The Unfulfilled Potential of the Court and Legislature Dialogue

Abstract

Constitutional scholarship has been exploring the idea that the court and the legislature engage in a dialogue over the meaning of the constitution. Yet, despite many contributions to the idea of dialogue over the last decade, its potential remains unfulfilled. The epistemological potential of dialogue remains understudied, in part because the court continues to be viewed as the supreme, if not also the sole expounder of the constitution. For dialogue's potential to be realized, the legislature should be acknowledged as a coordinate actor in expounding constitutional meaning and both court and legislature should assume a disposition for dialogue.

Keywords: constitutional law, judicial review, dialogue, court, legislature