Stephen F. Williams on Federalism: Getting It Right
Stephen F. Williams cared deeply, sometimes passionately, about federalism. That orientation comes naturally to a jurist who thinks like a political economist: in politics as in markets, a firm presumption against monopoly and in favor of competition is a very good place to start.
Steve Williams did not much care for the conservative-libertarian orthodoxies that dominated federalism’s advocacy and jurisprudence over his illustrious career as a scholar and an appellate judge. His views, as articulated in his scholarly writings and judicial opinions, ran orthogonal to the mainstream federalism debate. Still or perhaps therefore, they make eminent sense, and they might yet provide a basis for a durable, constitutionally grounded, jurisprudentially sound approach to urgent federalism questions.
