The James Wilson Foundation on Natural Rights and the American Founding

Last week the Supreme Court took a decisive step in striking down the so-called Blaine Laws, which barred the use of public funds in supporting religious activities, especially private religious schools.  Professor Arkes argues that the Court, for a change over the last few weeks, managed to get something right. But in the ways of the […]

Author and Wall Street Journal opinion writer Abigail Shrier joined JWI deputy director Garrett Snedeker and intern Spencer Reeves to discuss her new book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Shrier’s book addresses the recent rise in rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) amongst teenage girls and the way peer contagion, social media influencers, […]

The Fourth of July comes this year when we are seeing a massive movement in the streets, professing to be “protests,” but seething with a rejection of the American Founding and our institutions.  The fine points–if there are fine points–get lost, and what comes through is a hatred of America. We find “Juneteenth” offered now, not […]

Professor Adrian Vermeule of Harvard Law School kicked off a lively discussion in the conservative legal movement with his provocative essay “Beyond Originalism” in The Atlantic. Since then, JWI staff, friends, and Affiliated Scholars have been regular contributors to the ongoing discussion of a “common good constitutionalism.” JWI founder and director Prof. Hadley Arkes offered […]

On June 15, 2020, the worlds of social and legal conservatism were rocked by Neil Gorsuch’s majority opinion for Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia and its companion case, Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC. JWI staff, friends, and scholars had been watching the case closely and offered their commentary on the outcome. JWI director and founder […]

In a recent essay in The Catholic Thing, JWI founder and director Prof. Hadley Arkes writes about how the majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County and Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, will wreck not only our jurisprudence, but also all corners of our society. He focuses on Justice Neil Gorsuch and his implicit acceptance of the […]

In the Wall Street Journal, David Crawford and Michael Hanby of the John Paul II Institute, whose amicus brief in Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC Prof. Arkes joined in a personal capacity, criticized the sweeping metaphysical judgements which lie hidden in Justice Neil Gorsuch’s Bostock v. Clayton County decision. Crawford and Hanby point out that […]

In his latest article for The Federalist, Prof. Hadley Arkes calls on Republicans to look to Abraham Lincoln for a response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC. Following the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, Lincoln and congressional Republicans acknowledged that the Supreme Court had the authority to determine the […]

In an entry for the Notre Dame Law Review, JWI Affiliated Scholar and Fellowship alumnus Josh Craddock ’19 joins with his former boss, Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and law clerk Joshua Dos Santos to address a major source of legal confusion: the Supreme Court’s Due […]

James Wilson Fellowship faculty member Ryan Anderson has offered extensive commentary on Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC and authored an amicus brief for the case. Following the Supreme Court’s decision on June 15, Dr. Anderson responded in Public Discourse, warning that Justice Gorsuch’s decision either spells the end for sex-specific programs and facilities or ensures […]