As The Roberts Court Turns 20, The Originalist Revolution Turns 40

How “Originalism” Became the Prevailing View at the U.S. Supreme Court

It is easy to take for granted that the current Supreme Court has a majority of committed originalists. But only four decades ago, such a court would have been unimaginable. Who deserves credit for this remarkable change? “If we can envision a Mt. Rushmore of originalism,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a new book that we co-edited, “the three visages we would see carved in stone are those of Robert Bork, Edwin Meese III, and Antonin Scalia.” Jus…

As The Roberts Court Turns 20, The Originalist Revolution Turns 40

I published a new Op-Ed wit my Heritage Guide co-editor John Malcolm in the Washington Times. We explain how the originalist revolution began in the late 1980s, even if it would have been difficult to discern at the time. Here is the opening: As they celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next year, many Americans will remember fondly the patriotism and pageantry of the 1976 bicentennial. Few people were even aware of…