The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention ... by Ralph Louis Ketcham

Consider his conduct both as Governor and as President with regard to his use of the pardoning or commutation power, especially in capital cases this is not a man who cares one whit about the consequences for actual human beings and their families caught up in the Texas or US legal systems. If one could be confident that Bush were being truly 'compassionate' in not wishing to take Libby from his family, that might be one thing, but, of course, there's not a scintilla of evidence that Bush possesses a compassionate disposition in general. Lewis ('Scooter') Libby against these fears expressed by Mason and Martin (and other anti-federalists). George Mason, a distinguished Virginian who refused to sign the Constitution because of its lack of a bill of rights, noted that 'the President of the United States has the unrestrained Power of granting Pardon for Treason which may be sometimes exercised to screen from Punishment those whom he had secretly instigated to commit the Crime, and thereby prevent a Discovery of his own guilt.' Luther Martin, a somewhat less distinguished but extremely interesting non-signatory from Maryland (who also raised questions about the collaboration with slavery), also objected to the potential 'attempt to assume to himself powers not given by the constitution, and establish himself in regal authority in which attempt a provision is made for him to secure from punishment the creatures of his ambition, the associates and abettors of his treasonable practices, by granting them pardons should they be defeated in their attempts to subvert the constitution.' One of the things that some of the critics were exceedingly suspicious about was the pardoning power. Instead, the Constitution, if not perfect-there was the collaboration with slavery, after all-was far better than its anti-Federalist critics suggested, and the imperfections re slavery were 'cured,' or so it has been claimed, by a war that killed 2% of the American population and added the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blogįollowing World War Ii, it became fashionable to dismiss the opponents of the Constitution as paranoid or, at least, 'men of little faith,' to quote the title of Caroline Robbins's extremely influential essay. Rothman's Roadmap to the Right of Publicity Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press International Economic Law and Policy Blog Were the Anti-Federalists really paranoid? The Anti-Torture Memos (arranged by topic)

The Anti-Torture Memos: Balkinization Posts on Torture, Interrogation, Detention, War Powers, and OLC

Sabeel Rahmansabeel.rahman at Ĭompendium of posts on Hobby Lobby and related cases

The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention ... by Ralph Louis Ketcham