Person

Garrett Epps

Bylines

Birthright Citizenship: Supreme Court Could Create an Exploitable Noncitizen Class

Trump’s bid to strip birthright citizenship from millions is a moral, administrative, and legal catastrophe.

by Garrett Epps via Washington Monthly on March 30, 2026
Trump’s Deportation Frenzy Echoes the Fugitive Slave Hunts of the 1850s

Trump's crackdown on immigrants bears alarming parallels to the fugitive slave obsessions of the pre-Civil War South.

by Garrett Epps via Washington Monthly on June 11, 2025
The Origin of Specious

Originalism is not so much an idea as a legal-industrial complex divided into three parts—the academic, the jurisprudential, and the political.

by Garrett Epps via Washington Monthly on August 25, 2024
After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee Couldn't Run for President, but Trump Can?

Despite Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, a Colorado state judge stretches the word “officer,” permitting him to remain on the state’s ballot.

by Garrett Epps via Washington Monthly on November 20, 2023
The Bleak, All But-Forgotten World of Segregated Virginia

Former Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust’s extraordinary memoir recalls painful memories for her--and me.

by Garrett Epps via Washington Monthly on November 8, 2023
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The Pro-Democratic Fourteenth Amendment

At the heart of recent US Supreme Court decisions, the Fourteenth Amendment was framed to require free speech and free elections in the South.

by Garrett Epps, Livia Gershon via JSTOR Daily on July 22, 2022
The Electoral College Was Terrible From the Start

It’s doubtful even Alexander Hamilton believed what he was selling in “Federalist No. 68.”

by Garrett Epps via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on September 8, 2019
The Struggle Over the Meaning of the 14th Amendment Continues

The fight over the 150-year old language in the Constitution is a battle for the very heart of the American republic.

by Garrett Epps via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on July 10, 2018
The Last of the Small-Town Lawyers

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement marks the end of an era on the Supreme Court—and a turn toward hard-edged partisanship.

by Garrett Epps via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on June 27, 2018
How Birth Certificates Are Being Weaponized Against Trans People

A century ago, these documents were used to reinforce segregation. Today, they’re being used to impose binary identities on transgender people.

by Garrett Epps via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on June 8, 2018
The Only Way to Find Out If the President Can Be Indicted

Scholars disagree on existing precedents—and the question won’t be settled until evidence leads a prosecutor to try it.

by Garrett Epps via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on May 23, 2018
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More Perfect

The Supreme Court v. Peyote

More than 30 years ago, a Native American man named Al Smith was fired for ingesting peyote at a religious ceremony. When his battle made it to the Supreme Court, the decision set off a thorny debate over when religious people get to sidestep the law — a debate still happening today.

May 11, 2023

How a Pivotal Voting Rights Act Case Broke America

In the five years since the landmark decision, the Supreme Court has set the stage for a new era of white hegemony.

by Vann R. Newkirk II via The Atlantic on July 10, 2018

Garrett Epps

Bylines

Birthright Citizenship: Supreme Court Could Create an Exploitable Noncitizen Class

Trump’s Deportation Frenzy Echoes the Fugitive Slave Hunts of the 1850s

The Origin of Specious

After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee Couldn't Run for President, but Trump Can?

The Bleak, All But-Forgotten World of Segregated Virginia

The Pro-Democratic Fourteenth Amendment

The Electoral College Was Terrible From the Start

The Struggle Over the Meaning of the 14th Amendment Continues

The Last of the Small-Town Lawyers

How Birth Certificates Are Being Weaponized Against Trans People

The Only Way to Find Out If the President Can Be Indicted

Related Excerpts

The Supreme Court v. Peyote

How a Pivotal Voting Rights Act Case Broke America