
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2017-02-23
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780191081453

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Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments by Yaniv Roznai Pdf

Can constitutional amendments be unconstitutional? The problem of 'unconstitutional constitutional amendments' has become one of the most widely debated issues in comparative constitutional theory, constitutional design, and constitutional adjudication. This book describes and analyses the increasing tendency in global constitutionalism to substantively limit formal changes to constitutions. The challenges of constitutional unamendability to constitutional theory become even more complex when constitutional courts enforce such limitations through substantive judicial review of amendments, often resulting in the declaration that these constitutional amendments are 'unconstitutional'. Combining historical comparisons, constitutional theory, and a wide comparative study, Yaniv Roznai sets out to explain what the nature of amendment power is, what its limitations are, and what the role of constitutional courts is and should be when enforcing limitations on constitutional amendments.

Author : Yaniv Roznai
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 369 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780198768791

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Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments by Yaniv Roznai Pdf

Can constitutional amendments be unconstitutional? Using theoretical and comparative approaches, Roznai establishes the nature and scope of constitutional amendment powers by focusing on substantive limitations, looking at their prevalence in practice and the conceptual coherence of the very idea of limitations to constitutional amendment powers.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 1062 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 1994
Category : Budget
ISBN : IND:30000090861117

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Proposed Constitutional Amendments to Balance the Federal Budget by Anonim Pdf

Author : United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 88 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Victims of crimes
ISBN : PURD:32754071551794

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Crime Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary Pdf

Author : Helen Irving
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 229 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2008-01-21
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781139468756

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Gender and the Constitution by Helen Irving Pdf

We live in an era of constitution-making. New constitutions are appearing in historically unprecedented numbers, following regime change in some countries, or a commitment to modernization in others. No democratic constitution today can fail to recognize or provide for gender equality. Constitution-makers need to understand the gendered character of all constitutions, and to recognize the differential impact on women of constitutional provisions, even where these appear gender-neutral. This book confronts what needs to be considered in writing a constitution when gender equity and agency are goals. It examines principles of constitutionalism, constitutional jurisprudence, and history. Its goal is to establish a framework for a 'gender audit' of both new and existing constitutions. It eschews a simple focus on rights and examines constitutional language, interpretation, structures and distribution of power, rules of citizenship, processes of representation, and the constitutional recognition of international and customary law. It discusses equality rights and reproductive rights as distinct issues for constitutional design.

Author : Akhil Reed Amar
Publisher : Random House
Page : 672 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2012-02-29
Category : History
ISBN : 9781588364876

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America's Constitution by Akhil Reed Amar Pdf

In America’s Constitution, one of this era’s most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world’s great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this “biography” of America’s framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it. We all know this much: the Constitution is neither immutable nor perfect. Amar shows us how the story of this one relatively compact document reflects the story of America more generally. (For example, much of the Constitution, including the glorious-sounding “We the People,” was lifted from existing American legal texts, including early state constitutions.) In short, the Constitution was as much a product of its environment as it was a product of its individual creators’ inspired genius. Despite the Constitution’s flaws, its role in guiding our republic has been nothing short of amazing. Skillfully placing the document in the context of late-eighteenth-century American politics, America’s Constitution explains, for instance, whether there is anything in the Constitution that is unamendable; the reason America adopted an electoral college; why a president must be at least thirty-five years old; and why–for now, at least–only those citizens who were born under the American flag can become president. From his unique perspective, Amar also gives us unconventional wisdom about the Constitution and its significance throughout the nation’s history. For one thing, we see that the Constitution has been far more democratic than is conventionally understood. Even though the document was drafted by white landholders, a remarkably large number of citizens (by the standards of 1787) were allowed to vote up or down on it, and the document’s later amendments eventually extended the vote to virtually all Americans. We also learn that the Founders’ Constitution was far more slavocratic than many would acknowledge: the “three fifths” clause gave the South extra political clout for every slave it owned or acquired. As a result, slaveholding Virginians held the presidency all but four of the Republic’s first thirty-six years, and proslavery forces eventually came to dominate much of the federal government prior to Lincoln’s election. Ambitious, even-handed, eminently accessible, and often surprising, America’s Constitution is an indispensable work, bound to become a standard reference for any student of history and all citizens of the United States.

Author : United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 1996
Category : Constitutional amendments
ISBN : UCR:31210010537254

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Proposals for a Constitutional Amendment to Provide Rights for Victims of Crime by United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary Pdf

Author : Richard Albert,Bertil Emrah Oder
Publisher : Springer
Page : 390 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2018-09-03
Category : Law
ISBN : 9783319951416

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An Unamendable Constitution? by Richard Albert,Bertil Emrah Oder Pdf

This book examines the subject of constitutional unamendability from comparative, doctrinal, empirical, historical, political and theoretical perspectives. It explores and evaluates the legitimacy of unamendability in the various forms that exist in constitutional democracies. Modern constitutionalism has given rise to a paradox: can a constitutional amendment be unconstitutional? Today it is normatively contested but descriptively undeniable that a constitutional amendment—one that respects the formal procedures of textual alteration laid down in the constitutional text—may be invalidated for violating either a written or unwritten constitutional norm. This phenomenon of an unconstitutional constitutional amendment traces its political foundations to France and the United States, its doctrinal origins to Germany, and it has migrated in some form to all corners of the democratic world. One can trace this paradox to the concept of constitutional unamendability. Constitutional unamendability can be understood as a formally entrenched provision(s) or an informally entrenched norm that prohibits an alteration or violation of that provision or norm. An unamendable constitutional provision is impervious to formal amendment, even with supermajority or even unanimous agreement from the political actors whose consent is required to alter the constitutional text. Whether or not it is enforced, and also by whom, this prohibition raises fundamental questions implicating sovereignty, legitimacy, democracy and the rule of law.