living Constitution theory
E42138
The living Constitution theory is a legal philosophy holding that the U.S. Constitution’s meaning can evolve over time to address contemporary social, political, and technological realities without formal amendment.
Statements (52)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
constitutional interpretation theory
→
legal philosophy → |
| alternativeName |
living Constitution approach
→
living constitutionalism → |
| appliesTo |
United States Constitution
→
|
| associatedWith |
common-law constitutionalism
→
judicial activism (in critics’ characterizations) → progressive constitutionalism → |
| contrastsWith |
originalism
→
textualism → |
| coreClaim |
constitutional interpretation should reflect contemporary social realities
→
constitutional meaning is not fixed solely by original public meaning at ratification → formal amendment is not the only way constitutional meaning can change → judges may adapt constitutional principles to new circumstances → the meaning of the U.S. Constitution can evolve over time → |
| criticizedBy |
originalists
→
|
| criticizedFor |
allegedly allowing judges to substitute personal values for constitutional text
→
allegedly undermining democratic self-government → allegedly weakening the formal amendment process → |
| emphasizes |
broad constitutional principles
→
changing social norms → evolving standards of decency → flexibility in constitutional interpretation → pragmatic adaptation to modern conditions → |
| historicalRoot |
New Deal constitutional transformation
→
Progressive Era jurisprudence → early 20th-century U.S. constitutional thought → |
| influencedBy |
common law method of incremental development
→
pragmatism in American legal thought → |
| influences |
judicial reasoning in rights-expanding decisions
→
modern liberal constitutional theory in the United States → |
| justifiedBy |
difficulty of amending the U.S. Constitution
→
need to address unforeseen social and technological developments → view that the Constitution sets out broad principles rather than detailed rules → |
| normativeGoal |
keep the Constitution responsive to contemporary needs
→
preserve constitutional legitimacy over time → |
| presupposes |
constitutional language contains open-ended terms
→
societal values change over time → |
| relatedConcept |
evolving standards of decency doctrine
→
living tree doctrine (in comparative constitutional law) → substantive due process → |
| supports |
adaptation of constitutional protections to new technologies
→
broad reading of civil liberties → dynamic understanding of liberty and equality → recognition of unenumerated rights → |
| usedIn |
U.S. Supreme Court constitutional adjudication
→
interpretation of the Commerce Clause → interpretation of the Due Process Clause → interpretation of the Eighth Amendment → interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause → |
| viewHeldBy |
many non-originalist constitutional scholars
→
some U.S. Supreme Court justices in the 20th and 21st centuries → |
Referenced by (1)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
United States constitutional history
→
|
includesTopic |