Legal Research

New resources from Law Library of Congress

Constitutional Interpretation and War Powers Resolution Sections Added to the U.S. Constitution Website

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present two new articles focusing on U.S. constitutional issues. Both articles are available in their entirety in PDF on our U.S. Constitution web page, which includes one book, twenty-four articles, and six statements to Congress.

Constitutional Interpretation
Louis Fisher, "Interpreting the Constitution: More than What the Supreme Court Says," Extensions, Fall 2008. In a democratic society, questions of constitutional law require a political dialogue that involves all three branches of the national government, all fifty states, and the general public. If the meaning of the Constitution depended solely on unelected judges, popular sovereignty would be undermined and replaced by judicial, hyper-technical interpretations increasingly alien to the public. There is no historical support for the view that judges are better positioned to safeguard minority and individual rights. Mutual respect among the branches and between the branches and the public provide continuing legitimacy and life to the Constitution.

War Powers Resolution
Louis Fisher, "The Baker-Christopher War Powers Commission," 39 Pres. Stud. Q. 128 (2009). In July 2008, the National War Powers Commission recommended the repeal of the War Powers Resolution and its replacement with the War Powers Consultation Act. Co-chaired by former Secretaries of State James A. Baker III and Warren Christopher, the commission report promised "equal respect" to the legislative and executive branches. In fact, it greatly strengthens the President's capacity to initiate war and weakens congressional and public control. Instead of addressing the framers' fear of placing the war power in the hands of a single executive, the report claims that the U.S. Constitution is "ambiguous" about war powers and that federal courts "for the most part" have declined jurisdiction over war powers cases. Both assertions are false.

See http://www.loc.gov/law/help/usconlaw/constitutional_law.php for more info.

Full post as published by LexLibris on May 05, 2009 (boomark / email).