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Greene, Ansolabehere, & Persily on Originalism & Public Opinion

By Larry Solum

Jamal Greene (Columbia University - Law School), Stephen Ansolabehere (Harvard University - Department of Government), & Nathaniel Persily (Columbia Law School) have posted <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1567702">Profiling Originalism</a> on SSRN. Here is the abstract:<ul> Originalism is a common subject of both legal and political discourse. It is frequently invoked not just in law reviews but during election campaigns, at confirmation hearings, and interstitially on cable news, in print media, and on talk radio. This Article presents the first empirical study of public attitudes towards originalism. Our study uses original survey data and multiple regression analysis to better understand the demographic characteristics, legal views, political orientation, and cultural profile of those who self-identify as originalist. We conclude that the most significant predictors of an individual preference for originalism are the respondent's view on the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, her level of formal education, and her relative level of moral traditionalism. Our analysis suggests that originalism has currency not only as a legal proposition about constitutional interpretation but also, and no less significantly, as a political commodity and as a culturally expressive idiom. This conclusion carries consequences for debates about the role of the public in shaping constitutional meaning and in influencing judicial decisionmaking.</ul> <span href="http://" style="color: #0000bf; "><strong>Very interesting & highly recommended.</strong></span>

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on April 02, 2010 (boomark / email).