Document Type
Working Paper
Repository Date
2011
Keywords
Religion, Establishment
Subject Categories
Constitutional Law | Law | Religion Law
Abstract
The "originalist" interpretations of the Establishment Clause by Supreme Court Justices William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas are remarkably indifferent to the original purposes of that clause. Their arguments are a remarkable congeries of historical error and outright misrepresentation. This is not necessarily a criticism of originalism per se. However, the abuse of originalist scholarship that these judges have practiced raises questions about what originalist scholars are actually accomplishing.
Repository Citation
Koppelman, Andrew M., "Phony Originalism and the Establishment Clause" (2011). Faculty Working Papers. 3.
https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/facultyworkingpapers/3
