Ugly American Hermeneutics

Mootz, Francis Joseph

Abstract

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Ugly American Hermeneutics

Francis Joseph Mootz III

University of the Pacific - McGeorge School of Law

Nevada Law Review, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2010
UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper

Abstract:
This article will appear in a Symposium on comparative legal hermeneutics that includes four articles by American scholars and four articles by Brazilian scholars. I argue that the "ugly American" hermeneutics exemplified in Justice Scalia's opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller is unfortunate, even if we supplement Justice Scalia's hermeneutical fantasy with the much more careful and balanced philosophical work by Larry Solum, Keith Whittington and other scholars. Nevertheless, the pragmatic work of interpretation by lawyers and judges in the day-to-day world of legal practice shows a plain-faced integrity of which we Americans can be proud.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 20

Keywords: Hermeneutics, Originalism, New Textualism, Constitutional Interpretation, Statutory Interpretation, Justice Scalia, Lawrence B. Solum, Keith Whittington, District of Columbia v. Heller

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Date posted: November 7, 2010

Suggested Citation

Mootz, Francis Joseph, Ugly American Hermeneutics. Nevada Law Review, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2010; UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1703702

Contact Information

Francis Joseph Mootz III (Contact Author)

University of the Pacific - McGeorge School of Law ( email )

3200 Fifth Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95817
United States