The Constitution

Interpreting the Constitution

many people-judges, legal scholars, political leaders, and citizens-disagree about the best way to interpret the different provisions in the Constitution

• 2 competing approaches exist:

  ### Originalist

• interpreted according to the original intent of the people who wrote it in 1787
• interpreted according to the original understanding of Americans when it went into effect in 1789

    ### Living Constitution * argue that historical analyses can’t provide all the answers for modern situations and that where they don’t, judge must apply the values of the Constitution in light of modern circumstances

      # Criticisms of Each Approach * originalists criticize the Living Constitution approach because they believe it allows judges to substitute their own, personal values and desired outcomes for the will of the people * Living Constitutionalists criticize the Orginialists approach because they believe we can’t tell what the Framers intended it to mean, or what the people of the time understood it to mean. * they also believe that for the Constitution to endure, it must be adaptable to circumstances that the Framers could not imagine * It is worth noting that the Consitution itself says nothing about how it should be interpreted