Justification and Weaknesses of the Non-Interpretive Model

Justification and Weaknesses of the Non-Interpretive Model

The question of Constitutional interpretation still has yet to be resolved. Should only the explicit commands of our nation's Founding Fathers be referenced in courts of law, or can it be justified that an outside body should extrapolate from the specific text of the Constitution to define and defend additional fundamental rights? Further, if this body, namely the Supreme Court, bases its decisions of constitutional relevance not wholly on exact interpretation, then regardless of reason, are they wholly illegitimate? The non-interpretive model allows the Court to interpret beyond the exact wording of the Constitution to define and protect the values of a society. The question of how the non-interpretative model can be justified must be answered. Despite much remaining confusion between the two models, it is clear that history has chosen the non-interpretative model without which many of the defining points in our nation's history would be unjustified.

The overwhelming strength of the non-interpretive model is that it has allowed for many fundamental decisions that have served to protect the natural rights of the members of this society. If on the other hand the interpretive model is to be accepted, a significant number of decisions must be revoked. Briefly, the majority of the due process clause is no longer justified. Fair criminal and civil procedures must be dismantled since they have no specific textual reference in the Constitution. Freedom of speech, religion, and property rights are all called in question. Also affected is the legitimacy of franchise and legislative apportionment bodies of doctrine. The equal protection clause of the Constitution whe...

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...ral and political notions. While this tendency of the Court is deplorable, the truth is inescapable that the cases allowing for many of our most basic rights cannot be justified simply by reference to the Constitution. Hence, the Court has invoked the generality of the Constitution to define and defend vested rights and general principles of democratic society. To conclude, without the ability to move beyond the explicit text of the Constitution, a great number of crucial decisions in U.S. history must be overturned. The simple fact is that the interpretive model cannot allow for the justification of many of our most sacred rights. While criticisms as to the justification of the power of the Court to discern the values of contemporary society are legitimate, history as well as the citizens of this society have long declared the non-interpretive model superior.