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Living Constitution (view source)
Revision as of 05:07, November 19, 2015
, 05:07, November 19, 2015Stephen Breyer discusses "ancient values"
Supporters of the concept argue that the ''living constitution'' is one that changes based on the changing values of the people. Some proponents point to the fact that there are many places of silence on many issues within the Constitution itself. Others, such as [[Cass Sunstein]], a scholar at [[Harvard]], argues that the Constitution does not come with an instruction manual.
Supporters of the concept argue that the ''living constitution'' is one that changes based on the changing values of the people. Some proponents point to the fact that there are many places of silence on many issues within the Constitution itself. Others, such as [[Cass Sunstein]], a scholar at [[Harvard]], argues that the Constitution does not come with an instruction manual.
<blockquote>The Constitution does not set out the instructions for its own interpretation. A theory of interpretation has to be defended, rather than asserted, and the defense must speak candidly in terms of the system of constitutional law that it will yield.<ref>[http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1207&context=public_law_and_legal_theory Of Snakes and Butterflies: A Reply] (PDF), [[Cass R. Sunstein]]</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>The Constitution does not set out the instructions for its own interpretation. A theory of interpretation has to be defended, rather than asserted, and the defense must speak candidly in terms of the system of constitutional law that it will yield.<ref>[http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1207&context=public_law_and_legal_theory Of Snakes and Butterflies: A Reply] (PDF), [[Cass R. Sunstein]]</ref></blockquote>
In testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court Justice [[Stephen Breyer]] argued that "the hardest problem in real cases is that the words "life, liberty, or property" do not explain themselves, "liberty," nor does "the freedom of speech" say specifically what counts as the freedom of speech."<ref name=sjc>[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112shrg70991/html/CHRG-112shrg70991.htm Considering The Role Of Judges Under The Constitution Of The United States]</ref> He is alluding to what Sunstein plainly stated, that the Constitution has no instruction manual. So he argues in favor of interpretation, that they are "trying to apply this Constitution with those values underlying the words, to circumstances that are continuously changing, is not something that can be done by a computer. Neither of us thinks that. No one thinks that. And, therefore, it calls for human judgment." Judgement is required, "to work out how those ancient values apply to modern circumstances."<ref name=sjc />
===Disfavor===
===Disfavor===