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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the complexities of constitutional interpretation beyond just textual analysis.
David Souter's quote discusses the limitations of viewing constitutional judging purely through an objective lens of language and facts. He suggests that the landmark Supreme Court decision in 'Brown v. Board of Education' challenges this simplistic view, indicating that understanding legal decisions often requires deeper insight into their implications and the societal context in which they exist.
Themes
ConstitutionalJudgingInterpretationPhilosophyLawSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a law school class on constitutional law, this quote can be used to emphasize the complexity of legal interpretation.
More from David Souter
All quotes βThe 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.
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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.
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.
David SouterRead
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