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"Constitutional Justice" Or "Constitutional Peace"? The Supreme Court And Affirmative Action, Robert J. Delahunty

Washington and Lee Law Review

The "problem of constitutional evil" is the topic of a recent and provocative book by historian and law professor Mark Graber. The problem arises because the formation and the maintenance of constitutions such as ours require concessions by one group of citizens to another group who, in the eyes of the former, are committed to radically unjust practices. In the case of the formation of our own Constitution, the most fundamental of such concessions was the compromise under which slavery was guaranteed constitutional protection, at least where it already existed Despite their deep misgivings over slavery, opponents of that institution …