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Originalism is a legal theory that bases constitutional, judicial, and statutory interpretation of text on the original understanding at the time of its adoption. Proponents of the theory object to judicial activism and other interpretations related to a living constitution framework.
Original intent is a theory in law concerning constitutional and statutory interpretation. It is frequently used as a synonym for originalism; while original intent is one theory in the originalist family, it has some salient differences which has led originalists from more predominant schools of thought such as original meaning to distinguish original intent as much as legal realists do.
Textualism is a formalist theory in which the interpretation of the law is based exclusively on the ordinary meaning of the legal text, where no consideration is given to non-textual sources, such as intention of the law when passed, the problem it was intended to remedy, or significant questions regarding the justice or rectitude of the law.
The opinions in Friday’s decision suggest that the justices are still grappling over the definition of originalism, constitutional meaning and the role of history in Second Amendment litigation.
Despite Scalia's advocacy for originalism in interpreting the US Constitution, he argues that determining legislative intent for other legal texts is impossible because every statute is the product of compromise between many legislators, so aggregating their viewpoints is an impractical approach to statutory interpretation. [2]
"At this point at this Supreme Court, originalism is a dead letter, to be resurrected and employed only when it suits the court's purposes," said Michael Luttig, a conservative former federal judge.
In an article in The Atlantic in March 2020, Adrian Vermeule suggested that originalism – the idea that the meaning of the American Constitution was fixed at the time of its enactment, which has been the principal legal theory of conservative judges and legal scholars for the past 50 years, but which Vermeule now characterizes as merely "a ...
Thus, although the Supreme Court’s conservative majority claims to be faithful to the idea of originalism—that is, identifying the meaning of constitutional provisions at the time they were ...