2008 Woodie Awards
Discussing the Supreme Court and Constitution
Colgate Honors First Annual Constitution Day with Panel
Chris Nickels
Issue date: 9/22/05 Section: News
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On Monday, September 19, faculty members from Colgate and other universities addressed the relationship between the Supreme Court and the Constitution in a panel discussion organized in observance of Constitution Day.
The Center for Freedom & Western Civilization, Arts of Democracy, and the Dean of the College co-sponsored the event, which included a panel of four speakers: Professor of Political Science Stanley Brubaker, Associate Professor of English Phil Richards, Cornell Professor of Government Jeremy Rabkin, and Western Michigan Professor of English and History John Saillant.
Professor of Political Science Robert Kraynak introduced the panelists and began by explaining Constitution Day's rather brief history.
"A law was passed last May by Congress requiring all colleges and educational institutions that receive federal funds to set aside September the 17th of every year henceforth, till the end of time, dedicated to the United States Constitution," said Kraynak.
Brubaker was the first panelist to speak; his discussion, "The Theories of Constitutional Interpretation" involved the various ways in which the Justices of the past and present interpret the text.
Two particular schools of thought he mentioned were "Originalism" and the theory of the "living constitution."
The former prescribes a strict interpretation of the Constitution as an unchanging text - whose advocates include Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. The latter view posits that the Constitution ought to evolve and change with the times.
Saillant's presentation, "Race, Citizenship, and the U.S. Constitution," focused on the repercussions of interpreting the document too strictly. He cited the infamous Dredd Scott case as support of his view.
The Dredd Scott Decision was a case about a slave whose master brought him to a free territory who subsequently sued for his freedom. The Supreme Court ruled against Dredd Scott on the grounds that he wasn't a citizen, and therefore did not have a right to sue in Federal Court.
The Center for Freedom & Western Civilization, Arts of Democracy, and the Dean of the College co-sponsored the event, which included a panel of four speakers: Professor of Political Science Stanley Brubaker, Associate Professor of English Phil Richards, Cornell Professor of Government Jeremy Rabkin, and Western Michigan Professor of English and History John Saillant.
Professor of Political Science Robert Kraynak introduced the panelists and began by explaining Constitution Day's rather brief history.
"A law was passed last May by Congress requiring all colleges and educational institutions that receive federal funds to set aside September the 17th of every year henceforth, till the end of time, dedicated to the United States Constitution," said Kraynak.
Brubaker was the first panelist to speak; his discussion, "The Theories of Constitutional Interpretation" involved the various ways in which the Justices of the past and present interpret the text.
Two particular schools of thought he mentioned were "Originalism" and the theory of the "living constitution."
The former prescribes a strict interpretation of the Constitution as an unchanging text - whose advocates include Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. The latter view posits that the Constitution ought to evolve and change with the times.
Saillant's presentation, "Race, Citizenship, and the U.S. Constitution," focused on the repercussions of interpreting the document too strictly. He cited the infamous Dredd Scott case as support of his view.
The Dredd Scott Decision was a case about a slave whose master brought him to a free territory who subsequently sued for his freedom. The Supreme Court ruled against Dredd Scott on the grounds that he wasn't a citizen, and therefore did not have a right to sue in Federal Court.