Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies
Harlan Institute & FantasySCOTUS.org YouTube Videos
Aug 24th
Please take a look at these two videos we created for the Harlan Institute. FantasySCOTUS.org, the Supreme Court Fantasy League for High School Students will be launching very soon. If you know any teachers or students who may be interested in playing, please ask them to sign up here. Also, please share these videos on Facebook to help spread the message!
The Harlan Institute 2010 Summer Associate Class
May 23rd
Today, the Harlan Institute held our kickoff orientation meeting. I feel so privileged to work with such an amazing group of colleagues. I expect great things from our wonderful team.
Seated from left to right are Cara Rose Tucker, Ilya Shapiro, Josh Blackman, Michael McCloskey, Laura Lieberman, and Sam Reitman. Standing from left to right are Yaakov Roth, Adam Aft, and Stephen Richer. Not pictured are Yoni Roth, Corey Carpenter, Steven Rosar, Corinna Cohn, Mathew Allen, Steven Mairella, and John Ure.
501(c)(3) Catch 22 – To Start a Nonprofit, the IRS Demands $850 Filing Fee
May 18th
The Harlan Institute is about to send off our Form 1023 in order to obtain 501(c)(3) status, which will allow all donations to be tax deductible. However, the filing fee in order to obtain 501(c)(3) status is a whopping $850!
How does the IRS expect fledgling nonprofits, who are seeking 501(c)(3) status in order to receive donations, to pay $850 before receiving any donations? This seems to be a Catch 22 of sorts.
In order to receive donations, a non-profit has to obtain 501(c)(3) status. But in order to obtain 501(c)(3) status, and pay the $850, the nonprofit first needs to receive donations!
Lousy barriers to entry.
FantasySCOTUS.org and the Harlan Institute Teacher Advisory Network
Apr 5th
FantasySCOTUS.net has been a great success by all measures. In addition to avid court watchers, several dozen teachers from across the country have incorporated FantasySCOTUS.net into their lesson plans to teach about civics, government, the law, and political science. The Harlan Institute has been in contact with a number of these teachers, who have asked for a version of FantasySCOTUS geared towards high school students. For the 2010-11 academic year, the Harlan Institute aims to do just that, and we will launch FantasySCOTUS.org in September 2010.
FantasySCOTUS.org will be a Supreme Court fantasy league targeted towards high school classes that teach about the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and civics. The site will be free for all teachers and students to use.
During the October 2010 Supreme Court term, the Harlan Institute will select several cases. These cases will be of special interest to students, and focus primarily on constitutional issues, though other significant non-constitutional cases will also be considered. Each class will submit predictions for these ten cases, speculating as to the outcome of the case (Affirm or Reverse/Vacate), the split, and the Justices in the majority and in the dissent.
To learn more about FantasySCOTUS.org check out the Teacher Resources page at the Harlan Institute web site or download the PowerPoint presentation.
The Harlan Institute is searching for teachers to serve on the Teacher Advisory Network. Members of the Network will be integral in shaping our curriculums, designing our lesson plans, and planning software tools. Their input is critical to the development of our programs for the upcoming school year. If you are interested in participating in the Teacher Advisory Network, please contact info@harlaninstitute.org.
Harlan Institute Fundraiser: Order Your 20″ x 30″ Lochner Advertisement Canvas Print
Feb 19th
The government loves limiting access to markets; even for those who want to do good. In order to form a 501(c)(3) non-profit, the IRS has erected massive barriers to entry, including onerous forms, significant fees, and numerous disclosures. To that end, the Harlan Institute is running its first fundraiser to break into this cartel of non-profits. And what better way to protest the government’s limiting our liberty than by honoring a Supreme Court case that stood for the opposite proposition. Yes, I am talking about Lochner v. New York.
Please support the Harlan Institute by ordering your very own 20″ x 30″ canvas print of an original advertisement for Joseph Lochner’s bakery in Utica, New York. I uncovered this gem from the archives of the Oneida County Clerk, and to my knowledge, no one else has ever used this image. Show all of your friends how Lochner prided himself on “Uniformity, Purity, [and] Cleanliness.”
I just ordered one print for myself, and it is a stunning tribute to one of the most misunderstood Supreme Court cases of all time. The print does not need to be framed. A picture frame hook and a nail will suffice. I include a photo below.
