Contemporary Questions Surrounding the Constitutional Amending Process

by John R. Vile

Overview

This study examines contemporary questions surrounding the process by which the U.S. Constitution can be amended. Beginning with a description of the mechanism and history of the constitutional amending process in America, the work considers five major questions surrounding the amending process. The question of justiciability: whether the courts should have authority to settle amending issues or whether they are political questions beyond the court's purview. The question of standards: what standards of review should be used. The question of safety: the safety of invoking the constitutional convention mechanism. The question of exclusivity: whether there are legal means of changing the Constitution short of Article V. And the question of limitations: whether there are any unstated constitutional limits on the amending process.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275945411
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/30/1993
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

JOHN R. VILE is Professor and Chair in the Department of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. His many articles have appeared in jourbanals such as The Jourbanal of Law & Politics, The American Jourbanal of Legal History, and The National Law Jourbanal. In addition, he is the author of three books on the U.S. Constitution: Rewriting the United States Constitution (Praeger, 1991), The Constitutional Amending Process in American Political Thought (Praeger, 1992), and A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments (Praeger, 1993).

Table of Contents

Preface
The Origins and History of the Constitutional Amending Process in America
The Question of Justiciability—Which Branch of Government Should Have the Ultimate Say Over Issues Involving the Amending Process?
The Question of Standards—What Rules Are Most Appropriately Applied to Procedural Issues Surrounding the Amending Process?
The Question of Safety: Are There Adequate Rules and Enforceable Limits on Article V Conventions?
The Question of Exclusivity—Can Any Constitutional Changes Be Adopted Without Using Article V?
The Question of Exclusivity—The Arguments of Akil Reed Amar
The Question of Limitations—Are There Implicit Restraints on the Constitutional Amending Process?
Selected Bibliography
Index