Constitutional Interpretation and Republican Government

Dublin University Law Journal, Vol. 28, p. 221, 2006

33 Pages Posted: 1 Mar 2010 Last revised: 15 Jul 2018

See all articles by Barry Sullivan

Barry Sullivan

Loyola University Chicago School of Law

Date Written: 2006

Abstract

The debate over how to interpret the Constitution, what sources might properly be considered, and what role the Supreme Court should play in that process, are questions that go back to the earliest days of the American republic. The force of these debates has ebbed and flowed throughout American history. For almost 50 years, Republican presidents and presidential candidates have criticized the Supreme Court for its alleged "activism" and "free-style" methods of constitutional interpretation. This Essay discusses and contrasts the interpretative approaches espoused by Reagan adminstration Attorney General Edwin Meese, Supreme Court Justices William Brennan and Antonin Scalia, and finally, in considerable depth, the approach of Justice Stephen Breyer as propounded in his book "Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution."

Keywords: Constitutional Law, Constitutional Interpretation, U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer

JEL Classification: K1, K10, K4, K40

Suggested Citation

Sullivan, Barry, Constitutional Interpretation and Republican Government (2006). Dublin University Law Journal, Vol. 28, p. 221, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1560082

Barry Sullivan (Contact Author)

Loyola University Chicago School of Law ( email )

25 E. Pearson
Chicago, IL 60611
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.luc.edu/law/faculty/sullivan.html

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
54
Abstract Views
750
Rank
676,215
PlumX Metrics