What would do we charge for such a work of art? Well, we have a special U.S. Reports Special! As Lochner’s citation is 198 U.S. 45, we are selling this canvas for $198.45, with free FedEx ground shipping! You don’t need to read Mr. Herbert Spencer’s Social Statics to know that is a great price! Payments are securely processed through PayPal with any credit card, by clicking the Buy Now button. Please help out a good cause.
If you do not have a PayPal account, click the “Buy Now” button, and click the link “Don’t have a PayPal account”
Plus, my loyal readers get a sneak peak of what I’m reading on my book shelf. And sitting atop the bookshelf is the Chief Justice Rutledge bobblehead.
JoshCast of Constitutional Voices: Interview with Robert Corbin, Prosecutor in Miranda v. Arizona
Feb 10th
This is a very special JoshCast. As part of my research for Constitutional Places, Constitutional Faces, I have been in touch with many of the people involved in some of the most famous Supreme Court opinions. In addition to obtaining images of Constitutional Places and Constitutional Faces, we are now conducting interviews as part of a new feature series called Constitutional Voices. Constitutional Voices will be a series of audio interviews with individuals associated with each case — including the lawyers involved, the parties themselves, or even descendants of those parties — and will form a living-history compendium of constitutional stories.
I did an interview this morning with Bob Corbin. Bob was the county prosecutor in Phoenix, Arizona in 1966 when the Supreme Court threw out Miranda’s Conviction. Later, Bob became the Attorney General of Arizona. Bob relayed some amazing stories of how they managed to convict Miranda, even without the confession. Also, interesting to note, is the officers did advise Miranda that anything he said could be used against him in a court of law, though they did not advise him of his right to counsel. Enjoy.
H/T Dave Hardy for putting me in touch with Robert.
Constitutional Places Unearthed Document: Advertisement for Lochner’s Home Bakery
Feb 8th
This image, obtained from the archives of the Oneida County Clerk is a reproduction of an advertisement for Joseph F. Lochner’s bakery in Utica, New York. I have spent a lot of time look at Lochner photos, and I have NEVER before seen this image. I think the Harlan Institute unearthed it form the bellows of the archives in Utica. I am just ecstatic. This advertisement will form the centerpiece of our chapter on Economic Liberties in the forthcoming book, Constitutional Places, Constitutional Faces. We are just ecstatic at this amazing find.
According to the ad, Lochner’s Home Bakery “is one of the oldest and most reliable bakeries in Central New York. We pride ourself on Uniformity, Purity, Cleanliness.” If you ask me, I bet they made some real “healthful” bread. But I wonder what their hours were like?
Treasures from the National Archives: Great Pictures of Supreme Court Opinions
Feb 6th
One of the best parts of developing Constitutional Places, Constitutional Faces has been the research. The National Archives maintains a site call Our Documents, and they have a collection of 100 Milestone Documents.
Here are some of the coolest pics.
Federalist Papers, No. 10 & No. 51 (1787-1788)
Constitutional Places – Draft Layouts of Kelo v. New London and Katzenbach v. McClung
Feb 5th
My co-author Yaakov Roth and I just finished drafts for the first two pieces in our forthcoming book, Constitutional Places, Constitutional Faces. We chose Kelo v. City of New London and Katzenbach v. McClung. I am feeling really pumped. This book is going to be pretty cool. To check out more photographs, check out our Photo Album and www.ConstitutionalPlaces.com. Anyone interested in contributing photographs? Please send them to jblackman@harlaninstitute.org. Stay tuned for more.
For those of you who like a challenge, take a look at the curlicue below the case name. Where did I copy that symbol from? Hint: It’s too late to apologize.
Kelo v. City of New London (High Resolution PDF)
Kelo v. City of New London (Low Resolution PDF)
Katzenbach v. McClung (High Resolution PDF)
Katzenbach v. McClung (Low Resolution PDF)
Thanks to Corinna Cohn for optimizing these PDFs.
Constitutional Places Loaded Onto Google Earth
Jan 17th
Last week, I introduced a new project called Constitutional Places. A book with photographs of the places behind famous constitutional law cases. We are keeping a liveblog of the book on Google Earth. Check it out below. And if you have any additional places you’d like to photograph, send them to jblackman@harlaninstitute.org As we get more places, we’ll add them to the map.
