Originalism and the electoral-college conundrum; Is America a republic or a democracy?, part 2: ‘Republic’ can include direct democratic lawmaking; Hell in a handbasket, grammar division; Excommunication, Buddhists, and temple control: An interesting new Supreme Court petition; Don’t ‘start by believing’; Fourth Circuit protects police officer Facebook posts critical of department policies; Using the dormant commerce clause to challenge state computer crime statutes; Study the Theory & Practice of Constitutional Originalism at Georgetown Law;     Originalism and the electoral-college conundrum If you're an originalist, you have to hope that electors will vote their consciences on Monday. By David Post  •  Read more » Is America a republic or a democracy?, part 2: ‘Republic’ can include direct democratic lawmaking Consider the most famous Republic of old, the one that gave us its name -- the Roman Republic, in which legislation was made by a vote of the people, not of their representatives. By Eugene Volokh  •  Read more »   Hell in a handbasket, grammar division "They" is plural -- and it should stay that way. By David Post  •  Read more »   The perils of partisan bias How partisan bias damages our political system. By Ilya Somin  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Excommunication, Buddhists, and temple control: An interesting new Supreme Court petition How can a court decide which congregation members get to vote in a temple election? By Eugene Volokh  •  Read more »   Don’t ‘start by believing’ An Arizona official counsels against the use of "Start By Believing" materials by criminal investigators in sexual assault cases. By Eugene Volokh  •  Read more » Fourth Circuit protects police officer Facebook posts critical of department policies A police department policy forbade "negative comments on the internal operations of the [department], or specific conduct of supervisors or peers that impacts the public’s perception of the department ." By Eugene Volokh  •  Read more »   Using the dormant commerce clause to challenge state computer crime statutes State laws on hacking and privacy sometimes impose greater restrictions than federal law. Here's why some of those state laws may be unconstitutional. By Orin Kerr  •  Read more » Study the Theory & Practice of Constitutional Originalism at Georgetown Law Apply now to attend the Georgetown Center for the Constitution's Originalism Boot Camp 2017 By Randy Barnett  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Fact Checker Count the pinocchios. A weekly review of what's true, false or in-between. Sign Up »         Share The Volokh Conspiracy:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for updates from The Volokh Conspiracy blog. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071