As most list members know, there's a ton of scholarship on this subject. I'll be interested to see what Randy finds. I just finished revisiting historian J.M. Sosin's 1989 book THE ARISTOCRACY OF THE LONG ROBE in which Sosin reaches the opposite conclusion Randy suggests he reaches. Perhaps history is indeterminate after all, although Sosin's book struck me as very thesis-driven (i.e., he wanted a result and construed the evidence to get it). It read like law-office history by a historian.
Scott Gerber Law College Ohio Northern University Randy Barnett wrote: >I have an article now pending at law reviews called, "The Original >Meaning of the Judicial Power," in which I respond to Leonard Levy and >others who claim that judicial nullification of unconstitutional laws >was not established at the time of the founding. The evidence from the >constitutional convention, ratification conventions (and some other >authorities) shows that speakers-whether supporters or opponents of the >Constitution--uniformly assumed that the judicial power included the >power to nullify unconstitutional laws. After reading these statements >there is really no doubt that this power was included in the original >meaning of the text of the Constitution. I will post a link when it is >up on SSRN. > >Randy >_____________________________________________ >Randy E. Barnett >Austin B. Fletcher Professor >Boston University School of Law >765 Commonwealth Ave. >Boston, MA 02215 >617-353-3099 (phone) >617-353-3077 (fax) > <http://www.randybarnett.com/> http://www.RandyBarnett.com > <http://www.lysanderspooner.org/> http://www.LysanderSpooner.org >(Lysander Spooner page) > <http://www.randybarnett.com/SOL.htm> >http://www.RandyBarnett.com/SOL.htm (Structure of Liberty page) > -------------------------------------- Scott Gerber Law College Ohio Northern University Ada, OH 45810 419-772-2219 http://www.law.onu.edu/faculty/gerber/
