Letter From the Editor

Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader:

The Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy proudly presents the second

issue of Volume 18.

As part of our continuing partnership with the Georgetown Center for the

Constitution, we are proud to publish the symposium from the Center’s second

Thomas L. Cooley Book Prize and Symposium. Named after the longtime

Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Thomas L. Cooley Book Prize

recognizes one exceptional book that advances our understanding of, and

commitment to, our written Constitution. Four renowned scholars are chosen to

write articles commenting on the book and to present their pieces for discussion at

the accompanying symposium. The second Cooley Book Prize was awarded to

Professor Richard H. Fallon for his book Law and Legitimacy in the Supreme

Court. In the book, Professor Fallon explores the question of what makes judicial

decisions legitimate—an immensely important question in today’s era of

polarized politics. The issue begins with four articles analyzing and critiquing

Professor Fallon’s Law and Legitimacy in the Supreme Court from scholars Keith

E. Whittington, Scott Soames, Lawrence B. Solum, and Gillian Metzger followed

by a response from Professor Fallon.

The issue also includes three articles grappling with topical law and policy

issues. First, David T. Hardy offers a different perspective on the Second

Amendment that rejects the present binary debate over whether the Second

Amendment protects an individual right or a collective militia right, arguing that

the Second Amendment’s praise of the militia and its guarantee of an individual

right were understood by the Founding generation as two separate concepts. Next,

longtime GJLPP contributor Paul Larkin, Jr. discusses the Constitution’s Article

II Pardon Clause, arguing for an objective approach to presidential pardons that

would help the President make decisions in accordance with longstanding

rationales for punishment. Lastly, Guy Seidman and Aviv Gaon envision a future

without human driving, discussing the social impact and legal considerations that

come with emerging autonomous vehicle technology.

We take great pride in publishing high-quality student work in each of our

issues. This issue includes four thought-provoking student notes from GJLPP

editors that present a range of perspectives from a critique of the Court’s

originalist Eighth Amendment jurisprudence to an argument for a constitutional

amendment protecting the right of parents to homeschool their children.

In publishing this issue, we aim to help further the conversation on judicial

legitimacy and to add valuable and novel contributions to current legal and policy

debates. On behalf of all our editors, enjoy!

Megan Cairns

Editor-in-Chief, Volume 18

Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy

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