Originalism on Trial

The recent Supreme Court term gave rise to a virtual anointment of originalism, as the Court in case after case declared originalism the approach and method that determined the result. Professor Amar has spent a career on the study, exposition, and refinement of originalism, and that expertise is employed here to respond to these developments. We begin a look at the great cases and controversies of American history, and through them, we define an originalism that has a clear method, recognizes its own limits, responds to critiques, and is consistent with a recognizable America - not an America with a Constitution and a jurisprudence for liberals or for conservatives alone.