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.
David SouterRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The Constitution is complex due to its guarantees of competing rights and values.
David Souter's quote emphasizes that the U.S. Constitution is not merely a straightforward agreement; its intricate language embodies a multitude of rights and principles that can sometimes conflict with each other. This complexity requires careful interpretation and understanding, as fully realizing all the good things it promises simultaneously is an impossible task.
Themes
ConstitutionRightsValuesComplexityLawGovernance
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the importance of constitutional rights during a public forum.
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There is a danger to judicial independence when people have no understanding of how the judiciary fits into the constitutional scheme.
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