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He is a textualist
- Nevertheless, Alito does have a consistent approach, which would best be described as “contextual textualism.” He is a textualist and frequently resorts to dictionaries to help determine the meaning of words. He is also willing to enforce the plain meaning of a text as against justices who would like to create ambiguities from whole cloth.
journals.law.harvard.edu › jlpp › the-contextual-textualism-of-justice-alito-john-o-mcginnisThe Contextual Textualism of Justice Alito – John O. McGinnis
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Apr 24, 2023 · Justice Samuel Alito is one of the best craftsmen of statutory interpretation opinions on the Court. The Chief Justice certainly thinks so: the Chief has often assigned him the majority opinion in statutory cases when the Court is closely divided.
Apr 24, 2023 · But this deviation from arguments based on text or history is simply the result of the fact that, as Justice Alito acknowledges, he “almost always follow [s] past decisions,” [19] and most of current Supreme Court doctrine is non-originalist in at least some respect.
Although superficial accounts have been offered, they diverge widely. To some commentators, for example, Justice Alito is a methodological pluralist or "newer textualist," though to others he is an originalist of the same or similar stripe as Justice Antonin Scalia.
- Steven G. Calabresi, Todd W. Shaw
- George Washington Law Review
- 2019
- 72
- What Is Textualism, exactly?
- The Origins of Textualism
- Notable Textualists
When interpreting a law, textualists consider only the actual words of a statute rather than thinking about legislative intent or policy arguments. In theory, textualist interpretation is content-neutral. It often focuses on dictionaries, grammar rules, and the "ordinary meaning" of words. Justice Gorsuch's recent opinion on Title VIIis an excellen...
The idea of textualism in American law has existed for quite some time. In 1930, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote that there was "no warrant for seeking refined arguments to show that the statute does not mean what it says." However, the term "textualism" didn't appear in Supreme Court jurisprudence until Youngstown Co. v. Sawyerin 1952. In his ...
Although only a few judges hold themselves out as strict textualists, many begin their statutory analysis with the text. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, along with Justice Stephen Breyer, tends to focus on four elements of interpretation, in this order: text, structure, purpose, and legislative history. In the 2015 Antonin Scalia Lecture Series at Har...
Apr 21, 2022 · After more than 15 years, Alito has proven himself a consistent conservative voice on the court. Alito has been guided by his strict adherence to textualism, or emphasizing the words of a law...
Aug 30, 2018 · To some commentators, for example, Justice Alito is a methodological pluralist or “newer textualist,” though to others he is an originalist of the same or similar stripe as Justice Antonin Scalia.
Jul 1, 2021 · As Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. put it just last year, the courts’ focus must never waver from what a statute’s “words were understood to mean at the time of enactment.” Any other approach, even...
