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Professor Rappaport is Darling Foundation Professor of Law at the University of San Diego, where he also serves as the Director of the Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism. Professor Rappaport is the author of numerous law review articles in journals such as the Yale Law Journal, the Virginia Law Review, the Georgetown Law Review, and the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. His book, Originalism and the Good Constitution, which is co-authored with John McGinnis, was published by the Harvard University Press in 2013. Professor Rappaport is a graduate of the Yale Law School, where he received a JD and a DCL (Law and Political Theory).

May 30, 2018|Common Law, Finding the Law, Formalism, Making Law, Stephen Sachs

Finding The Law

by Mike Rappaport|2 Comments

Roman Motizov/Shutterstock.com

The common law understanding that what judges do is a matter of finding the law is enjoying a welcome return.

May 25, 2018|Administrative Adjudication, Due Process, Originalism

Administrative Adjudication as a Violation of Due Process

by Mike Rappaport|7 Comments

BCFC/Shutterstock.com

Due process requires that every person have their day in court, and because of this a central pillar of the administrative state might be unconstitutional.

May 21, 2018|Historians, Madison's Notes, Originalism

The Importance of Experts

by Mike Rappaport|9 Comments

The U.S. Constitution (Derek Hatfield / Shutterstock.com)

Debates among constitutional experts matter because these debates help shape broader opinion.

May 17, 2018|Due Process, judicial deference, Judicial Power, Originalism, Separation of Powers

Does Administrative Agency Adjudication Violate the Vesting of Judicial Power in the Courts (and Due Process)?

by Mike Rappaport|18 Comments

Zolinerek/Shutterstock.com

While the government may have discretion to act outside of the courts, its officers often will not, allowing due process to play out in the courts.

May 15, 2018|Robert Mueller, Rod Rosenstein, Special Counsel Regulation

How Easily Could the Trump Administration Change the Special Counsel Regulation?

by Mike Rappaport|2 Comments

U.S. Department of Justice (Roman Babakin/Shutterstock.com).

One path to ending the Adminstration's legal troubles would be to change the special counsel regulation, but this poses challenges.

May 8, 2018|Atheism, Identity Politics, Podcasts, SJWs

The Golden Age of Podcasts and Sam Harris’s Waking Up

by Mike Rappaport|1 Comment

Sam Harris recording a podcast (samharris.org).

Sam Harris and others offer podcasts for every interest, and this market offers a growing space for discussion and debate.

May 4, 2018|Federalism, Originalism, Sovereign Immunity, Will Baude

State Sovereign Immunity: Originalist Challenges and Will Baude’s New Article

by Mike Rappaport|6 Comments

Will Baude's recent article provides new reasons to defend sovereign immunity, and he does so on originalist grounds.

May 1, 2018|Dimaya, Gorsuch, Oil States Energy Services, Originalism, Public Rights, Thomas

Justice Thomas vs. Justice Gorsuch

by Mike Rappaport|18 Comments

Seated from left, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, and Associate Justice Stephen Breyer and Standing behind from left, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr., Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch. (Olivier Douliery/Pool via CNP /MediaPunch/Alamy.com)

The fact Justices Thomas and Gorsuch disagree is great development — not only for originalism but for constitutional law generally.

April 23, 2018|Gerrymandering