Constitutional Commentary was founded in 1984 and is one of the few faculty-edited law journals in the country. It enjoys a wide following among legal scholars, historians, political scientists and others interested in constitutional law and history. Part of its popularity is due to the editors’ preference for “shorter and less ponderous articles” as opposed to the more lengthy and heavily footnoted articles found in traditional law reviews.

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Submissions from 2020

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Lawyers and Historians Argue about the Constitution, Jack M. Balkin

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The Cradle of the Countermajoritarian Difficulty, John W. Compton

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What We Did Not Know About Judicial Review: On Keith Whittington’s Repugnant Laws, Leslie F. Goldstein

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Ship-Money: The Case that Time and Whittington Forgot, Mark A. Graber

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Mastering the Cases and Delineating the Role of the Supreme Court, Sanford Levinson

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Litigating Imperfect Solutions: State Constitutional Claims in Federal Court, Michael T. Morley

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How the Umpires Remake the Game, Julie Novkov

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Herein of "Herein Granted": Why Article I's Vesting Clause Does Not Support the Doctrine of Enumerated Powers, Richard Primus

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Constituting a People: The Challenge of the Indian Founding, Cheryl Saunders

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Sadomasochistic Judging, David Schraub

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Reconsidering the History of Judicial Review, Keith E. Whittington

Submissions from 2019

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In Honor of a Simple-Minded Originalist, James Allan

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The Genetic Fallacy and a Living Constitution, Charles L. Barzun

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The Parts We Skip: A Taxonomy of Constitutional Irrelevancy, Peter Beck

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States of Continuity Or State of Exception: Race, Law and Politics in the Age of Trump Symposium: Constitutional Law in the Trump Era, Devon W. Carbado

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Constitutional Maturity, Or Reading Weber in the Age of Trump Symposium: Constitutional Law in the Trump Era, Josh Chafetz

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Sex, Trump, and Constitutional Change Symposium: Constitutional Law in the Trump Era, Helen Hershkoff and Elizabeth M. Schneider

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Madison's Denials Book Review, Calvin H. Johnson

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Fixing Implied Constitutional Powers in the Founding Era, John Mikhail

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Justice Holmes’ Logic of Force, Benjamin Patrick Newton

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McCulloch V. Marbury, Kermit Roosevelt III and Heath Khan

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The Reality Principle, Lawrence G. Sager and Nelson Tebbe

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Originalism Off the Ground: A Response to Professors Baude and Sachs, Eric J. Segall

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Should the Left Dissent?, Nelson Tebbe

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Practical Equality and the Limits of Second Best Strategies for Justice, Franita Tolson

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The Hidden Costs of Dissent, Robert L. Tsai

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Protecting the Nation from Honor Killings: The Construction of a Problem Symposium: Constitutional Law in the Trump Era, Leti Volpp

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How “Commerce Among the Several States” Became “Interstate Commerce,” and Why It Matters, Conrad J. Weiler Jr.

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From Appendix to Heart: Tracing the History of the Bill of Rights, Lael Weinberger

Submissions from 2018

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The Freedom of Non-Speech Book Reviews, Enrique Armijo

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Arguing about the Constitution: The Topics in Constitutional Interpretation, Jack M. Balkin

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Enforcing the Decisions of the People Book Reviews, Joel I. Colon-Rios

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But Maybe Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back Book Reviews, Martin S. Flaherty

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Reasoning through Clashes between Religion and Equality: Case Law, Skeptics, and Social Coherence Book Reviews, Michael A. Helfand

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The Constitutional Marriage of Personality and Impersonality: Office, Honor, and the Oath Book Review Symposium: Settled versus Right: A Theory of Precedent, Paul Horwitz

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Special Justifications Book Review Symposium: Settled versus Right: A Theory of Precedent, Randy J. Kozel

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Mostly Settled, but Right for Now Book Review Symposium: Settled versus Right: A Theory of Precedent, Corinna Barrett Lain

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Supreme Court Norms of Impersonality Book Review Symposium: Settled versus Right: A Theory of Precedent, Allison Orr Larsen

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Judicial Supremacy: Palladium of Liberty or Academic Paradox Book Reviews, Nelson Lund

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Subprecedents Book Review Symposium: Settled versus Right: A Theory of Precedent, Jason Mazzone

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Stephen Presser's Love Letter to the Law, in Five Parts Book Reviews, Jesse Merriam

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Michael Klarman's Framers' Coup (and the News from Antifidelity) Book Reviews, Frank I. Michelman

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Ulysses S. Grant and the Lost Opportunity for Racial Justice Book Reviews, Robert J. Pushaw Jr.

