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Antonin Scali's Constitution Approach

Introduction

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia defends his "originalist" approach to constitutional interpretation in a closing address to a Princeton University conference on James Madison, fourth president and framer of the Constitution.

Scalia criticizes the second approach, saying that it too often results in crafting subjective interpretations of the Constitution to address issues that could and should be handled by Congress. Calling his outlook of the Constitution an "originalist" outlook, Scalia conceded it often locations him in a place of supporting laws that do not appear to make sense. Scalia suggests that supporters of the "living Constitution" view, allowing for flexible interpretations molded to meet the changing times, really wanted "rigidity."

"They desire the entire homeland to do it their way from seaboard area to coast. They desire to propel one issue after another off the stage of political argument … Every time you inject into the Constitution - by speculation - new privileges that aren't actually there you are impoverishing democracy. You are pushing one issue after another off the democratic stage."One of the two most interesting chapters is Chapter 2: "Text and Tradition." It summarizes Justice Scalia's textualist approach to statutory and constitutional interpretation. In short, when concluding a granted case, the plain meaning of the phrases comprised in statutes or constitution provisions matters. Where the simple text is unclear, a jurist should consult the tradition behind the text to understand what the words signify to those who taken up it. The initial comprehending of the text rather than any initial or even secret intent should be controlling. Justice Scalia's approach is joined to an focus upon the popular decision-making method as the cornerstone for legitimate workout of governmental authority. Not judicial adventurism and second-guessing of popular decision-making evidenced by statutes and constitutional provisions.

The other section making for the most intriguing reading is section 3: "Constitutional Structure and Separation of Powers." This portion transitions in a nice way from the preceding chapter and underscores the importance that governmental structure performances in Justice Scalia's outlooks of the constitution. During his SCOTUS confirmation hearings, then-Judge Scalia testified that our partition of government power into three branches with a system of tests and balances has been vital to the defense of our liberties. Rossum advances to investigate significant separation of powers attitudes written by Justice Scalia, including his infamous, lone-ranger disagreement in Morrisonv. Olsen (1988) concerning the Ethics in Government Act's provision for an independent counsel. At topic was the constitutionality of vesting the independent counsel of boss power regardless of its detachment from the President. Also significant is Rossum's investigation of fairness Scalia's majority opinion in Printzv. United States (1997). The case is typically renowned as an anti-commandeering conclusion, but Rossum best features the separation of powers rationale that fairness Scalia encompasses in the opinion.

Later chapters deal with fairness Scalia's approach to substantive individual privileges and to one-by-one procedural rights. Justice Scalia's textualist focus is to prevent "backsliding" or erosion of significant freedoms by judicial re-interpretation of ...