Antonin Scalia (Links to an external site.) embodied a conservative jurisprudence which has subsequently been embraced by the Republican party and held as a benchmark for the most recent appointments to the US Supreme Court.  This clip illuminates his thoughts on the Constitution as well as the role judges play within the American legal system.

Link: https://youtu.be/XUnI3gaEmGY

Directions

This is a two-part assignment.  The primary goal is to allow students to demonstrate evidence of comprehension.  The minimum recommended word count for the initial post is 700 words (not including direct quotations).  In your initial response due Wednesday (11:55PM), directly address the following points:

           1)  What is originalism and how does it differ from the idea of a living Constitution?

           2)  What does Scalia see as the most important part of the United States Constitution?

           3)  Based on your work with the course materials from this week, do you find Scalia’s perspective persuasive?  

Follow-Up Reply Directions

After your initial submission, select 2 posts from your peers and respond to them by Sunday, January 16th (11:55pm).  The responses should be similar in quality to your initial post in terms of depth of thought and content.  Quality responses do not simply agree with the author but substantially expand the  discussion.  

Please see the rubric attached.

Originalism refers to the approach of interpreting and construing the Constitution based on its original meaning. Such original meaning can be inferred from the intention of the framers and the socio-economic and political circumstances at the time of the adoption and ratification of the Constitution. Originalism veers away from considering changes in society to interpret the Constitution.