Handouts: COS-JeffersonStatement.pdf

Handout: COS Jefferson Statement

Attachment: 134/COS-JeffersonStatement.pdf

On September 11, 2014, some of our nation’s finest legal minds convened to consider arguments for and against the use of
Article V to restrain federal power. These experts specifically rejected the argument that a Convention of States is likely to be
misused or improperly controlled by Congress, concluding instead that the mechanism provided by the Founders is safe.
Moreover, they shared the conviction that Article V provides the only constitutionally effective means to restore our federal
system. The conclusions of these prestigious experts are memorialized in The Jefferson Statement, which is reproduced here.
The names and biographical information of the endorsers, who have formed a “Legal Board of Reference” for the Convention
of States Project, are listed below the Statement.

The Constitution’s Framers foresaw a day when the federal government would exceed and abuse its enumerated powers, thus placing
our liberty at risk. George Mason was instrumental in fashioning a mechanism by which “we the people” could defend our freedom—
the ultimate check on federal power contained in Article V of the Constitution.
Article V provides the states with the opportunity to propose constitutional amendments through a process called a Convention of States.
This process is controlled by the states from beginning to end on all substantive matters.
A Convention of States is convened when 34 state legislatures pass resolutions (applications) on an agreed topic or set of topics. The
Convention is limited to considering amendments on these specified topics.
While some have expressed fears that a Convention of States might be misused or improperly controlled by Congress, it is our considered
judgment that the checks and balances in the Constitution are more than sufficient to ensure the integrity of the process.
The Convention of States mechanism is safe, and it is the only constitutionally effective means available to do what is so essential for
our nation—restoring robust federalism with genuine checks on the power of the federal government.
We share the Founders’ conviction that proper decision-making structures are essential to preserve liberty. We believe that the problems
facing our nation require several structural limitations on the exercise of federal power. While fiscal restraints are essential, we believe
the most effective course is to pursue reasonable limitations, fully in line with the vision of our Founders, on the federal government.
Accordingly, I endorse the Convention of States Project, which calls for an Article V Convention for “the sole purpose of proposing
amendments that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and
limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.” I hereby agree to serve on the Legal Board of Reference for the
Convention of States Project.
Signed,

Randy E. Barnett

*

Charles J. Cooper

*

John C. Eastman

*

Michael P. Farris

*

Robert P. George

*

C. Boyden Gray

*

Mark Levin

*

Nelson Lund

Andrew McCarthy

*

Mark Meckler

*

Mat Staver

Continued to back page

*Original signers of The Jefferson Statement

THE JEFFERSON STATEMENT

(540) 441-7227

C

ONVENTION

of

S

TATES

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COM

Randy  E.  Barnett

is  the

Carmack Waterhouse Professor

of  Legal  Theory  at  the

Georgetown University Law

Center, where he directs the

Georgetown  Center  for  the

Constitution. A graduate of Harvard Law School,

he represented the National Federation of

Independent Business in its constitutional chal-

lenge to the Affordable Care Act. Professor Barnett

has been a visiting professor at Harvard Law

School,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,

and Northwestern.

Charles J. Cooper

is a founding

member and chairman of Cooper

& Kirk, PLLC. He has over 35

years of legal experience in gov-

ernment and private practice,

with several appearances before

the United States Supreme Court. Shortly after

serving as law clerk to Justice William H.

Rehnquist, Mr. Cooper joined the Civil Rights

Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in 1981.

In 1985 President Reagan appointed Mr. Cooper to

the position of Assistant Attorney General for the

Office of Legal Counsel.

John C. Eastman

is the Henry

Salvatori Professor of Law &

Community Service at Chapman

University Fowler School of

Law. He is the Founding Director

of the Center for Constitutional

Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated

with the Claremont Institute. Prior to joining the

Fowler School of Law faculty in August 1999, he

served as a law clerk with Justice Clarence Thomas

at the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr.

Eastman served as the Director of Congressional

& Public Affairs at the United States Commission

on Civil Rights during the Reagan administration.

Michael P. Farris

, head of the

Convention of States Project, is

the Chancellor of Patrick Henry

College and Chairman of the

Home School Legal Defense

Association. He was the found-

ing president of both organizations. During his ca-

reer as a constitutional appellate litigator, he has

served as lead counsel in the United States

Supreme Court, eight federal circuit courts, and the

appellate courts of thirteen states. Mr. Farris has

been a leader on Capitol Hill for over thirty years

and is widely respected for his leadership in the de-

fense of homeschooling, religious freedom, and the

preservation of American sovereignty.

Robert  P.  George

holds

Princeton’s celebrated McCor-

mick Chair in Jurisprudence and

is the founding director of the

James  Madison  Program  in

American Ideals and Institutions.

He is chairman of the United States Commission

on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and

has served as a presidential appointee to the United

States Commission on Civil Rights. Professor

George is a former Judicial Fellow at the Supreme

Court of the United States, where he received the

Justice Tom C. Clark Award.

C. Boyden Gray

is the founding

partner  of  Boyden  Gray  &

Associates, in Washington, D.C.

Prior to founding his law firm,

Ambassador Gray served as

Legal Counsel to Vice President

Bush (1981–1989) and as White House Counsel in

the administration of President George H.W. Bush

(1989–1993). Mr. Gray also served as counsel to

the Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief

during the Reagan Administration. Following his

service in the White House, he was appointed U.S.

Ambassador to the European Union and U.S.

Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy.

Mark Levin

is one of America’s

preeminent constitutional lawyers

and the author of several

New

York Times

bestselling books in-

cluding

Men in Black

(2007),

Liberty and Tyranny

(2010),

Ameritopia

(2012) and

The Liberty Amendments

(2013). Mr. Levin has served as a top advisor to sev-

eral members of President Ronald Reagan’s

Cabinet—including as Chief of Staff to the Attorney

General of the United States, Edwin Meese.

Nelson  Lund

is  University

Professor  at  George  Mason

University School of Law. He

holds a doctorate in political sci-

ence from Harvard and a law de-

gree from the University of

Chicago. After clerking for Justice Sandra Day

O’Connor, he served in the White House as

Associate Counsel to President George H.W. Bush.

He also served on Virginia Governor George Allen’s

Advisory Council on Self-Determination and

Federalism, and on the Commission on Federal

Election Reform chaired by President Jimmy Carter

and Secretary James A. Baker III.

Andrew McCarthy

is a best-

selling author, a Senior Fellow at

National Review Institute, and a

contributing editor at National

Review. Mr. McCarthy is a for-

mer Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney

in New York, best known for leading the prosecu-

tion against the various terrorists in New York City.

He has also served as an advisor to the Deputy

Secretary of Defense.

Mark Meckler

is President of

Citizens for Self-Governance, the

parent  organization  of  the

Convention of States Project. Mr.

Meckler is one of the nation’s

most effective grassroots activists.

After he co-founded and served as the National

Coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, he founded

Citizens for Self-Governance in 2012 to bring the

concept of “self-governance” back to American

government. This grassroots initiative expands and

supports the ever-growing, bipartisan self-gover-

nance movement.

Mat Staver

is the Founder and

Chairman of Liberty Counsel and

also serves as Vice President of

Liberty University, Professor of

Law at Liberty University School

of Law, and Chairman of Liberty

Counsel Action.

LEGAL BOARD OF REFERENCE

Each of the following individuals has signed onto The Jefferson Statement, endorsing the Convention of States Project,

and serves as a legal advisor to the Project:

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