originalism

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  10/25/2020
  

  Amy Coney Barrett’s Judicial Philosophy Doesn’t Hold Up to Scrutiny

  by Angus King and Heather Cox Richardson

  "To put it bluntly, the whole premise of originalism is nonsense in that it pretends to make the work of the Supreme Court look straightforward and mechanical, like 'calling balls and strikes,' in Justice John Roberts’s famous phase."

• 
• SOURCE: Made by History at The Washington Post
  10/26/2020
  

  Amy Coney Barrett’s Philosophy Has Far Worse Roots Than Most Americans Know

  by Simon Gilhooley

  At the core of originalism is a fundamentally conservative effort to limit the possibilities of our constitutional order to the imagination of historical figures from the 18th century, which included racial hierarchy and support for chattel slavery.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  10/16/2020
  

  The Framers of the Constitution Didn’t Worry about ‘Originalism’

  by Jack Rakove

  "Some of the key words and terms in our constitutional vocabulary were subject to pounding controversy and reconsideration. One has to engage these debates to understand how Americans were thinking about these issues at the time."

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  10/16/2020
  

  Which Constitution is Amy Coney Barrett Talking About?

  by Jamelle Bouie

  The Times columnist argues that the original meaning of the Reconstruction Amendments establishes a constitutional vision of equality and civil rights that conservative originalists ignore. 

• 
• SOURCE: Duke Center for Firearms Law
  10/14/2020
  

  Amy Coney Barrett on Guns

  by Jake Charles

  A Second Amendment scholar examines the SCOTUS nominee's historical interpretation of prohibitions on individual firearm ownership, concluding that her record shows a commitment to gun rights but uncertainty about how she might rule on particular cases.

• 
• SOURCE: Duke Center for Firearms Law
  10/7/2020
  

  Why Heller is Such Bad History

  by Noah Shusterman

  Antonin Scalia's opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller ignored the actual history of the early American militia in order to invent an individual right to gun ownership.

• 
• 7/23/2020
  

  What the Faithless Electors Decision Says about SCOTUS and Originalism

  by Ray Raphael

  The outcome of the "faithless electors" case shows that judicial "originalists" use that principle pragmatically and selectively. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  5/26/2020
  

  There’s No Historical Justification for One of the Most Dangerous Ideas in American Law

  by Julian Davis Mortenson and Nicholas Bagley

  The delegation of regulatory power to federal agencies is the indispensable foundation of modern American governance. And it is under siege.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  4/3/2020
  

  Common-Good Constitutionalism Is an Idea as Dangerous as They Come

  by Garrett Epps

  A recently published theory of law is an argument for authoritarian extremism.

• 
• SOURCE: The New Republic
  12/5/19
  

  Don’t Embrace Originalism to Defend Trump’s Impeachment

  by Saul Cornell

  Liberal legal scholars are at risk of falling into a right-wing trap.

• 
• 10/27/19
  

  Why Originalism Should Apply to Impeachment

  by Donald J. Fraser

  I have never been a supporter of originalism. Until recently, I was also skeptical that impeachment was the right way to handle Donald Trump’s presidency. But I have recently changed my mind.

• 
• 7/8/18
  

  The Founders Would Not Recognize Originalism—Why Should We?

  by Donald J. Fraser

  As John Marshall noted, “historians can never forget that it is a debate they are interpreting.”

• 
• SOURCE: WaPo
  3-28-17
  

  The Lawyer vs. the Historian

  by Randy Barnett

  A fight over originalism.

• 
• SOURCE: Process
  3-20-17
  

  Are historians ignoring the history of originalism?

  by Jonathan Gienapp

  That’s what this historian thinks.

• 
• SOURCE: The New Yorker
  3-21-17
  

  Weaponizing the Past

  by Jill Lepore

  How should the courts use history?

• 
• SOURCE: NYT
  3-18-17
  

  What Gorsuch Has in Common With Liberals

  by Akhil Reed Amar

  He's an originalist.  So are (surprise!) a lot of liberals.

• 
• 3-19-17
  

  What Would the Founding Fathers Make of Originalism? Not much.

  by Andrew Shankman

  The stable original intent we can most likely take from them is that we all must be keenly alive to our duty to be thoughtful, compassionate citizens.

• 
• 2-23-16
  

  Who Invented Originalism?

  by Kristen Greif

  It wasn’t Robert Bork or Antonin Scalia.

• 

• Actually, Scalia's Legal Logic Permits Gun Control

  by Alan Singer

  "The key issues I want to address in this article are the constitutional principles Mr. LaPierre is so intent on defending."

• 
• 2-13-16
  

  Supreme Court Nominations

  An index of our coverage.