Book contents
- The Hollow Core of Constitutional Theory
- The Hollow Core of Constitutional Theory
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 The Framers and Contemporary Constitutional Theory
- 2 The Framers’ Intentions
- 3 Original Methods and the Limits of Interpretation
- 4 Original Methods Updating
- 5 The Semantic Summing Problem
- 6 Is Corpus Linguistics Better than Flipping a Coin?
- 7 The Framers’ Intentions Can Solve the Semantic Summing Problem
- 8 Interpretation and Sociological Legitimacy
- 9 Noninterpretive Decisions
- 10 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - The Framers and Contemporary Constitutional Theory
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 January 2021
- The Hollow Core of Constitutional Theory
- The Hollow Core of Constitutional Theory
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 The Framers and Contemporary Constitutional Theory
- 2 The Framers’ Intentions
- 3 Original Methods and the Limits of Interpretation
- 4 Original Methods Updating
- 5 The Semantic Summing Problem
- 6 Is Corpus Linguistics Better than Flipping a Coin?
- 7 The Framers’ Intentions Can Solve the Semantic Summing Problem
- 8 Interpretation and Sociological Legitimacy
- 9 Noninterpretive Decisions
- 10 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The nation’s Founders have tremendous public appeal, and advocates of originalism, such as Justice Antonin Scalia, and the living Constitution, such as David Strauss, have invoked the Founders for support in their arguments for interpretive methods that nevertheless leave the Framers out of the picture. As a result, American constitutional theory has increasingly shifted its focus away from the lawmaker’s intentions. To provide a sound basis for the process of interpretation, constitutional theory needs to return to its historical core, which is an understanding of the decision made by the lawmaker in adopting the text. As a practical matter, determining that original choice will require an inquiry into the Framers’ understandings as shown in the record of the drafts and debates.
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- The Hollow Core of Constitutional TheoryWhy We Need the Framers, pp. 1 - 25Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021