Next Wednesday, April 18, former Attorney General Edwin Meese III will speak at the GMU Law School at 5:00 p.m. on the subject of “Reclaiming the Constitution – Originalism Today.” The speech is sponsored by The Federalist Society and the GMU Law SchoolL
In a 1985 speech to the American Bar Association, Attorney General Meese sparked a dramatic public debate on the question of constitutional interpretation. In reviewing Supreme Court decisions in the areas of federalism, criminal procedure, and religious freedom before the American Bar Association, the Attorney General urged that the Court be guided by a “jurisprudence of original intention.”
Twenty-two years after his original address, former Attorney General Meese will again take up the issue, reflecting on the current status of constitutional interpretation and questioning how the judiciary can return to the principle of federalism.