The Originalist

The Originalist PDF Author: John Strand
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
ISBN: 0822239841
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 71

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Book Description
When a bright, liberal, Harvard Law School graduate embarks on a nerve-wracking clerkship with fearsome conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, she discovers him to be both an infuriating sparring partner and an unexpected mentor. John Strand’s critically acclaimed drama depicts passionate people risking heart and soul to defend their version of the truth. What does it cost us to suppress our fear and distrust, take a step toward the middle, and sit down with the monsters?

The Originalist

The Originalist PDF Author: John Strand
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
ISBN: 0822239841
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 71

Get Book Here

Book Description
When a bright, liberal, Harvard Law School graduate embarks on a nerve-wracking clerkship with fearsome conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, she discovers him to be both an infuriating sparring partner and an unexpected mentor. John Strand’s critically acclaimed drama depicts passionate people risking heart and soul to defend their version of the truth. What does it cost us to suppress our fear and distrust, take a step toward the middle, and sit down with the monsters?

Constitutional Originalism

Constitutional Originalism PDF Author: Robert W. Bennett
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801461111
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
Problems of constitutional interpretation have many faces, but much of the contemporary discussion has focused on what has come to be called "originalism." The core of originalism is the belief that fidelity to the original understanding of the Constitution should constrain contemporary judges. As originalist thinking has evolved, it has become clear that there is a family of originalist theories, some emphasizing the intent of the framers, while others focus on the original public meaning of the constitutional text. This idea has enjoyed a modern resurgence, in good part in reaction to the assumption of more sweeping power by the judiciary, operating in the name of constitutional interpretation. Those arguing for a "living Constitution" that keeps up with a changing world and changing values have resisted originalism. This difference in legal philosophy and jurisprudence has, since the 1970s, spilled over into party politics and the partisan wrangling over court appointments from appellate courts to the Supreme Court. In Constitutional Originalism, Robert W. Bennett and Lawrence B. Solum elucidate the two sides of this debate and mediate between them in order to separate differences that are real from those that are only apparent. In a thorough exploration of the range of contemporary views on originalism, the authors articulate and defend sharply contrasting positions. Solum brings learning from the philosophy of language to his argument in favor of originalism, and Bennett highlights interpretational problems in the dispute-resolution context, describing instances in which a living Constitution is a more feasible and productive position. The book explores those contrasting positions, to be sure, but also uncovers important points of agreement for the interpretational enterprise. This provocative and absorbing book ends with a bibliographic essay that points to landmark works in the field and helps lay readers and students orient themselves within the literature of the debate.

Originalism in American Law and Politics

Originalism in American Law and Politics PDF Author: Johnathan O'Neill
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801881114
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
This book explains how the debate over originalism emerged from the interaction of constitutional theory, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and American political development. Refuting the contention that originalism is a recent concoction of political conservatives like Robert Bork, Johnathan O'Neill asserts that recent appeals to the origin of the Constitution in Supreme Court decisions and commentary, especially by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, continue an established pattern in American history. Originalism in American Law and Politics is distinguished by its historical approach to the topic. Drawing on constitutional commentary and treatises, Supreme Court and lower federal court opinions, congressional hearings, and scholarly monographs, O'Neill's work will be valuable to historians, academic lawyers, and political scientists.

Living Originalism

Living Originalism PDF Author: Jack M. Balkin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674063031
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
Originalism and living constitutionalism, so often understood to be diametrically opposing views of our nation’s founding document, are not in conflict—they are compatible. So argues Jack Balkin, one of the leading constitutional scholars of our time, in this long-awaited book. Step by step, Balkin gracefully outlines a constitutional theory that demonstrates why modern conceptions of civil rights and civil liberties, and the modern state’s protection of national security, health, safety, and the environment, are fully consistent with the Constitution’s original meaning. And he shows how both liberals and conservatives, working through political parties and social movements, play important roles in the ongoing project of constitutional construction. By making firm rules but also deliberately incorporating flexible standards and abstract principles, the Constitution’s authors constructed a framework for politics on which later generations could build. Americans have taken up this task, producing institutions and doctrines that flesh out the Constitution’s text and principles. Balkin’s analysis offers a way past the angry polemics of our era, a deepened understanding of the Constitution that is at once originalist and living constitutionalist, and a vision that allows all Americans to reclaim the Constitution as their own.

