“Consequences flow from a justice's interpretation in a direct and immediate way. A judicial decision respecting the incompatibility of Jim Crow with a constitutional guarantee of equality is not simply a contemplative exercise in defining the shape of a just society. It is an order” WayOrderJusticeDecisionExerciseShapesConsequenceFlowDirectGuaranteesInterpretationDefiningCrowJudicialContemplativeJim CrowIncompatibility Author:William J. Brennan
“Authoritative interpretations of the First Amendment guarantees have consistently refused to recognize an exception for any test of truth whether administered by judges, juries, or administrative officials and especially one that puts the burden of proving truth on the speaker.” FirstsJudgingProveTestsBurdenOfficialsGuaranteesExceptionInterpretationAmendmentsSpeakersFreedom Of SpeechConsistentlyFirst AmendmentJuryAdministrative Author:William J. Brennan
“We current Justices read the Constitution in the only way that we can: as Twentieth Century Americans. We look to the history of the time of framing and to the intervening history of interpretation. But the ultimate question must be, what do the words of the text mean in our time. For the genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and current needs.” WorldWayNeedsLooksMeanProblemMightJusticePrinciplesGoneCenturyGeniusUltimateConstitutionCurrentsOur TimeInterpretationTwentieth CenturyStaticAdaptabilityFramingInterveningUltimate Questions Author:William J. Brennan
“We look to the history of the time of framing and to the intervening history of interpretation. But the ultimate question must be, what do the words of the text mean in our time.” LooksMeanUltimateOur TimeInterpretationAdaptabilityFramingInterveningUltimate Questions Author:William J. Brennan
“Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. Like every text worth reading, it is not crystalline. The phrasing is broad and the limitations of its provisions are not clearly marked. Its majestic generalities and ennobling pronouncements are both luminous and obscure. This ambiguity of course calls forth interpretation, the interaction of reader and text. The encounter with the Constitutional text has been, in many senses, my life's work.” Has BeensLawCoursesReadingReaderConstitutionSensesLimitationAspirationEncountersInterpretationBroadsInteractionObscureProvisionAmbiguityLuminousMajesticGeneralitiesWorth Reading Author:William J. Brennan
