Covenants for the sword

How, and how much, can constitutional law restrain state violence? hough American constitutional law purports to regulate policing and punishment in various ways, as a practical matter these uses of force are restrained little by constitutional doctrine. This article examines explanations for that phenomenon. As Thomas Hobbes observed, it is difficult if not impossible to establish a truly independent authority to interpret and enforce legal restrictions on sovereign power. Furthermore, in order for law to restrain the state, we need a conception of the state; we need to know what entity is the subject of constitutional law. We lack clear answers to that question, and as a consequence, putative legal restraints on state violence remain largely ineffective.