James E. Fleming's Books

Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution

For Moral Readings and Against Originalisms

By: James E. Fleming

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Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution

For Moral Readings and Against Originalisms

By: James E. Fleming

In recent years, some have asked "Are we all originalists now?" and many have assumed that originalists have a monopoly on concern for fidelity in constitutional interpretation. In Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution, James Fleming rejects originalisms-whether old or new, concrete or abstract, living or dead. Instead, he defends what Ronald Dworkin called a "moral reading" of the United States Constitution, or a "philosophic approach" to constitutional interpretation. He refers to conceptions of the Constitution as embodying abstract moral and political principles-not codifying concrete historical rules or practices-and of interpretation of those principles as requiring normative judgments about how they are best understood-not merely historical research to discover relatively specific original meanings. Through examining the spectacular concessions that originalists have made to their critics, he shows the extent to which even they acknowledge the need to make normative judgments in constitutional interpretation. Fleming argues that fidelity in interpreting the Constitution as written requires a moral reading or philosophic approach. Fidelity commits us to honoring our aspirational principles, not following the relatively specific original meanings (or original expected applications) of the founders. Originalists would enshrine an imperfect Constitution that does not deserve our fidelity. Only a moral reading or philosophic approach, which aspires to interpret our imperfect Constitution so as to make it the best it can be, gives us hope of interpreting it in a manner that may deserve our fidelity.

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Page Count

262

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190259000

ISBN 13

9780190259006

Constitutional Interpretation

The Basic Questions

By: Sotirios A. Barber,James E. Fleming

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Constitutional Interpretation

The Basic Questions

By: Sotirios A. Barber,James E. Fleming

Ronald Dworkin famously argued that fidelity in interpreting the Constitution as written calls for a fusion of constitutional law and moral philosophy. Barber and Fleming take up that call, arguing for a philosophic approach to constitutional interpretation. In doing so, they systematically critique the competing approaches - textualism, consensualism, originalism, structuralism, doctrinalism, minimalism, and pragmatism - that aim and claim to avoid a philosophic approach. Constitutional Interpretation: The Basic Questions illustrates that these approaches cannot avoid philosophic reflection and choice in interpreting the Constitution. Barber and Fleming contend that fidelity in constitutional interpretation requires a fusion of philosophic and other approaches, properly understood. Within such a fusion, interpreters would begin to think of text, consensus, intentions, structures, and doctrines not as alternatives to, but as sites of philosophic reflection about the best understanding of our constitutional commitments. Constitutional Interpretation: The Basic Questions, examines the fundamental inquiries that arise in interpreting constitutional law. In doing so, the authors survey the controversial and intriguing questions that have stirred constitutional debate in the United States for over two centuries, such as: how and for what ends should governmental institutions and powers be arranged; what does the Constitution mean under general circumstances and how should it be interpreted during concrete controversies; and finally how do we decide what our constitution means and who ultimately decides its meaning.

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Page Count

219

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195328574

ISBN 13

9780195328578

Getting to the Rule of Law

NOMOS L

By: James E. Fleming

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Getting to the Rule of Law

NOMOS L

By: James E. Fleming

The rule of law has been celebrated as “an unqualified human good," yet there is considerable disagreement about what the ideal of the rule of law requires. When people clamor for the preservation or extension of the rule of law, are they advocating a substantive conception of the rule of law respecting private property and promoting liberty, a formal conception emphasizing an “inner morality of law,” or a procedural conception stressing the right to be heard by an impartial tribunal and to make arguments about what the law is? When are exertions of executive power “outside the law” justified on the ground that they may be necessary to maintain or restore the conditions for the rule of law in emergency circumstances, such as defending against terrorist attacks? In Getting to the Rule of Law a group of contributors from a variety of disciplines address many of the theoretical legal, political, and moral issues raised by such questions and examine practical applications “on the ground” in the United States and around the world. This timely, interdisciplinary volume examines the ideal of the rule of law, questions when, if ever, executive power “outside the law” is justified to maintain or restore the rule of law, and explores the prospects for and perils of building the rule of law after military interventions.

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Page Count

310

Publisher

NYU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0814728448

ISBN 13

9780814728444

Ordered Liberty

Rights, Responsibilities, and Virtues

By: James E. Fleming,Linda C McClain

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Ordered Liberty

Rights, Responsibilities, and Virtues

By: James E. Fleming,Linda C McClain

Fleming and McClain defend a civic liberalism that takes seriously not just rights but responsibilities and virtues. Issues taken up include same-sex marriage, reproductive freedom, regulation of civil society and the family, education of children, and clashes between First Amendment freedoms of association and religion and antidiscrimination law.

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Page Count

384

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674067452

ISBN 13

9780674067455

Securing Constitutional Democracy

The Case of Autonomy

By: James E. Fleming

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Securing Constitutional Democracy

The Case of Autonomy

By: James E. Fleming

Famously described by Louis Brandeis as "the most comprehensive of rights" and 'the right most valued by civilized men," the right of privacy or autonomy is more embattled during modern times than any other. Debate over its meaning, scope, and constitutional status is so widespread that it all but defines the post-1960s era of constitutional interpretation. Conservative Robert Bork called it "a loose canon in the law," while feminist Catharine MacKinnon attacked it as the “right of men to be left alone to oppress women.” Can a right with such prominent critics from across the political spectrum be grounded in constitutional law? In this book, James Fleming responds to these controversies by arguing that the right to privacy or autonomy should be grounded in a theory of securing constitutional democracy. His framework seeks to secure the basic liberties that are preconditions for deliberative democracy—to allow citizens to deliberate about the institutions and policies of their government—as well as deliberative autonomy—to enable citizens to deliberate about the conduct of their own lives. Together, Fleming shows, these two preconditions can afford everyone the status of free and equal citizenship in our morally pluralistic constitutional democracy.

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Page Count

350

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226253430

ISBN 13

9780226253435

Rise of Sinclair Lewis, 1920-1930

By: James M. Hutchisson

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Rise of Sinclair Lewis, 1920-1930

By: James M. Hutchisson

The Rise of Sinclair Lewis examines the making of Lewis's best-selling novels Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith, and Elmer Gantry--their sources, composition, publication, and subsequent critical reception. Drawing on thousands of pages of material from Lewis's notes, outlines, and drafts--most of it never before published--James M. Hutchisson shows how Lewis selected usable materials and shaped them, through his unique vision, into novels that reached and remained part of the American literary imagination. Hutchisson also describes for the first time how large a role was played by Lewis's wives, assistants, and publishers in determining the final shape of his books.

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Page Count

300

Publisher

Penn State Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0271040858

ISBN 13

9780271040851

Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution

For Moral Readings and Against Originalisms

By: James E. Fleming

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Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution

For Moral Readings and Against Originalisms

By: James E. Fleming

James E. Fleming argues that fidelity in interpreting the US Constitution as written requires a moral reading or philosophic approach, and that fidelity commits to honouring aspirational principles, not following the relatively specific original meanings (or original expected applications) of the founders.

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Page Count

262

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199793379

ISBN 13

9780199793372

Book's by James E. Fleming

Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution

Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution

Constitutional Interpretation

Constitutional Interpretation

Getting to the Rule of Law

Getting to the Rule of Law

Ordered Liberty

Ordered Liberty

Securing Constitutional Democracy

Securing Constitutional Democracy

Rise of Sinclair Lewis, 1920-1930

Rise of Sinclair Lewis, 1920-1930

Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution

Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution

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