Constitutional Memorandum to the President of the United States Re: Case No. 25-365, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the President’s Article II Responsibilities Executive Summary Mr. President: This memorandum respectfully presents what the author believes to be an unresolved constitutional question arising from the relationship between the Civil Rights Act …
The Constitution is more than a legal document. It is the enduring covenant through which the American people have chosen to govern themselves under law. Throughout the Nation’s history, each generation has inherited both the achievements and the unfinished responsibilities of those who came before it. The Founding Generation established the Republic. The generation of …
A. Introduction Having presented the historical foundation, statutory framework, constitutional interpretation, judicial context, and executive considerations discussed throughout this memorandum, the author respectfully submits the following requests for presidential consideration. These requests are not presented as directives to the Executive Branch, nor as assertions that every conclusion advanced herein has been legally established. Rather, they …
This part should not read like a list of demands. It should read like an invitation. The Constitution entrusts different responsibilities to each branch of the National Government. Congress legislates. The Judiciary interprets. The Executive faithfully executes. Throughout this memorandum, the author has respectfully argued that the Reconstruction Congress enacted more than a series of …
A. The Separate Constitutional Character of the ENFORCE Track The request for rehearing addressed in Part VIII concerns the authority of the Supreme Court to reconsider a judgment under its own rules. The ENFORCE Track concerns a different constitutional question. It asks what responsibilities belong to the President under Article II with respect to Acts …
A. The Purpose of a Petition for Rehearing The Rules of the Supreme Court recognize that, in extraordinary circumstances, a party may petition the Court for rehearing following the entry of judgment. Such petitions are not intended to provide a second opportunity to reargue matters previously presented merely because one party disagrees with the Court’s …
PART VIII THE REHEAR TRACK: RULE 44 AND THE REQUEST FOR FURTHER JUDICIAL CONSIDERATION Read More »
A. The Immediate Context of This Memorandum This memorandum was prepared in response to the constitutional issues raised by Case No. 25-365 and the questions concerning Reconstruction citizenship that the author believes remain unresolved following those proceedings. The author recognizes that courts decide only the issues properly presented and argued by the parties before them. …
A. The Role of Judicial Precedent No constitutional analysis concerning Reconstruction can responsibly proceed without acknowledging the central role played by the Supreme Court in interpreting the Reconstruction Amendments and related legislation. Over the century and a half following Reconstruction, the Court has issued numerous decisions addressing citizenship, privileges and immunities, equal protection, due process, …
PART VI RECONSTRUCTION JURISPRUDENCE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPREME COURT INTERPRETATION Read More »
A. The Constitutional Question Presented The Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment were born of the same historical crisis. Both emerged from the aftermath of the Civil War. Both sought to secure the civil condition of persons newly emancipated from slavery. Both reflected Congress’s determination that the Union victory would be accompanied …
PART V THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT: ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866 Read More »
A. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 as the Foundational Reconstruction Statute If the constitutional questions presented in this memorandum are to be fairly evaluated, the analysis must begin with the text enacted by the Thirty-Ninth Congress itself. Before examining later constitutional amendments or subsequent judicial decisions, one should first consider what Congress actually enacted …