May 21, 2009

It Is a Constitution We Are Expounding


Along with Keeping Faith With the Constitution, ACS also has published a companion volume, entitled It Is a Constitution We Are Expounding: Collected Writings on Interpreting Our Founding Document.

This book, with a Foreword by Professor Laurence H. Tribe, contains excerpts from some of the finest existing writing on methods of constitutional interpretation, taken from decisions of the Supreme Court and other opinions and speeches by Justices and judges, the scholarly literature, and other sources.

The materials gathered in this volume explore a variety of interpretive resources that can help illuminate the Constitution’s meaning, including its text, structure, and history, the shared values it embodies, judicial precedent, and the consequences a particular interpretation is likely to have. Like Keeping Faith – whose authors drew upon many of the ideas presented in this volume – this publication presents accepted tools of interpretation; that are faithful to the Constitution.

Both books are designed to be useful to a wide readership, including law students, lawyers, judges, and every citizen engaged in the nation’s debates over the Constitution, the courts, and judicial nominations.

Read a summary here and the full text here.