Publication Date
Spring 2011
School
Helms School of Government
Major
Government: Administration of Justice; Government: Pre-Law
Primary Subject Area
Law
Recommended Citation
Deal, Kara Christine, "Through the Looking Glass of Constitutional Interpretation" (2011). Senior Honors Theses. 251.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/251
Abstract
The United States Supreme Court is increasingly forsaking its role as legal interpreter for the role of legal author due to a transformation in Constitutional interpretation. In interpreting the Constitution in a manner inconsistent with the original intent of the Constitution, the rule of law is circumvented. In order to maintain a separation of powers necessary for governance according to rule of law principles, the U.S. Supreme Court must return to its correct role as interpreter of law. The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Establishment Clause illustrates the current difficulties surrounding the lack of a standard of interpretation. This thesis suggests that the only solution for the relative basis of Constitutional meaning is to abandon a relative view of the Constitution as a living document and to consider once again the original intent of the framers of the Constitution.
