What’s a Constitutional Crisis — And, Umm…Are We There Yet?

Short answer: we need to turn this car around

Today’s publication is part of a series titled, Teacher Tuesdays, where I step out of my attorney life and dust off my constitutional law professor background — all to help bring some clarity to a pressing legal issue currently making headlines.

A few years ago my car hit 150,000 miles. It was exciting. Thrilling, even. A sign that I’d driven this thing into the ground (literally, kind of?) and milked it for all it was worth. And then, a few days later, the dashboard lit up like a Broadway opener and the engine started making noises like a dying blender with a plastic spoon trapped in the blades (yes, I do know exactly what that sounds like). I had two choices. Take it into the shop right away or turn the radio up and hope it somehow fixed itself.

And that, my friends, is sort of where we are with the Constitution right now. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a firm believer that the Constitution is far from perfect. That’s sort of what happens when your country is based on a document written hundreds of years ago by a couple of drunk 20-year-old’s because it was safer to drink the booze than the water (more on that in another post).

But if you’ve been paying attention recently, you’ve probably noticed we have a problem – something a lot of folks keep referring to as a “constitutional crisis,” which sounds like an action movie starring Liam Neeson as the document’s last line of defense, but it’s not. Although…just for fun…

CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS (2025):

Logline: When democracy falls, heroes rise.

Plot: As America teeters on the edge of authoritarianism, the Constitution – yes, the actual Constitution – has been stolen from the National Archives by an insurgent political group known as Clause & Effect, hell-bent on twisting it into a protectionist executive mandate (and some pizza coupons). Enter Sam Liberty (Liam Neeson), a grizzled constitutional law professor turned alienated federal agent. Living off the grid in a cabin without an address, harvesting kale and blasting Lin-Manuel Miranda showtunes, Sam believes his days of action are over…until the call comes in. “They’ve stolen the Constitution, Sam…and they’re live-streaming its linguistic torture…in Comic Sans.”

But aside from being a guaranteed box office flop (and the most non-business buzzword in recent memory), what the heck is a “constitutional crisis”? And should we be panicking about one right now?

Spoiler: maybe.

Let’s break it down.

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⚖️ What Exactly Is a Constitutional Crisis?

I’m going to pivot the metaphor a little bit. Instead of thinking of the Constitution as the car I drove into the ground, let’s talk about it instead like the car’s vehicle manual (except only one of those two things was written with a feather, so…). The guide for how the car (country) works, what to do if something goes wrong, how to operate the systems, etc.

Most of the time, when something comes up, we can look to the manual for what to do (I know, I don’t actually open the vehicle manual either, since, you know, I have the Internet, but let’s pretend for a moment). Sometimes, things go wrong and the manual doesn’t help. Very, very wrong – and that can cause a constitutional crisis. Here are four situations where that might occur:

1. Missing Problems

The manual just doesn’t cover something. Like, “What happens if a pigeon flies into my radiator and sings me Christmas tunes from the engine?” Or, “What happens if a president gets elected and needs to travel internationally but has an ankle monitor?” You know, simple stuff.

2. The Manual Lists Solutions that Work Against One Another