Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence, Independence Institute
Professor Robert G. Natelson is a constitutional scholar and author.
Rob’s constitutional scholarship has been cited repeatedly by justices and parties at the U.S. Supreme Court—as well as by federal appeals courts, and at least 18 state supreme courts.
Rob’s research into the Constitution’s original meaning has carried him to libraries throughout the United States and in Britain, including four months at Oxford University. His books and articles span many different parts of the Constitution, including groundbreaking studies of the Necessary and Proper Clause, the Indian Commerce Clause, federalism, Founding-Era interpretation, regulation of elections, and the amendment process of Article V. He created the first-ever online bibliography for 18th century materials used in constitutional research. He is a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (on Magna Carta). He contributed eight essays to the third edition of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution: five on the amendment procedure and one each on the Guarantee Clause, the Postal Clause, and the Recess Appointments Clause.
U.S. Supreme Court justices have relied explicitly on Rob’s research in 41 citations in 13 separate cases.
Assistant Solicitor General, Texas
Katie serves as an Assistant Solicitor General for the State of Texas. She previously practiced law at a firm in Washington, D.C. where she focused her legal practice on complex trial and appellate litigation, specializing in data privacy and biometric issues. Before that, Katie served as Chief Counsel to Senator Jeff Flake at the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and clerked for Judge Michael B. Brennan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Katie graduated from Liberty University and the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. She is a member of The Federalist Society’s Litigation Practice Group Executive Committee.
2022 Alumni Events
2022 National Lawyers Convention
Washington, DCThe Original Understanding of the Indian Commerce Clause: An Update
Robert G. Natelson
The Congress shall have Power . . . To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and...
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Profile of the Legal Profession
The American Bar Association recently published its annual Profile of the Legal Profession. The 124-page...
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Originalism’s Still Around, No Matter What Adrian Vermeule Says
I was taken aback when I read Adrian Vermeule’s recent Washington Post op-ed, which alleges...
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Conflict Preemption Ruling Bars Enforcement of Maryland’s Law on Forced Ebook Licensing
On February 16, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted an injunction...
State Court Docket Watch: Oklahoma ex rel. Hunter v. Johnson & Johnson
Kateland R. Jackson
In Oklahoma ex rel. Hunter v. Johnson & Johnson, the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned a...
In Dobbs v. Jackson, History is On Mississippi's Side
This post originally appeared at Newsweek and is being republished here with permission. The Supreme...
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Caretaking at the Court: Community-Caretaking Exception Not Applicable to Warrantless Searches of the Home
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas didn’t mince words. His short, four-page opinion in the case...
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Wearing, Bearing, or Carrying Arms
In D.C. v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court recognized an individual right under the...
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The Forgotten History of the Intellectual Property Clause
The Intellectual Property (IP) Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which empowers Congress to enact both...