For those whose exclusive norm of constitutional judging is merely fair reading of language applied to facts objectively viewed, 'Brown' must either be flat-out wrong or a very mystifying decision.
David SouterRead
The Constitution is a pantheon of values, and a lot of hard cases are hard because the Constitution gives no simple rule of decision for the cases in which one of the values is truly at odds with another.
Interpretation
The Constitution embodies complex values that can conflict, making legal decisions challenging.
David Souter’s quote reflects the intricate nature of the Constitution as a framework of values rather than a set of simplistic rules. It emphasizes that when values specified in the Constitution clash, there is often no straightforward solution, highlighting the difficulty faced by judges and lawmakers in interpreting and applying these values in real-world situations.
In practice
In a law class discussing the complexities of legal interpretation, this quote can illustrate the challenges judges face.
For those whose exclusive norm of constitutional judging is merely fair reading of language applied to facts objectively viewed, 'Brown' must either be flat-out wrong or a very mystifying decision.
The language of the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection of the laws did not change between 1896 and 1954, and it would be very hard to say that the obvious facts on which 'Plessy' was based had changed.
There is a danger to judicial independence when people have no understanding of how the judiciary fits into the constitutional scheme.
The Constitution is no simple contract, not because it uses a certain amount of open-ended language, but because its language grants and guarantees many good things, and good things that compete with each other and can never all be realized, altogether, all at once.
The sense of being a separate, egoic self begins with the astral, not with the physical, body. The soul is individualized spirit.
Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat for it is momentary.
The man who knows governments most completely is he who troubles himself least about a definition which shall give their essence. Enjoying an intimate acquaintance with all their particularities in turn, he would naturally regard an abstract conception in which these were unified as a thing more misleading than enlightening.
By virtue of the way it has organized its technological base, contemporary industrial society tends to be totalitarian. For "totalitarian" is not only a terroristic political coordination of society, but also a non-terroristic economic-technical coordination which operates through the manipulation of needs by vested interests.
the costume of the nineteenth century is detestable. It is so sombre, so depressing. Sin is the only real colour-element left in modern life.
This moment - the one you're experiencing right now - is the culmination of all the moments you have experienced in the past. This moment is as it is because the entire universe is as it is.
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