Last month I attended an extraordinary four-day event in Phoenix: the first ever Model National Constitutional Convention, hosted at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, with over 100 student delegates from more than 70 colleges and universities. The students were given a difficult task: negotiate amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Amending the Constitution is hard enough as it is, but it is next-to-impossible in today's bitterly divided America. Or so I thought. 

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The student delegates were selected in a competitive application process. Each state had two delegates, as did each territory. The delegates were given jurisdiction-specific briefing materials ahead of time, and each was expected to be faithful to the interests of their state or territory. When the Convention met for the opening gavel, the delegates collectively represented the richness of the country's diversity – from race to sex, geography to ideology, and well beyond. The remarkably representative nature of this impressive assembly led me to doubt that the delegates would agree on even one single amendment. I was truly overjoyed to be proven wrong.

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The Convention began with dozens of amendment proposals on subjects both expected and not, from reforming the Electoral College to eradicating federalism altogether. Working through an intricate structure of committees, the Convention ultimately whittled down the list of proposals to twenty. When the time came to vote on which proposals to take forward and ultimately adopt, the delegates made impassioned appeals to each other, using reason, emotion, and rhetorical flourishes. In the end, the Convention approved four amendment proposals: (1) an amendment recognizing tribal sovereignty; (2) another prohibiting gerrymandering; (3) one limiting the power of eminent domain; and (4) an amendment prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. 

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The delegates should be proud of their work, both for arriving at agreement and for modeling for the country that civil discourse and productive negotiation are possible—even in our current context of deep political polarization, sharp social disagreements, and profound cultural differences. The delegates have blazed a promising path forward for America. 

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Congratulations to constitutional law expert Dr. Stefanie Lindquist for orchestrating every part of this amazing program, and for coming up with the idea to hold this Convention. Successfully executing an event of this scale requires a leader who combines a grand vision with attention to detail, and moreover possesses a gift to inspire others to do big things. These talents are rare enough, but to find them in an outstanding scholar of constitutional law is exceedingly so. Kudos to Dr. Lindquist, and congrats also to the team she built for this memorable and impactful program, including Neta Borshansky, Dottie Knox, and Austin Prutch.

Edited by Susan Rose-Ackerman and featuring contributions from over one dozen public law scholars, Public Administration and Expertise in Democratic Governments examines an evergreen question: what does democracy require for good government? The chapters converge on some key features, including bureaucratic expertise, public participation, and a culture of justification. I recommend this book enthusiastically.

Since its enactment in 1917, the Mexican Constitution has undergone over 730 reforms, making it one of the most amended in the world. The question presents itself: why so many amendments? A new paper offers three reasons: (1) the length and inconsistencies of the Constitution; (2) the interplay between the amendment procedure in Article 135 and the quorum requirement in Article 63; and (3) the convergence of interests and motivations among competing political actors. I recommend this excellent paper, co-authored by George Tsebelis and Edwin Atilano-Robles.

Registration is now open for the 3rd Graduate Conference on Constitutional Change at the University of Texas at Austin, to be held on December 9-11, 2024. Graduate students of all levels are welcome. More details here. Applicants will be notified on a rolling basis.

 

In Constraining the Court, James Kelly suggests that the judicialization of politics in Canada does not necessarily entail the judicialization of policy. Drawing from salient public policy controversies in the last generation, Kelly shows that the Court's statutory invalidations do not always result in a policy impact. Why? Because legislatures have found ways to contain the impact of the Court's rulings and to engage in innovative non-confrontational non-compliance with judicial invalidations of statutes. This book is a candidate for 2024 Canadian Book of the Year.

Times Higher Education has released its law school rankings for 2024. Here are the top 5 law schools in China: 

1. Tsinghua University

2. Peking University

3. Shanghai Jiao Tong University

4. Fudan University

5. Zhejiang University

The Constitutional Court of Togo has a new president. Djobo-Babakane Coulibaley is a constitutional law professor at the Université de Lomé. Educated at the Université de Benin and the Université de Lille (France), he formerly served in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and in the Togolese Ministry of Social Affairs and the Promotion of Women.

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Just three weeks after assuming his new role at the Court, President Coulibaley confirmed the results of legislative elections that saw the incumbent party win 108 out of 113 parliamentary seats.  

I recently hosted a delegation of students, alumni, and faculty from the Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo here at the University of Texas at Austin for a week-long seminar on “Constitutionalism in the US and the World.” The course featured instructional sessions as well as excursions to the Lyndon Baines Presidential Library, the Texas Capitol, and the Supreme Court of Texas, where the delegation had the opportunity to meet and take photos with the Chief Justice. I was pleased to partner with Pamela Aguirre and Pablo Alarcón to organize this program. And I was very happy that Pamela and Pablo brought their joyful son here to Austin!