Many thanks to Ilya Somin at Volokh for linking to our project.
View Constitutional Places in a larger map
Constitutional Places: A New Coffee Table Book from the Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies.
Jan 12th
The Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies is currently assembling a Coffee Table book for aficionados of the United States Supreme Court, titled Constitutional Places. My co-founder, Yaakov Roth, and I are assembling modern photographs of some of the more famous locations in constitutional law history. All profits will go towards supporting our growing organization.
What became of Lochner’s bakery? What about the school from Brown v. Board? With pictures of each location, we will provide a brief blurb of the history of the case, and perhaps most interestingly, the fallout of the SCOTUS opinion, and what happened after the case. Seeing the places, and the people affected, makes the Constitution come alive.
In keeping with the mission of the Harlan Institute, which seeks to utilize the power of Web 2.0 to make the Constitution more accessible, we are asking (blegging in the cyber lingo) bloggers across the Nation to help us out, and submit photographs. You will be credited in the ultimate production. If you live in any of these areas, we will find the exact location, and help you track it down. If you are interested in participating in this worthwhile and fun project, please send photographs to jblackman@harlaninstitute.org.
Here are some of the places we are considering, but of course, we are open to any other cool places. There are an infinite number of possibilities and we encourage you to be creative.
1. Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905): Lochner’s Home Bakery in Utica, NY
2. Erie Railroad v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938): the Erie Railroad near Hughestown, PA
3. Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954): Schoolhouse in Topeka, KS
4. Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896): old rail car somewhere in LA
5. Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005): the former site of Kelo’s house in New London, CT
6. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965): the Planned Parenthood League in New Haven, CT
7. Nebbia v. New York, 291 U.S. 502 (1934): Nebbia’s grocery store in Rochester, NY
8. A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935): chicken slaughterhouse in Brooklyn, NY
9. West Coast Hotel v. Parrish, 300 U.S. 379 (1937): Cascadian Hotel in Wenatchee, WA
10. Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000): polling place in Broward County, FL
11. Yick-Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (1886): the laundry shop in San Francisco, CA
12. United States v. Cruickshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1875): site of Colfax Massacre in Colfax, LA
13. Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005): Angel Raich’s marijuana “farm” in Oakland, CA
14. United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995): Edison High School in San Antonio, TX
15. Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997): sheriff’s office in Ravalli County, MT; or perhaps a gun shop
16. Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc., 501 U.S. 560 (1991): (exterior of) Glen Theatre or Kitty Kat Lounge in South Bend, IN
17. Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 (2005): Ten Commandments on Capitol grounds in Austin, TX
18. Pleasant Grove City v. Summum (2009): Pioneer Park in Pleasant Grove, UT
19. Salazar v. Buono (2010): Cross in Mojave National Preserve near San Bernardino, CA
20. United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974): the Watergate Hotel
21. District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. _ (2008): Dick Heller’s home in Washington, DC
22. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967): site of “reasonable expectation of privacy” phone booth in Los Angeles, CA
23. Kyllo v. United States, 533 U.S. 27 (2001): house searched by infrared technology, a triplex on Rhododendron Drive in Florence, OR.
24. Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. __ (2008): Camp X-Ray, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
25. Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee, 14 U.S. 304 (1816): land in Fairfax, VA
26. Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954): former site of department store in Project Area B in Southwest Washington, DC
27. Williamson v. Lee Optical Co., 348 U.S. 483 (1955): site of optician somewhere in OK
28. Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942): site of Filburn’s farm in Montgomery County, OH
29. Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia, 515 U.S. 819 (1995): student activities office (or similar), Charlottesville, VA
30. McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819): site of Second Bank of the United States in Baltimore, MD
31. Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 (1824): port in Elizabethtown, NJ or New York City, NY
32. Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. 518 (1817): old building at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH
33. Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687 (1994): Satmar religious school in Kiryas Joel, NY
34. Larkin v. Grendel’s Den, Inc., 459 U.S. 116 (1982): the Grendel’s Den pub in Cambridge, MA
35. Missouri v. Jenkins, 515 U.S. 70 (1995): the extremely well-funded public schools in the Kansas City, Missouri, School District in Kansas City, MO
36. Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S. 914 (2000): Carhart’s abortion clinic in Omaha, NE
37. South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203 (1987): any highway in SD
38. Tinker v. Des Moines Ind. Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969): high school in Des Moines, IA
39. Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003) and Gratz v. Bollinger: admissions office of University of Michigan Law School / undergraduate, Ann Arbor, MI
40. Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948): house subject to racial covenant, Labadie Ave between Taylor and Cora Aves., in St. Louis, MO
41. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R.R. v. City of Chicago, 166 U.S. 226 (1897): condemned railroad right of way on Rockwell Street, Chicago, IL
42. Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781 (1989): concert area in Central Park, NY
43. United States v. Carolene Prods., Inc., : Litchfield Creamery Co. plant in Litchfield, IL,
44. Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority, 365 U.S. 715 (1961): parking lot (outside and in, if there is still a coffee shop), at 9th St & Shipley St, Wilmington, DE
45. Corfield v. Coryell, 6 Fed. Cas. 546 (C.C.E.D.Pa. 1823): privileges and immunities clause, raking clams and oysters, Maurice River, Cumberland, County, NJ
Also, if anyone has any experience forming 501(c)(3) organizations, please contact me as well. We are going through the process now, and appreciate any advice.
Update We have posted a few constitutional places to this Google Map.
View Constitutional Places in a larger map
Harlan Institute: Two Lesson Plans to Integrate FantasySCOTUS.net into the Classroom
Jan 5th
Since I launched the Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies about a month ago, I have received such great feedback from teachers across the Country.
By popular demand, we have put together lesson plans to facilitate the integration of FantasySCOTUS.net into school curriculums. Yaakov Roth and I, with the assistance of several teachers, have created lesson plans for 2 cases currently pending before the Supreme Court; United States v. Stevens and Padilla v. Kentucky.
We encourage all teachers to visit the Harlan Institute Teacher Resources page to learn more about using FantasySCOTUS.net in the classroom.
We are developing a version geared specifically towards high school students, which should be ready for the October 2010-11 academic year.
Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.
Introducing the Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies
Dec 15th
I proudly introduce the Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies at www.HarlanInstitute.org.
After launching FantasySCOTUS.net about a month ago, several Middle and High School teachers from across the Country contacted me, and told me how they are using this program in their government and political science classes. I soon realized the potential of harnessing the power of Web 2.0 to teach constitutional law. In the words of Justice Sanford in Gitlow, this insight created a spark, that led to a conflagration.
Following this idea, I partnered with Yaakov Roth to start the Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies.
The mission of the Institute is to give effect to Justice Harlan’s prescient pedagogical call from over 100 years ago:
“Now it is essential to a clear understanding of our Constitution to know something of the circumstances under which those who framed it were placed. There are words in our constitution which are susceptible of different constructions, but their meaning are ascertained by knowing the circumstances which then existed and the laws and customs which went before. We ought to know what principles of government existed at the time and before that time, what right of life, liberty, and property existed and which went before the time when the colonies achieved their independence. Every lawyer knows the meaning of a rule of law is best ascertained by taking the history of the rule, back through the line of legislation and adjudications, up to the time when it was first enacted.”
Justice John Marshall Harlan
May 17, 1898
The Harlan Institute for Constitutional Studies was founded in honor of Justice John Marshall Harlan I. Justice Harlan was one of the greatest constitutional scholars of his era. At the turn of hte Century, Justice Harlan taught Constitutional Law at the George Washington (then Columbia) School of Law. One of his students transcribed the lecture notes verbatim. While taking a legal history class, I digitized all of these lecture notes at the Library of Congress. From these notes, I gained great insight into the mind of Justice Harlan, and how he explained the Constitution.
Rather than teaching the Constitution through cases, and occasionally mentioning the text of the Constitution, Justice Harlan taught the Constitution clause by clause, starting with the preamble, and concluding with the most recently added 15th Amendment. Most importantly, in his teachings, Justice Harlan sought to impart to his students the meaning of the Constitution by understanding that “which went before.”
The Institute seeks to continue Justice Harlan’s proud tradition of constitutional education.
The Institute aims to fuse cutting-edge technological initiatives with engaging educational programs designed by leading constitutional law scholars, historians, and Judges to show teachers and students the “greatness of this instrument.”
I encourage my readers to provide comments or thoughts about this new initiative. I have some ideas, but I am always open to suggestions.
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