Abandon Hope of Objective Constitutional Interpretation All Ye Who Enter Here: Chemerinsky's Expansive New View of Constitutional Interpretation
Abandon Hope of Objective Constitutional Interpretation All Ye Who Enter Here: Chemerinsky's Expansive New View of Constitutional Interpretation, 10 Hous. L. Rev.: Off Rec. 1 (2019).
6 Pages Posted: 17 Jun 2020
Date Written: 2019
Abstract
Erwin Chemerinsky’s new book We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century proposes a new and expansive method for constitutional interpretation. Chemerinsky posits that there are five values in the Preamble that should guide interpretation of the Constitution: democratic governance, effective governance, justice, liberty, and equality. He then uses this inherently vague standard to justify a variety of his personal policy preferences, now constitutionally required under the new standard he created. This standard seems to have no bounds, even allowing Chemerinsky to label the Electoral College, which is expressly established in the Constitution, as “clear[ly] unconstitutional[].” Fans of Chemerinsky’s past work, which draws on his extensive knowledge of constitutional law to make highly thought-out and persuasive arguments, will be highly disappointed by this book.
Keywords: Erwin Chemerinsky, Original intent, Originalism, minimal entitlements, Strict construction, Living Constitution, Textualism, Constitutionality of electoral college, Preamble, We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century, Constitutional interpretation,
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