Conservative Justices like Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas get a great deal of criticism (from the left) and praise (from the right) for being “originalists” and committing to follow the “original meaning” of the Constitution’s text.  Constitutional Accountability Center comes at this debate from a different direction.  We think Justices Scalia and Thomas are right in taking the text and history of the Constitution very seriously — that’s what constitutional accountability is all about. Yet, too often, these Justices manipulate text, speculate wildly about the intentions of the framers, and end up far from the letter and spirit of the Constitution.   CAC’s series “Originalist Sins” highlights examples (old and new) of when judges purporting to be “originalists” twist the text and history of the Constitution or ignore the method they profess to follow. Read our posts below:

Justices Scalia, Alito Square Off on Originalism

Justice Scalia’s Originalist Sins

Don’t Trash the Constitution, Justice Scalia

LA Times Global Warming Denier: “If the Framers Didn’t Envision Global Warming, then Dealing with it is Unconstitutional.”