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 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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The principles of equal protection under the law remained unchanged from 1896 to 1954, despite societal developments.
David Souter's quote highlights the enduring nature of the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law, emphasizing that the foundational principles established in the past have not transformed even though the societal context may have evolved. It underscores the argument that legal interpretations and the societal equity they promote should remain consistent over time, as the underlying injustices they address persist.
Themes
Equal ProtectionLawJusticeConstitutional RightsSociety
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about civil rights legislation.
More from David Souter
All quotes →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.
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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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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.
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