The U.S. Constitution in Five Minutes - Joseph L. Smith
6. How Can We Tell What the Constitution Means?
The U.S. Constitution in Five Minutes - Joseph L. Smith
Sara C. Benesh [+]
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Sara C. Benesh is associate professor and chair of political science at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She studies judicial decision making and institutional legitimacy.
Description
Interpreting even our very short constitution is not a simple task. This chapter highlights the problem and explains various strategies for interpreting the constitution (including plain meaning, originalism, and pragmatism), concluding that what the constitution means depends very much on the preferences and choices of those who interpret it.