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September 19, 2011

Common sense is too damn uncommon

Yet another reason to like U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas:

Thomas rejects suggestions he’s a follower of originalism in interpreting the Constitution. “I am a follower of get-it-rightism,” he says, bringing laughter from law students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Thomas says it’s important to understand what is meant in the original document, what the words mean. “It’s a Constitution that’s written in words,” he says. “What, do people think it’s written in symbols? You need to say you’re a textualist. What else am I supposed to do, use a Ouija board, chicken bones?”

[...]

Thomas, who enters his 20th year on the nation’s high court next month, says the courts have become too involved in too many things. “I don’t know about all of these big moral questions any better than anybody else,” he says. “Unless I have a law to deal with, I think we’re off our terrain.”

Common sense and humility from a member of the highest court in the land?

More, please.

Posted by Mike Lief at September 19, 2011 09:57 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Why I'm getting back into this with you is beyond me but, please, don't be ridiculous. Common sense and humility? I don't think so. Humility, perhaps, but common sense? Not really.

Nobody, Thomas included, is a textualist. Nobody reads the Constitution and says I will read nothing into it other than the basic words and not expand upon what they mean. The only questions are 1) how extensively you believe the words should be interpreted and 2) which parts do you think should be interpreted literally and which should be interpreted more expansively.

For example, the 2nd Amendment says,

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

A textualist would have no problem reading that and saying that although the right of the people to keep and bear arms may not be infringed, the right of anyone to manufacture, sell, trade, import, transport, fire, load, etc., may be infringed. The pure text of the Constitution is simply too general to be read no more expansively than the plain text. The issue is how far and in what areas you think it's appropriate to stray.

Posted by: BullButz at September 22, 2011 09:27 AM

Clarence Thomas is speaking common sense, something truly lacking in all branches of government these days.

Posted by: Chucky at September 26, 2011 07:24 AM

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