This book discusses in great detail the interpretive methods that the Supreme Court and individual justices have employed to discern and explain constitutional meaning from the earliest days to the present. It relies exclusively on the actual approaches and explanations offered by the justices rather than providing its own normative theory of constitutional interpretation. The book is organized around particular interpretive methods such as textualism as opposed to historical eras, individual decisions, or legal subject matter. Chapters One and Two discuss textualism including textual canons, ... More

This book discusses in great detail the interpretive methods that the Supreme Court and individual justices have employed to discern and explain constitutional meaning from the earliest days to the present. It relies exclusively on the actual approaches and explanations offered by the justices rather than providing its own normative theory of constitutional interpretation. The book is organized around particular interpretive methods such as textualism as opposed to historical eras, individual decisions, or legal subject matter. Chapters One and Two discuss textualism including textual canons, intratextual analysis, and the use of textual purpose. Chapters Three and Four focus on the sources that the Court has relied upon to derive original understanding. Chapter Five explains how the Court has relied on tradition and practice as a source of constitutional meaning. Chapter Six shows how the Court has employed structural reasoning. Chapter Seven discusses how the Court shapes, distinguishes, and overrules precedent. Chapters Eight and Nine illustrate how the Court has derived, shaped, and clarified constitutional principle and doctrine. Chapter Ten discusses how the Court has used consequential reasoning while Chapter Eleven considers its use of ethical argument. Chapter Twelve discusses the Court's use of rhetoric. Finally, Chapter Thirteen uses five significant cases to illustrate how the Court synthesizes these different methods of interpretation into an opinion.