By: paul2eaglin

paul2eaglin — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:52:38 +0000

WC
This week, The Oath, by Jeffrey Toobin, was published. It’s a fantastic way to introduce the non lawyer to what’s at stake and what has transpired through the years to put us where we find ourselves today. The focus is the disparate views as to the law on the part of CJ John Roberts and Pres. Obama, who share a lot in common but are also quite different. Toobin’s writing style is so accessible that he makes it so easy to recommend his work to someone who may not have the legal training but does have sufficient civic awareness to take an interest.
One fundamental difficulty the textualists/originalists have is the inability to point to explicit support in the Constitution where the Founders said that it was to be interpreted in a textualist and/or originalist manner. All it would have required is a sentence, at most, and a rather brief one, perhaps no more than an independent clause.
I’ve just learned about (but haven’t had a chance to check out) a new publication by law professor Garrett Epps, Wrong and Dangerous: Ten Right Wing Myths About Our Constitution. It seems like it will serve a useful purpose as well because the misunderstandings/misinterpretations begin with misinformation that eventually takes on life of its own. His focus seems to be those who have a shirt pocket version of the Constitution and who therefore consider themselves to be experts in constitutional law.
Paul Eaglin
Fairbanks

Comments on: Judge Richard A. Posner: The Intellectual Hypocrisy of Antonin Scalia

By: paul2eaglin