A Common Law Restoration Serves the Common Good
Josh Hammer responds to Holden Tanner’s piece on Conservative judging. He explains how even the Constitution itself orients our jurisprudence towards principles of natural justice.
Originalism
Whelan-Arkes Exchange: Last Round
JWI’s Founder and Director Hadley Arkes goes another round with Ed Whelan and discusses the rightful place for moral reasoning in judicial jurisprudence
The Dobbs Case and the Strains of Prudence
Prof. Arkes analyzes the arguments at play in the upcoming Dobbs case, and explains that while there are potential outfielders and stockbrokers, there is no such thing as a “potential” human being.
The Smith Case, Religious Freedom, and Originalism
Originally published in Public Discourse, Christopher Wolfe discusses the Fulton case and the judge role in interpreting the Free Exercise Clause.
Originalism: A Hollow Core?
JWI’s Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker discusses Donald Drakeman’s new book on Originalism and talks about its strengths and weaknesses.
How to Recover Conservative Judging
James Wilson Institute Fellow Holden Tanner discusses the shortfalls of textualist originalist jurisprudence and how to recover common law jurisprudence.
The Case for the Unconstitutionality of Abortion
Josh Hammer explores the debate amongst conservatives on whether the legality of abortion should be returned to the states, or if it should be outlawed nationwide. He astutely notes that if pro-lifers adopt the latter position, they will stretch the Overton window in their favor.
The American Regime and Its Moral Ground
Hadley Arkes traces the moral ground of the American Regime to the Declaration of Independence’s conception of natural law, which frames rights in the context of an enduring human nature.
In Defense of Common Good Originalism
Contributing Editor Josh Hammer defends against criticism of his Common-Good Originalism essay, arguing that ambiguities in the text’s meaning require us to give precedence to substantive ideals in interpretation.
Redeeming the Constitution
In his response to David Forte’s “Originalism and Its Discontents,” Bradley Rebeiro utilizes the case study of slavery “to reconsider how we understand this tension between originalism and natural law theory to see if there remains a better way to reconcile the two.”
