Recent Articles

Who Won that Masked Election?

Jack M. Balkin

November 21, 2008 03:53

NPR and other news sources are reporting a roiling debate in the Democratic party about what the election meant. As I understand it, there are at least two debates, although they intersect. One might be called "person vs. policy." Did voters select Obama primarily for his leadership qualities...

The Invisible Election

Jack M. Balkin

November 18, 2008 21:46

Given that election law is my specialty, regular readers of Balkinization may have been puzzled that I haven't posted much during the last year. The reason is that I have been serving as a member of then-Senator Obama's national election protection team since April of 2007. Because I was doing that...

The Rehnquist Papers

Jack M. Balkin

November 18, 2008 14:06

The Hoover Institution Library and Archives has released parts of the Papers of Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist. Now open at the archives are Rehnquist's papers from 1947 to 1971 and Supreme Court papers from the 1972 to 1974 terms.Law review writers will want to be aware of the...

The Pro-Life Movement After The Election-- And The Beginnings of Compromise

Jack M. Balkin

November 18, 2008 13:54

The Washington Post reports on emerging ideas in the pro-life movement about how to reduce abortions without criminalizing them. Essentially, it involves increased support for social programs that will help poor women and families, under the reasoning that poor women without means are more likely...

A Commitment Device for Energy Conservation

Jack M. Balkin

November 17, 2008 18:45

Crosspost from Freakonomics:There’s lots of evidence that commitment contracts can help people change behavior with regard to all kinds of things (like savings and smoking cessation). But since participation is voluntary, a huge question is whether you can get people to sign up. This is more than a...

Small steps toward rural land reform

Jack M. Balkin

November 13, 2008 04:24

On a rainy day in Guizhou Province last month, I followed a group of local officials off a rural road into what looked like a carefully tended field of mud. Holding a bullhorn and with an umbrella-toting aid running after him, one official pointed to a twig poking out of the ground and started...

An "awkward" summit (thanks to our Constitution)

Jack M. Balkin

November 12, 2008 15:04

An article in today's NYTimes noted the "awkward[ness]" of the fact that there will be a purported "summit" meeting next week that will not be attended by President-elect Obama. The Times quoted Robert Gibbs, described as a "senior adviser to Mr. Obama": “While some may say it’s awkward that he’s ...