Articles tagged as Legal Positivism
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“Positivism Only?: Privileges or Immunities in The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment” – Garrett Snedeker in Anchoring Truths
JWI Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker offers his thoughts on Profs. Randy Barnett and Evan Bernick’s recent book, The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. He discusses their positivist approach to interpreting the Privileges or Immunities Clause and questions whether natural law reasoning can be divorced from the recognition of unenumerated constitutional rights. We’ve included a […] -
“A Jurisprudential Red Pill: Part I” — Evelyn Blacklock
Evelyn Blacklock reviews Prof. Adrian Vermeule's "Common Good Constitutionalism," which argues that both originalism and living constitutionalism have abandoned the classical legal tradition. -
“Originalism: A Hollow Core?” — Garrett Snedeker at Starting Points Journal
JWI’s Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker discusses Donald Drakeman’s new book on Originalism and discusses its strengths and weaknesses. Some excerpts: “Don Drakeman’s ‘The Hollow Core of Constitutional Theory’ arrives at a time when Originalism faces three interrelated questions. First, does the success of the originalist project hinge on devotion to interpreting the text of the Constitution […] -
“How to Recover Conservative Judging” — Holden Tanner at Anchoring Truths and Law & Liberty
Holden Tanner argues for a new method of fighting legal realism: Encourage state courts to pursue originalism and to develop their common law traditions from principles of natural law. Some excerpts: “By brandishing the centrality of text, conservative jurists sought to constrict the aggrandizement of the New Deal Court and weed out the inventions of […] -
“Contra Historicist Originalism” — Josh Hammer
Responding to Professor Stephanie Barclay, Josh Hammer argues for a right-of-center method of jurisprudence–one which goes beyond positivism or “strict constructionism” by joining originalism and moral principles. Some excerpts from the piece: “In a recent Deseret Magazine essay, Notre Dame Law School professor Stephanie Barclay rebuts the trite and tiresome progressive objection that the constitutional interpretive methodology […] -
PODCAST: Jesse Merriam and Josh Hammer on “An Even Better Originalism?”
Patrick Henry College Associate Professor Jesse Merriam and JWI affiliated scholar Josh Hammer joined JWI Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker to discuss Professor Merriam’s article, “A Better Legal Conservatism,” published in The American Mind. Prof. Merriam’s article was in response to “A Better Originalism,” co-authored by Prof. Hadley Arkes, Garrett Snedeker, Josh Hammer, and Matthew Peterson. […] -
Moral Truth and Constitutional Conservatism: Prof. Gerry Bradley in the Louisiana Law Review
JWI Trustee and Senior Scholar Gerry Bradley has written a “must-read” law review article that eloquently and forcefully argues for a jurisprudence of Natural Law as a corrective against the ills of progressive approaches to constitutional interpretation and positivist originalism. We share with you the full text of the article below, appearing in the Summer […] -
“In Defense of ‘A Better Originalism'” – Prof. Hadley Arkes in Law & Liberty
In an essay for Law & Liberty, James Wilson Institute Founder and Director Prof. Hadley Arkes defends JWI’s recent call in The American Mind for judges to adopt an “originalism of moral substance” against criticism by John Grove. Prof. Arkes argues that Grove misconstrues the nature of moral truths and their role in adjudication, which […] -
VIDEO: “A Better Originalism” Debate featuring JWI’s Garrett Snedeker and Prof. Ilan Wurman
JWI’s Garrett Snedeker and Prof. Ilan Wurman debated the merits of the statement Snedeker co-authored in March 2021, titled “A Better Originalism,” for the Scalia Law School Federalist Society Chapter. -
“A Better Originalism” – Arkes and Snedeker in The American Mind
A new statement of purpose published in The American Mind, written by Prof. Hadley Arkes, Garrett Snedeker, Joshua Hammer, and Matthew Peterson calls upon conservatives to adopt an originalism of moral substance. The authors write: “We are faced with a moment of political crisis. The Biden administration seeks to fundamentally transform the United States by […]