Reflections on Constitutional Law

Constitutional scholar George Anastaplo believes that many judges and lawyers draw upon a skimpy, if not simply unreliable, knowledge of history. He proposes that in order to write reliable opinions, these men and women must have a deeper understanding of the enduring principles upon which the law naturally tends to draw. In the study of constitutional law, Anastaplo argues that it is more important to weigh what the Supreme Court has said and how that is said -- what considerations it weighed and how -- than it is to know what it is recorded that the Court "decided." In Reflections on Constitutional Law, Anastaplo makes the case for a renewed focus on a now often-overlooked aspect of the study of law. He emphasizes the continuing significance and importance of the Constitution by thoroughly examining the most important influences on the American constitutional system, including the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence.

In a trend that disturbs nationally known constitutional scholar George Anastaplo, law schools now place very little emphasis on the study of the United States Constitution as a document. Today, many constitutional law professors spend less than a week teaching the history, philosophical tenets, and legal origins of the Constitution itself and more time on Supreme Court cases. In Reflections on Constitutional Law, Anastaplo emphasizes the continuing significance and importance of the Constitution by examining the most important influences on the American constitutional system, including the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence. According to Anastaplo, a rigorous understanding of the Constitution is crucial to comprehending the true meaning of Supreme Court decisions.