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Full-Text Articles in Law

Towards A Borgean Theory Of Constitutional Interpretation, Marco Jimenez Jan 2013

Towards A Borgean Theory Of Constitutional Interpretation, Marco Jimenez

Pepperdine Law Review

This Article presents a reworking of Jorge Luis Borges’ short story, Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, as applied to the U.S. Constitution. In Borges’ original story, which deals with important issues governing interpretation, the creation of meaning, and the ascertainment of original intent, Borges’ fictional scholar, Pierre Menard, undertakes to translate Cervantes’ Don Quixote for a modern audience by creating a Quixote that could have been written by Cervantes today. To do so, Menard begins by immersing himself in the world of 17th century Spain, much as an originalist today might immerse him or herself in 18th century America, …


The Priority Of Law: A Response To Michael Stokes Paulsen, Eugene Volokh Jan 2013

The Priority Of Law: A Response To Michael Stokes Paulsen, Eugene Volokh

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Priority Of God: A Theory Of Religious Liberty, Michael Stokes Paulsen Jan 2013

The Priority Of God: A Theory Of Religious Liberty, Michael Stokes Paulsen

Pepperdine Law Review

Professor Paulsen argues that religious freedom only makes entire sense as a constitutional arrangement on the premise that God exists, that God makes actual demands on human loyalty and conduct, and that those demands precede and are superior in obligation to those of the State. Religious freedom exists to protect the exercise of plausibly true understandings of God's actual commands, as against state power, and to disable state power to proscribe -- or prescribe -- religious exercise. The article explores four possible stances of society toward religious freedom, depending on whether society and state embrace the idea of religious truth …


The Third Annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture: A Conversation With Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Sandra Day O'Connor, Kenneth W. Starr, Carol A. Chase, Colleen Graffy, Virginia Milstead Feb 2012

The Third Annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture: A Conversation With Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Sandra Day O'Connor, Kenneth W. Starr, Carol A. Chase, Colleen Graffy, Virginia Milstead

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Marshall V Madison: The Supreme Court And Original Intent, 1803-1835, Gordon Lloyd Jul 2003

Marshall V Madison: The Supreme Court And Original Intent, 1803-1835, Gordon Lloyd

School of Public Policy Working Papers

Should the justices of the Supreme Court rely on “original intent” as the foundation for constitutional interpretation? Or should they be free to interpret the Constitution in light of hermeneutical approaches created by current philosophies of law? This essay examines the Marshall Court to determine whether its opinions take their bearings from the American Founding or instead rely on a philosophy of jurisprudence that can be separated from the Founding. The purposes of this essay are fourfold: 1) to provide a comprehensive account of the use of the Framers by the Marshall Court, 2) address the normative question of the …