J. Joel Alicea (Catholic University of America — Columbus School of Law) has posted The Moral Authority of Original Meaning (Notre Dame Law Review, Vol. 98, No. 1, 2022 (forthcoming)) (56 pages) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
One of the most significant developments in constitutional theory in recent years has been Adrian Vermeule’s critique of originalism from within the natural-law tradition. This Article is the first full-length response to Vermeule’s critique, presenting an affirmative argument for originalism from within the natural-law tradition. Although other theorists have offered natural-law justifications for originalism, they have not yet developed a theory of legitimate authority, which is essential both to the natural-law tradition and to originalism. This Article fills that gap by grounding originalism in the legitimate authority of the people-as-sovereign.
In doing so, it draws upon and adapts centuries-old natural-law arguments in favor of popular sovereignty that have rarely been mentioned in American law reviews and have never been presented as the basis for originalism. By creating a novel synthesis between this natural-law theory of popular sovereignty and originalism, the Article offers new responses to longstanding objections to popular-sovereignty-based originalist theories, such as the exclusion of women and enslaved Black people from the ratification process.
Finally, having answered those criticisms, the Article shows that obeying the original meaning of the Constitution is necessary to preserve the legitimate authority of the people, which is essential to achieving the common good. This allows the Article to confront the core of the Vermeulean critique: that originalism is incompatible with the natural law because it privileges the original meaning above the natural law when they are in conflict. The Article demonstrates that this critique overlooks the natural-law limits on judicial authority that undergird the common good. By grounding originalism in a moral argument drawn from the natural law, this Article shows that, far from being a morally empty jurisprudence, originalism is justified by the moral authority of original meaning.
Posted at 6:18 AM