Originalism and the Good Constitution

Originalism and the Good Constitution PDF Author: John O. McGinnis
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 067472626X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
Originalism holds that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted according to its meaning at the time it was enacted. In their innovative defense of originalism, John McGinnis and Michael Rappaport maintain that the text of the Constitution should be adhered to by the Supreme Court because it was enacted by supermajorities--both its original enactment under Article VII and subsequent Amendments under Article V. A text approved by supermajorities has special value in a democracy because it has unusually wide support and thus tends to maximize the welfare of the greatest number. The authors recognize and respond to many possible objections. Does originalism perpetuate the dead hand of the past? How can originalism be justified, given the exclusion of African Americans and women from the Constitution and many of its subsequent Amendments? What is originalism's place in interpretation, after two hundred years of non-originalist precedent? A fascinating counterfactual they pose is this: had the Supreme Court not interpreted the Constitution so freely, perhaps the nation would have resorted to the Article V amendment process more often and with greater effect. Their book will be an important contribution to the literature on originalism, now the most prominent theory of constitutional interpretation.

Originalism

Originalism PDF Author: Steven G. Calabresi
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1596980605
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
What did the Constitution mean at the time it was adopted? How should we interpret today the words used by the Founding Fathers? In ORIGINALISM: A QUARTER-CENTURY OF DEBATE, these questions are explained and dissected by the very people who continue to shape the legal structure of our country.This is a lively and fascinating discussion of an issue that has occupied the greatest legal minds in America, and one that continues to elicit strong reactions from both those who support and those who oppose the rule of law. Steven G. Calabresi, co-founder of the Federalist Society and professor of law at Northwestern University School of Law, has compiled an impressive collection of speeches, panel discussions, and debates from some of the greatest and most prominent legal experts of the last twenty-five years.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

A Republic, If You Can Keep It PDF Author: Neil Gorsuch
Publisher: Crown Forum
ISBN: 0525576797
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Justice Neil Gorsuch reflects on his journey to the Supreme Court, the role of the judge under our Constitution, and the vital responsibility of each American to keep our republic strong. As Benjamin Franklin left the Constitutional Convention, he was reportedly asked what kind of government the founders would propose. He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” In this book, Justice Neil Gorsuch shares personal reflections, speeches, and essays that focus on the remarkable gift the framers left us in the Constitution. Justice Gorsuch draws on his thirty-year career as a lawyer, teacher, judge, and justice to explore essential aspects our Constitution, its separation of powers, and the liberties it is designed to protect. He discusses the role of the judge in our constitutional order, and why he believes that originalism and textualism are the surest guides to interpreting our nation’s founding documents and protecting our freedoms. He explains, too, the importance of affordable access to the courts in realizing the promise of equal justice under law—while highlighting some of the challenges we face on this front today. Along the way, Justice Gorsuch reveals some of the events that have shaped his life and outlook, from his upbringing in Colorado to his Supreme Court confirmation process. And he emphasizes the pivotal roles of civic education, civil discourse, and mutual respect in maintaining a healthy republic. A Republic, If You Can Keep It offers compelling insights into Justice Gorsuch’s faith in America and its founding documents, his thoughts on our Constitution’s design and the judge’s place within it, and his beliefs about the responsibility each of us shares to sustain our distinctive republic of, by, and for “We the People.”

Originalism's Promise

Originalism's Promise PDF Author: Lee J. Strang
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108475639
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
Provides the first natural law justification for an originalist interpretation of the American Constitution.

The Failed Promise of Originalism

The Failed Promise of Originalism PDF Author: Frank Cross
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804784698
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
Originalism is an enormously popular—and equally criticized—theory of constitutional interpretation. As Elena Kagan stated at her confirmation hearing, "We are all originalists." Scores of articles have been written on whether the Court should use originalism, and some have examined how the Court employed originalism in particular cases, but no one has studied the overall practice of originalism. The primary point of this book is an examination of the degree to which originalism influences the Court's decisions. Frank B. Cross tests this by examining whether originalism appears to constrain the ideological preferences of the justices, which are a demonstrable predictor of their decisions. Ultimately, he finds that however theoretically appealing originalism may seem, the changed circumstances over time and lack of reliable evidence means that its use is indeterminate and meaningless. Originalism can be selectively deployed or manipulated to support and legitimize any decision desired by a justice.

Originalism as Faith

Originalism as Faith PDF Author: Eric J. Segall
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107188555
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Tracing the development of originalism, Eric J. Segall shows how judges often use the theory to reach politically desirable results.