Monday, May 14, 2012

Is the filibuster unconstitutional?

According to Best Lawyers — “the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession” — Emmet Bondurant “is the go-to lawyer when a business person just can’t afford to lose a lawsuit.” He was its 2010 Lawyer of the Year for Antitrust and Bet-the-Company Litigation. But now, he’s bitten off something even bigger: bet-the-country litigation.

Bondurant thinks the filibuster is unconstitutional. And, alongside Common Cause, where he serves on the board of directors, he’s suing to have the Supreme Court abolish it.

In a 2011 article in the Harvard Law School’s Journal on Legislation, Bondurant laid out his case for why the filibuster crosses constitutional red lines. But to understand the argument, you have to understand the history: The filibuster was a mistake.
Read the rest here.

No,it is not unconstitutional. Is it stupid and patently undemocratic? Yes. But stupidity is not prohibited by the Constitution as evidenced by Congress continued existence.

3 comments:

The Anti-Gnostic said...

This guy is right:

Article 1 Section 5:
"Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings"

full stop
__________________________

And, Constitution schmonstitution. The federal courts won't touch this unless they want to be writing their opinions themselves in windowless offices behind metal desks.

gdelassu said...

I agree. I do not like the filibuster, but it is still well within the limits allowed by the Constitution.

James the Thickheaded said...

"But stupidity is not prohibited by the Constitution as evidenced by Congress continued existence."

Surely you're not suggesting the abolition of Congress would be an intelligent solution? as in the way the Reichstag was adjourned in World War I and abolished just before World War II? Gee... those last two moves worked out so well, I'm just wondering why no one else thought of that?