Rosemarie Zagarri, University Professor and Professor of History, will publish an article called, THE HISTORIAN'S CASE AGAINST THE INDEPENDENT STATE LEGISLATURE THEORY, in the BOSTON COLLEGE LAW REVIEW (March 2023). On December 7, 2023, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Moore v. Harper, which explores the extent to which state legislatures are subject to the oversight of other branches of government, including state courts, when making federal elections laws. If the plaintiffs prevail, the case will overturn more than two hundred years of precedent, giving state legislatures absolute control over issues such as redistricting, mail-in ballots, and the method of electing the president. Zagarri's article provides historical evidence from the Founding Era that contests the constitutional basis for the independent legislature theory. The paper is current available via the SSRN website at https://ssrn.com/abstract=4245950.
December 05, 2022