Judge Posner on the Constitution

He has this to say, in a conversation on Slate:

I see absolutely no value to a judge of spending decades, years, months, weeks, day, hours, minutes, or seconds studying the Constitution, the history of its enactment, its amendments, and its implementation (across the centuries—well, just a little more than two centuries, and of course less for many of the amendments). Eighteenth-century guys, however smart, could not foresee the culture, technology, etc., of the 21^st century. Which means that the original Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the post–Civil War amendments (including the 14^th), do not speak to today.

 

 

 

Comments

[Captain Hruska Carswell, Continuance King]

Guns.

[anon]

Also from the article: "I think law schools should be hiring a higher percentage of lawyers with significant practical experience."

I suppose this is true generally but probably depends on the specific subject matter.

[Brian Clarke]

I blogged about practical experience here awhile back ... http://www.thefacultylounge.org/2014/07/a-new-facet-of-faculty-diversity.html

[Edmond McGill]

What was in that oath that Judge Posner swore when he went on the public payroll decades ago?