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Making Sense of Equality Book Review Symposium: One Another's Equals: The Basis of Human Equality, Mark D. Rosen

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Single-Member Districts Are Not Constitutionally Required, Robert E. Ross and Barrett Anderson

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Precedent and the Semblance of Law Book Review Symposium: Settled versus Right: A Theory of Precedent, Stephen E. Sachs

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On Treating Unlike Cases Alike Book Review Symposium: Settled versus Right: A Theory of Precedent, Frederick Schauer

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Originalist Theory and Precedent: A Public Meaning Approach Book Review Symposium: Settled versus Right: A Theory of Precedent, Lawrence B. Solum

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The Rule of Law Sold Short Book Reviews, Richard Stacey

Submissions from 2017

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Family Reunification and the Security State, Kerry Abrams

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Do Judges Know Best?, James Allan

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Which Republican Constitution?, Jack M. Balkin

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In Defense of Constitutional Republicanism: A Reply to Criticisms of Our Republican Constitution, Randy E. Barnett

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Countering the Majoritarian Difficulty, Amy Coney Barrett

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Hate Speech, Public Assurance, and the Civic Standing of Speakers and Victims, Vincent Blasi

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Hate Speech Laws, Legitimacy, and Precaution: A Reply to James Weinstein, Alexander Brown

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Republicanism and Natural Rights at the Founding, Jud Campbell

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Objects of Interpretation, Richard Ekins

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Political Political Theory Theory, Jeremy D. Farris and William A. Edmundson

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Hate Speech--Definitions & Empirical Evidence, Katharine Gelber

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Redefining Parental Rights: The Case of Corporal Punishment, Cynthia Godsoe

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Constitutional Parentage, Joanna L. Grossman

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Taking Legitimacy Seriously: A Return to Deontology, Eric Heinze

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Creating Precedents Through Words and Deeds, Harold J. Krent

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Randy Barnett’s Critique of Democracy (And John Marshall?), Sanford Levinson

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The Doctor Requirement: Griswold, Privacy, and At-Home Reproductive Care, Yvonne Lindgren

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Intersectionality and the Constitution of Family Status, Serena Mayeri

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Me the People, Jason Mazzone

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Rational Basis "Plus", Thomas B. Nachbar

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The Family's Constitution, Douglas NeJaime

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Legitimacy and Hate Speech, Robert C. Post

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Free Speech and Obedience to Law, Frederick Schauer

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Hate Speech, Legitimacy, and the Foundational Principles of Government, Steven H. Shiffrin

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Republican Constitutionalism, Lawrence B. Solum

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Viewpoint Discrimination, Hate Speech Laws, and the Double-Sided Nature of Freedom of Speech, Adrienne Stone

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Formalism in Constitutional Theory, Cass R. Sunstein

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The Conditions of Legitimacy: A Response to James Weinstein, Jeremy Waldron

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Hate Speech Bans, Democracy, and Political Legitimacy, James Weinstein

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Viewpoint Discrimination, Hate Speech, and Political Legitimacy: A Reply, James Weinstein

Submissions from 2016

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The Construction of Original Public Meaning, Jack M. Balkin

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On Jim Fleming’s Anti-Originalism, Sotirios A. Barber

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The Document and the Drama, William Bennett

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The Staying Power of Erroneous Dicta: from Curtiss-Wright to Zivotofsky, Louis Fisher

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Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution: A Response to Six Views, James E. Fleming

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Intelligent or Unintelligent Fidelity?, Imer B. Flores

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Silent Concurrences, Greg Goelzhauser

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Rethinking Judicial Supremacy, Lino A. Graglia

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The Meming of Substantive Due Process, Jamal Greene

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Legislative Power and Judicial Power, John Harrison

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Originalism’s Curiously Triumphant Death: The Interpenetration of Aspirationalism and Historicism in U.S. Constitutional Development, Ken I. Kersch

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Discretionary Dockets, Randy J. Kozel and Jeffrey A. Pojanowski

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What One Can Learn from Foreign-Language Translations of the U.S. Constitution, Sanford Levinson

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Reading DeBoer and Obergefell Through the “Moral Readings Versus Originalisms” Debate: from Constitutional “Empty Cupboards” to Evolving Understandings, Linda C. McClain

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Dutch and German Founding-Era Translations of the U.S. Constitution, Christina Mulligan, Michael Douma, Hans Lind, and Brian Quinn

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Founding-Era Translations of the U.S. Constitution, Christina Mulligan, Michael Douma, Hans Lind, and Brian Quinn

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Founding-Era Translations of the U.S. Constitution. Appendix, Christina Mulligan, Michael Douma, Hans Lind, and Brian Quinn

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A Biography of Madison’s Notes of Debates, Jack Rakove

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Fidelity to the Best Version of Ourselves, Lawrence Sager

Submissions from 2015

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The Glorious Revolution and the Rule of Recognition, James Allan

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South African Constitutional Doctors with Low Public Support, Or Bassok