Season 5, Episode 4 (Show 212): End of an ERA

January 22, 2025

President Biden exits with an attempt to push ERA into the constitution, and in doing so, he raises all sorts of interesting questions.  And President Trump enters with an inaugural speech which we issue-spot.

CLE Credit Available for this episode from podcast.njsba.com.

The last days of the Biden administration have come and gone, and with them, some controversy in the form of a presidential statement on ERA ratification, and some more controversial pardons.  Then came the inauguration of President Trump, and an inaugural speech some found dark and atypical, if unsurprising. The many events that followed will be fodder for future podcasts, but here we look at Presidents attempting to insert themselves in various ways that seem outside the norm, including a role in constitutional amendments.  And the norm-buster Trump sounded several themes in the inaugural that we highlight.  The speech and what followed were an avalanche of controversy, and perhaps that’s the idea, but we make a start.

(LAWYERS AND JUDGES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDIT by visiting podcast.njsba.com after listening.)

Show Notes:

How to get Continuing Legal Education Credit for listening!

Virtually all lawyers and judges admitted to practice anywhere in the USA can obtain CLE (Continuing Legal Education) credit after listening to this episode by visiting podcast.njsba.com.  You do not have to be a New Jersey lawyer or resident or admitted to the NJ Bar; essentially every state has reciprocity arrangements with New Jersey.  When you visit the site you fill out a form and provide the code Andy read during the episode, pay a small fee, and within two weeks you will receive the certificate from New Jersey.  It couldn’t be easier.  Thanks to the New Jersey Bar Association for making this possible!  Note, too, that other podcast episodes from our “back catalog” now qualify for this credit as well.

Click to go to the website for CLE credit

Excerpt from America’s Constitution A Biography - Akhil Reed Amar

Here, in an endnote, Professor Amar tees up the issue of presidential involvement in the amendment process in his 2005 book, America’s Constitution, A Biography.  In doing so, he brings in an 18th century case, and Presidents James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln in surprisingly analogous ways.

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Hollingsworth v Virginia (1798)

In this 1798 case, the Court addresses the seeming conflict between Article 1, Section 7, and Article 5, on questions of presidential presentment of constitutional amendments.  But it does so in a sketchy, unconvincing, and ultimately conclusory way, which leaves it to future generations to fill in the blanks, which Professor Amar attempts to do in the above endnote and in this podcast.

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