Well necessary criteria would be that the decision (1) is based on the language of the Constitution itself, and the original meaning of those words, (2) does not rely on some extra-Constitutional basis, such as modern social policy or foreign law, unless that policy or law is incorporated by the Constitution, (3) is consistent, in that if it treats cases differently, it does so in a way rooted in the Constitution itself.
I personally think you could have decisions which are principled according to these criteria coming down either way on the religion clauses. When I think of decisions based on judicial fiat, I tend to think more of other decisions. Sam Ventola Denver, Colorado On 7/25/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > In a message dated 7/25/2005 4:37:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > (Since this is a religion list, what exactly does it mean to "enforce the > Constitution as written" when it comes to the religion clauses?) > A distinct but equally important question is this. Suppose we know > what it means "to enforce the Constitution as written, rather than impose > some other world view through judicial fiat" just how do we know when a > judicial decision succeeds in achieving this? What features of the opinion > or reasoning will be dispositive? Further, even if we were all committed to > this imperative regarding the religion clauses, is there any reasonable > chance that this will help us achieve consensus over their meaning? > > Bobby > > Robert Justin Lipkin > Professor of Law > Widener University School of Law > Delaware > _______________________________________________ > To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see > http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw > > Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as > private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are > posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or > wrongly) forward the messages to others. > > _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
