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An Original Look at Originalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Robert M. Howard  and
Jeffrey A. Segal
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Abstract

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While the normative debate over originalism continues unabated (e.g., Scalia 1997; Whittington 1999), the systematic empirical validity of originalism lies relatively unexamined. Using data derived from briefs filed by litigants over eight years, we developed an initial systematic test of the influence of arguments about text and intent on the decisions of U.S. Supreme Court Justices. Typically, we find that Justices support textual or intentional arguments when they are made by liberal parties or when they are made by conservative parties, but not across the board. Multivariate analyses show that legal arguments as to text, and particularly intent, have little impact on the votes of even those Justices alleged to be originalists. Instead, ideology continues to explain their decisions.

Type
Papers of General Interest
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , 2002 , pp. 113 - 137
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 Law and Society Association.

Footnotes

We thank Melissa Marschall, Ellen Lazarus, and Jeff Davis for research assistance. We also thank the National Science Foundation (SBR 9515335) for financial support.

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