THE STATEMENT AT ISSUE:

“Whether the Constitution does or does not require majority rule [in Congress], and, if so, whether the cloture rule as practiced by the Senate does or does not violate this requirement, are questions that require, and furthermore deserve, substantive answers from the judiciary. The D.C. Circuit Court’s opinion, which threatens to deny the country such judicial answers for all time, cannot stand.”

– Excerpt from a legal brief filed this month in the Supreme Court by a group of constitutional law professors in a new case seeking to test the constitutionality of the current filibuster rule (Rule XXII) in the U.S. Senate, which basically requires the votes of 60 senators to pass any legislation that stirs any significant controversy. The professors joining in the brief said they disagreed about whether that rule was invalid, but did agree that the Supreme Court should settle the issue. The…