Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2013
Abstract
In his book, America’s Unwritten Constitution, Akhil Reed Amar contends that to properly engage the written Constitution, scholars and laymen alike must look to extratextual sources: among them America’s founding documents, institutional practices, and ethos, all of which constitute Amar’s “unwritten Constitution.” In this article, the author argues that contemporary originalist constitutional theory is consistent with reliance on extraconstitutional sources in certain circumstances. He establishes a framework for revaluating the use of extratextual sources. That framework categorizes extratextual sources and explains their relevance to constitutional interpretation (the meaning of the text) and constitutional construction (elaboration of constitutional doctrine and decision of constitutional cases). The author concludes by applying the framework to a question posed by Akhil Amar: Can vice presidents preside over their own trial upon impeachment? A negative answer to this question is consistent with an originalist constitutional theory that carefully cabins the use of extratextual sources in constitutional interpretation and construction.
Publication Citation
2013 U. Ill. L. Rev. 1935-1984 (2013)
Scholarly Commons Citation
Solum, Lawrence B., "Originalism and the Unwritten Constitution" (2013). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 1300.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1300