Originalism in American law and politics : a constitutional history / Johnathan O'Neill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Neill, Johnathan G. (Johnathan George)

Series:

Johns Hopkins series in constitutional thought

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Constitutional history--United States.

Constitutional history.

Law.

History.

United States.

Law--United States--Interpretation and construction--History.

Physical Description:

x, 281 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.

Summary:

This book explains how the debate over originalism emerged from the interaction of constitutional theory, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and American political development. Refuting the contention that originalism is a concoction of political conservatives such as Robert Bork, Johnathan O'Neill asserts that recent appeals to the origin of the Constitution in Supreme Court decisions and commentary, especially by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, continue an established pattern in judicial decision making.

Originalism in American Law and Politics is distinguished by its historical approach to the topic. Drawing on constitutional commentary and treatises, Supreme Court and lower federal court opinions, congressional hearings, and scholarly monographs, O'Neill's work will be valuable to historians, academic lawyers, and political scientists.

Contents:

From textual originalism to modern judicial power

Modern judicial power and the the process-restraint tradition

The return of originalist analysis in the Warren Court era

At the crossroads: the originalist idea in post-Warren Court politics and jurisprudence

Raoul Berger and the restoration of originalism

Originalism in the era of Ronald Reagan

Robert Bork and the trial of originalism

Originalism in the 1990s: the transformation of academic theory and the limitations of practice.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [217]-276) and index.

ISBN:

0801881110

OCLC:

56682855