In this CLE course, you will learn about the history and procedure of an Article V convention for proposing amendments based on three centuries of interstate and inter-colonial convention practice, over two centuries of post-Founding official documents, hundreds of state legislative applications, and a string of court decisions stretching from 1798 into the twenty-first century.
The Constitution provides little or no detail about many of our institutions and procedures it references: trial by jury, the writ of habeas corpus, bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, and so forth. Nevertheless, we know all about them because we have studied available sources, including the history, law, and practices of those who wrote and adopted the Constitution.
This introductory course explains the principles and rules governing Article V’s application and convention procedure. It consists of three parts.
Part I: Understanding the Text of Article V
Part II: The Convention Method for Proposing Amendments
A: Why it was included
B: How we know how it works
C: How it works
Part III: Procedural Safeguards