Tag: Legal History

The Origins of the Privileges or Immunities Clause, Part I: “Privileges and Immunities” as an Antebellum Term of Art

Kurt T. Lash University of Illinois College of Law

Constitutional scholars generally believe that the majority of the Supreme Court in The Slaughterhouse Cases erred in their narrow construction of the Privileges or Immunities Clause. Justice Samuel Miller’s attempt to distinguish the privileges and immunities of Article IV from the privileges or immunities of Section One is particularly vilified… Read More »

Legislative Supremacy in the United States?: Rethinking the “Enrolled Bill” Doctrine

Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov Bar-Siman-Tov - Columbia Law School

The “enrolled bill” doctrine (EBD) requires courts to accept the signatures of the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on an “enrolled bill” as unimpeachable evidence that the bill has been constitutionally enacted. This doctrine has the powerful effect of preventing judicial review of the legislative process—that is,… Read More »