Fidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution

Lawrence Lessig, Fidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution (Oxford University Press, 2019).

In Fidelity & Constraint, Lawrence Lessig explains that one of the most basic approaches to interpreting the constitution is the process of translation. Indeed, some of the most significant shifts in constitutional doctrine are products of the evolution over time of the translation process. In every new era, judges understand their translations as instances of "interpretive fidelity," framed within each new temporal context.

Yet, as Lessig also argues, there is a repeatedly occurring countermove that upends the process of translation. Throughout American history, there has been a second fidelity in addition to interpretive fidelity: what Lessig calls "fidelity to role." In each of the cycles of translation that he describes, the role of the judge -- the ultimate translator -- has evolved too. Old ways of interpreting the text now become illegitimate because they do not match up with the judge's perceived role. And when that conflict occurs, the practice of judges within our tradition has been to follow the guidance of a fidelity to role. Ultimately, Lessig not only shows us how important the concept of translation is to constitutional interpretation, but also exposes the institutional limits on this practice.

-Publisher's Description

Democracy and Dysfunction

Sanford Levinson (University of Texas Law School) and Jack M. Balkin (Yale Law School), Democracy and Dysfunction (The University of Chicago Press 2019).

“Democracy and Dysfunction is a conversation between two of the leading constitutional law scholars of our time, Sanford Levinson and Jack M. Balkin, who seek to uncover the underlying causes of our current difficulties and the best way to reform American democracy. In a series of letters exchanged over a period of two years, Levinson and Balkin travel through the convulsions of the 2016 election and Trump's first year in office. They disagree about the scope of the crisis and the remedy required. Levinson believes that our Constitution is fundamentally defective and argues for a new constitutional convention. Balkin, who believes we are suffering from constitutional rot, argues that there are less radical solutions.”

–Publisher’s description

The Fate of the Revolution

Lorri Glover (Saint Louis University), The Fate of the Revolution: Virginians Debate the Constitution (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press 2016).

"In The Fate of the Revolution, Lorri Glover explains why Virginia’s wrangling over ratification led to such heated political debate. Beginning in 1787, when they first learned about the radical new government design, Virginians had argued about the proposed Constitution’s meaning and merits. The convention delegates, who numbered among the most respected and experienced patriots in Revolutionary America, were roughly split in their opinions. Patrick Henry, for example, the greatest orator of the age, opposed James Madison, the intellectual force behind the Constitution. The two sides were so evenly matched that in the last days of the convention, the savviest political observers still could not confidently predict the outcome." 
—Publisher's description