Sherif Girgis
@sherifgirgis.bsky.social
Professor at Notre Dame Law School
https://law.nd.edu/directory/sherif-girgis/
https://law.nd.edu/directory/sherif-girgis/
In part, the talk builds on observations about divides within originalism that I made much more briefly >1 yr ago (papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....), which in turn reflect broader trends in formalism that the great Jeff Pojanowski traced out here - papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... (3/3)
Originalism's Age of Ironies
<p><span>Guns, abortion, religious establishments, Presidential power: While today’s Supreme Court identifies as originalist, it has settled constitutional ques
papers.ssrn.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:15 PM
In part, the talk builds on observations about divides within originalism that I made much more briefly >1 yr ago (papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....), which in turn reflect broader trends in formalism that the great Jeff Pojanowski traced out here - papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... (3/3)
And read @jackbalkin.bsky.social's book! www.amazon.com/Memory-Autho...
Memory and Authority: The Uses of History in Constitutional Interpretation (Yale Law Library Series in Legal History and Reference)
Memory and Authority: The Uses of History in Constitutional Interpretation (Yale Law Library Series in Legal History and Reference) [Balkin, Jack M.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Memory and Authority: The Uses of History in Constitutional Interpretation (Yale Law Library Series in Legal History and Reference)
www.amazon.com
August 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
And read @jackbalkin.bsky.social's book! www.amazon.com/Memory-Autho...
Download it! t.co/L1mqet2Nn6
https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=5390242
t.co
August 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Download it! t.co/L1mqet2Nn6
4th & finally, while Balkin thinks that more typical originalists' attempts to tighten uses of history are too optimistic, the charge may cut against Balkin's own deep vision of how constitutions work--of how they could help a society negotiate its moral divides.
August 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
4th & finally, while Balkin thinks that more typical originalists' attempts to tighten uses of history are too optimistic, the charge may cut against Balkin's own deep vision of how constitutions work--of how they could help a society negotiate its moral divides.
... deeper still?! ...
August 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
... deeper still?! ...
...going deeper ...
August 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
...going deeper ...
3rd, Balkin's disagreements with more typical originalists reflect a beneath-the-surface clash over the question of why *have* a constitution at all...
August 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
3rd, Balkin's disagreements with more typical originalists reflect a beneath-the-surface clash over the question of why *have* a constitution at all...
2nd, Balkin’s account makes it harder for him to justify judicial review than it is for almost anyone else—whether more typical originalists on the one hand, or living constitutionalists on the other (pp. 2006-07)
August 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
2nd, Balkin’s account makes it harder for him to justify judicial review than it is for almost anyone else—whether more typical originalists on the one hand, or living constitutionalists on the other (pp. 2006-07)
1st, A theory of history’s proper uses in constitutional interp. should have a robust theory of history's *abuses,* too, but Jack Balkin’s may not
E.g., Balkin’s limits on history’s uses may be loose enough to make his own constitutional arguments too easy to refute (pp. 2004-05)
E.g., Balkin’s limits on history’s uses may be loose enough to make his own constitutional arguments too easy to refute (pp. 2004-05)
August 13, 2025 at 12:30 PM
1st, A theory of history’s proper uses in constitutional interp. should have a robust theory of history's *abuses,* too, but Jack Balkin’s may not
E.g., Balkin’s limits on history’s uses may be loose enough to make his own constitutional arguments too easy to refute (pp. 2004-05)
E.g., Balkin’s limits on history’s uses may be loose enough to make his own constitutional arguments too easy to refute (pp. 2004-05)
July 16, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Link - 9/9 - papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
How the Law School Can Succeed - An Invitation
This keynote address, delivered at the Harvard Law School Federalist Society's conference on Intellectual Diversity in the Legal Academy, in April 2013, offers
papers.ssrn.com
July 11, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Link - 9/9 - papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
What the conservative job-seeker needs to do...plus the limits of desirable diversity. 8/9
July 11, 2025 at 10:03 AM
What the conservative job-seeker needs to do...plus the limits of desirable diversity. 8/9
So what to do? And what *not* to do... 7/9
July 11, 2025 at 10:03 AM
So what to do? And what *not* to do... 7/9
How the friendship forged through debate doubles back to promote sharper thinking, but in the most pleasant way... 6/9
July 11, 2025 at 10:03 AM
How the friendship forged through debate doubles back to promote sharper thinking, but in the most pleasant way... 6/9
How personal friendship can be forged, not just despite, but *through,* disagreement... 5/9
July 11, 2025 at 10:03 AM
How personal friendship can be forged, not just despite, but *through,* disagreement... 5/9
Another aim for diversity--civic friendship--helps us decide which *kinds* of diversity matter. (A deeper sort of friendship is also at stake, stay tuned!) 4/9
July 11, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Another aim for diversity--civic friendship--helps us decide which *kinds* of diversity matter. (A deeper sort of friendship is also at stake, stay tuned!) 4/9