Originalism

Check out the fascinating posts at the Legal Theory blog about "originalism" as an approach to understanding the Constitution.  Run, don't walk.  Larry Solum quotes, links to, and responds to a wide variety of views on the subject.

I'm reminded that a "conservative" lawyer and friend of mine once quipped, when asked why (s)he had become a Catholic, "because I'm an originalist."  (Just to be clear, I'm not saying here that Catholics must, or even should, be "originalists" when it comes to constitutional interpretation.)

Rick