In this second of a two-part series of columns on a Seventeenth Amendment case currently before the Oklahoma Supreme Court, Illinois Law dean Vikram David Amar and professor Jason Mazzone consider whether Senator Jim Inhofe’s promise to resign is enforceable and whether there anything else Inhofe (and the state) could do to vindicate his (and its) wishes.
In this first of a series of columns, Illinois Law dean Vikram David Amar and professor Jason Mazzone identify and analyze some of the Seventeenth Amendment issues presented in a case pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Dean Amar and Professor Mazzone consider whether a state can hold a special election while the Senate seat is still occupied, and whether the possibility of a substantial lag between a special election and actual replacement matters.
In this second of a series of columns, Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar comments on the Kentucky proposal to change the way U.S. Senate vacancies are filled. Dean Amar argues that the Seventeenth Amendment precludes such a proposal, which would allow the state legislature to substantively constrain the governor’s choices in making a temporary appointment.
