REPORT OF THE ABA SPECIAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION STUDY COMMITTEE

American Bar Association | July 1973 | ABA Con-Con Study Committee

[Publius]

This document has been posted as a reference for FReepers.

Along with this document, there is another document from the American Legislative Exchange Council, written by Robert Natelson, titled Proposing Constitutional Amendments by a Convention of the States: A Handbook for State Lawmakers. This document may be downloaded from the ALEC website in PDF format.

The Natelson document is by my estimation about 90% correct. In the endnotes for Natelson’s document, I found no mention of the ABA Report, and I suspect that is the source of the 10% that I believe he got wrong.

For those who wish to argue about the purview of an Amendments Convention – I credit Judge Andrew Napolitano for setting me straight on nomenclature – both documents are critical for forming an argument.

[Publius]

Ping. Posted for FReeper reference.

[Steely Tom]

The document you posted is 12,930 words in length.

I don’t suppose there’s any chance you could bottom-line it for us, is there?

[Publius]

Sometimes research requires effort.

[Jim Robinson]

There are few articles of the Constitution as important to the continued viability of our government and nation as Article V. As Justice Joseph Story wrote: “A government which...provides no means of change...will either degenerate into a despotism or, by the pressure of its inequities, bring on a revolution.”

We are there.

[Jim Robinson]

Great work! Thank you very much!!

[Publius]

Glad to do it. It’s a lot of reading, but FReepers are up to the challenge.

[Jacquerie]

A most excellent post.

[kitchen]

Thanks! This will be distributed to all my lists.

[I_be_tc]

later

[longtermmemmory]

THe ABA is a VOLUNTARY advocacy/lobbying group.

No judge should be allowed to be a member of the ABA.

most lawyers are NOT members.

[The Cajun]

Bookmark.

[dynachrome]

Long article related to your novel with the “con-con” story.

[EdReform]

Bookmark

[Syncro]

Do you have Firefox?

If so, there is a summary add-on called TLDR Beta which reduces text to summary, sm, med, or large

The only problem I encountered is that it is in a very small (narrow) window so takes a lot of scrolling to read.

It can be c/p’ed into another window for ease in reading.

[Steely Tom]

Sometimes research requires effort.

OK. How much effort would it take - on your part - to say something about your own motivations for posting this forty-year-old document here. I'm sure it would be easier for you to do this than it would be for me to figure out what you are getting at.

Do you think it would be a good idea for the American Bar Association to convene a Constitutional Convention? Does that sound like something that would be helpful?

Do you wish to alert us to the fact that the Members of the "House of Delegates" of the ABA were thinking about such an undertaking, more than forty years ago?

Back in 1970, momentum was building for the passage of the ERA, or "Equal Rights Amendment" to the Constitution. I suspect that this analysis by the ABA had something to do with that effort, which (as you probably recall) sputtered on into the early '80s. Does the ERA dynamic have something to do with your thinking here?

Perhaps you just like to puzzle and mystify. That's fine, of course.

[RedMDer]

Bookmark

[Syncro]

Fantastic Publius, thanks!

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

Later.

[MWestMom]

Thank you.