Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism

ISBN: 1668021536

Author: Breyer, Stephen

Condition: Used

A provocative, brilliant analysis by recently retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer that deconstructs the textualist philosophy of the current Supreme Courts supermajority and makes the case for a better way to interpret the Constitution.You will not read a more important legal work this election year. -Bob Woodward,Washington Post reporter and author of fifteen #1 New York Times bestselling booksA dissent for the ages. -The Washington PostBreyers candor about the state of the court is refreshing and much needed. -The Boston GlobeThe relatively new judicial philosophy of textualism dominates the Supreme Court. Textualists claim that the right way to interpret the Constitution and statutes is to read the text carefully and examine the language as it was understood at the time the documents were written.This, however, is not Justice Breyers philosophy nor has it been the traditional way to interpret the Constitution since the time of Chief Justice John Marshall. Justice Breyer recalls Marshalls exhortation that the Constitution must be a workable set of principles to be interpreted by subsequent generations.Most important in interpreting law, says Breyer, is to understand the purposes of statutes as well as the consequences of deciding a case one way or another. He illustrates these principles by examining some of the most important cases in the nations history, among them the Dobbs and Bruen decisions from 2022 that he argues were wrongly decided and have led to harmful results.