Happy Thanksgiving

A nice image, by way of Feminist Law Professors.

The Most Dangerous Justice Rides into the Sunset

Freshly available on SSRN:

Paul H. Edelman & Jim Chen, The Most Dangerous Justice Rides into the Sunset, 24 Constitutional Commentary 299 (2007):

In this essay, our third and last in a series, we employ our previously developed techniques to measure the power of the Justices in the Rehnquist Court over its full 11 year run. Once again, Justice Kennedy rises to the top of our rankings, as he had done earlier. Our methods identify Justices Souter, Breyer and Ginsburg as being notable either for their influence or lack thereof. In addition, we rejoin the debate on the connection between being the median justice and being the most powerful one. We question whether even the most sophisticated methods of finding the median justice are adequate to the task of assessing power on the Court.

Intent: Searching for Meaning in the Constitution

Herewith a description of the ETS Pictures documentary, Intent: Searching For Meaning In The Constitution (2006):

What does the United States Constitution tell us about the defining political issues of our day? And how do we interpret the document to find those answers? This one hour documentary examines the meaning of the Constitution through the lens of several interpretive perspectives, and it investigates how differing views of the document impact today's political debates. In order to illustrate the impact of Constitutional interpretation on the real world, "Intent" focuses on four case studies. From medical marijuana, to warrantless wiretapping, to gun control laws, to "eminent domain" land seizures, "Intent" examines Constitutional tensions between individual liberty, and government authority. Program interviews range across the political spectrum - from Elliot Mincberg of People For The American Way, to Roger Pilon of the CATO Institute, to the American Conservative Union's David Keene. Noted academics such as George Washington Law School's Mary Cheh also make appearances.

Yes, this is shameless self-promotion. I'm a member of the cast: