Notes on a Bicentennial Constitution: Part I, Processes of Change

Authors

William W. Van Alstyne, Duke Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1984

Keywords

Bill of Rights, Constitution, judicial review, amendment, constitutional change, article V

Abstract

With the approach of the Bill of Rights bicentennial, this paper takes the cause for celebration as an equally important occasion for critique. This work argues that the most distinguishing aspects of our Constitution are not the Bill of Rights, federalism, and separation of powers, but rather the availability of judicial review, the political insulation of federal judges, and the limited mechanisms available for constitutional change.

Citation

William W. Van Alstyne, Notes on a Bicentennial Constitution: Part I, Processes of Change, 1984 University of Illinois Law Review 933-958 (1984)