SUPREME COURT MAY INVALIDATE D.C. STATEHOOD

Aaron Belkin

February 2, 2019

Washington, D.C. statehood is one of the critical social justice issues of this era, as residents of the nation's capitol lack political representation. If Congress passed legislation granting statehood to D.C., however, the Supreme Court would be poised to strike down the law on the basis of implausible constitutional analysis. The Court could use its now signature radical originalism to claim that D.C. statehood violates the Constitution’s unwritten intent and that such legislation is prohibited by the Twenty-third Amendment.