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Reading the Constitution : why I chose pragmatism, not textualism / Stephen Breyer.

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An analysis by recently retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer that deconstructs the textualist philosophy of the current Supreme Court's supermajority and makes the case for a better way to interpret the Constitution.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Breyer, Stephen G., 1938- (Author)
Other title:Why I chose pragmatism, not textualism
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2024.
Edition:First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Subjects:
United States. > Supreme Court.
United States. > Constitution.
Law > United States > Interpretation and construction.
Constitutional law > United States.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface: My way
  • Part I: Purpose vs. textualism. Purpose-based approaches
  • The textualist approach
  • Part II: Interpreting statutory law. The traditional use of text and purpose
  • The text/purpose divide
  • Static or dynamic?
  • Consequences
  • Legislative history
  • Constitutional values
  • Resolving the text/purpose tension
  • Why judges should consider purposes: a summary
  • Part III: Interpreting the Constitution. The Constitution
  • The traditional approach to constitutional interpretation
  • Constitutional textualism
  • When the text runs out : the limits of constitutional textualism
  • Legal stability : stare decisis
  • Part IV: Why values, purposes, and workability provide a better way to interpret the Constitution. Workability : history and practical experience
  • Workability : deciding where values conflict
  • Workability: direct application of basic values
  • Part V: Paradigm shifts on the court. Three paradigm shifts
  • Are we undergoing the next paradigm shift?

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