Original Intent vs. Original Meaning Originalism

[Robin Charlow]

>>> Randy Barnett <rbarnett at BU.EDU> 08/11/00 10:24AM >>>
I confess I cannot say the degree to which Justices Scalia and Thomas
employ one or both of these methods, though it would not surprise me to
discover that they have not been particularly consistent.  I would
wager, however, that Scalia like Bork tends to favor original intent
(coupled with considerations of historical practice since the founding),
whereas Thomas like Spooner tends to favors original meaning.

For what it's worth, Scalia has publicly professed to subscribe to an
original meaning view; no comment on what his opinions reflect.

Robin Charlow
Hofstra University School of Law
Hempstead, New York  11549
email: lawrdc at hofstra.edu
phone (516) 463-5166