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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.
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]
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 ...
"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.
One argument in support of the concept of a "Living Constitution" is the concept that the Constitution itself is silent on the matter of constitutional interpretation. Proponents assert that the Constitution's framers, most of whom were trained lawyers and legal theorists, were certainly aware of the debates and would have known the confusion ...
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.
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 ...