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10 HLRe: Off Rec. 1 (2019-2020)

handle is hein.journals/hlreoffrec10 and id is 1 raw text is: ARTICLE ABANDON HOPE OF OBJECTIVE CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE: CHEMERINSKY'S EXPANSIVE NEW VIEW OF CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION Michael Conklin* Erwin Chemerinsky's new book We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century' proposes a new and expansive method for constitutional interpretation. Chemerinsky posits that there are five values in the Preamble that should guide interpretation of the Constitution: democratic governance, effective governance, justice, liberty, and equality.2 He then uses this inherently vague standard to justify a variety of his personal policy preferences, now constitutionally required under the new standard he created. This standard seems to have no bounds, even allowing Chemerinsky to label the Electoral College, which is expressly established in the Constitution, as clear[ly] unconstitutional.H.3 Fans of Chemerinsky's past work, which draws on his extensive knowledge of constitutional law to make highly thought-out and persuasive arguments, will be highly disappointed by this book. Chemerinsky's proposal to interpret the Constitution based on themes he has selected from the Preamble, such as effective * Assistant Professor of Business Law, Angelo State University. While this article is primarily a criticism I would like to state that I am an admirer of Erwin Chemerinsky and have published positive reviews of his past work. 1. ERWIN CHEMERINSKY, WE THE PEOPLE: A PROGRESSivE READING OF THE CONSTITUTION FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY (2018). 2. Id. at 57-59. 3. Id. at 88 (It is especially important for the Court to act because the political process will never deal with the clear unconstitutionality of the Electoral College.).

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