Scholarship Update

It's been a while, but here we go...

Many people know of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the John Adams era measures that basically criminalized criticism of the president. Fewer know about the controversy among scholars regarding John Marshall's possible role in advocating for the Acts. Two law professors argue that Marshall authored one of the most significant defenses of the Acts, using similar lines of reasoning to those he articulated in McCulloch v. Maryland.

Whatever happened to the crime of treason? A California prof posits an answer and argues for returning treason from dead letter law.

The line between exaggeration and fraud in sales situations can get a little blurry. The authors of "The Best Puffery Article Ever" try to clear things up a bit and make some proposals for increasing the reach of fraud law. Speaking as the Best Law Student Ever, I say the article looks to be worth a read.

A key shared assumption among most originalists is the usefulness of referring to the common law in place at the time of a constitutional provision's framing. A prof takes up the strengths and weaknesses of that technique in a paper draft.