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Crunchy Frog

(26,579 posts)
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:09 PM Sep 2020

She's an "originalist" who thinks that the 14th and 15th Ammendments are illegitimate. From DKos.

But there’s something even more odd about how conservatives like Barrett apply originalism. Because they seem to believe that the “original meaning” of every word and phrase just happens to be a conservative meaning. And where they can’t find the meaning that they want, these dedicated preservationists have a second approach … throw it out. Throw it all out. Like the entire 14th Amendment.

snip

As far as the 14th Amendment goes, it includes what are now referred to as the Citizenship Clause, the Privileges Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause. In short, it says that everyone born in the United States is a full citizen, with the full rights due to a citizen, and can’t be deprived of those rights unless they’re given due process of law. All of this makes the 14th Amendment integral to questions of citizenship, and foundational for Civil Rights legislation. It’s such an important amendment, that legal scholars have called it “the second Constitution” for its attempts to tear out the elements of slavery built into the original document. Among other things, the Supreme Court has made it clear that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 rests entirely on the authority granted to Congress by the 14th Amendment.

snip

Back in 2011, The Atlantic took a look at this question and how conservative Republicans became “14th Amendment deniers.” For some Republicans, the 14th Amendment was viewed as being only intended to help those who had been directly enslaved, and not applicable to future generations. This view has become common in right-wing media, and sorry as that sounds, it’s not even the most radical view. The even uglier approach has been to outright challenge the validity of 14th Amendment because members of Confederate states were not seated in Congress when the amendment was proposed just after the end of the Civil War. Because of this, say the deniers, the Congress itself was illegitimate, and so anything it recommended—including the 14th and 15th Amendments—are illegitimate.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/26/1980903/-Why-Trump-s-expected-Supreme-Court-nominee-believes-all-Civil-Rights-legislation-is-illegitimate


Some quotes from Amy's writings, “Congress has to decide whether to … rely on the power conferred by the possibly illegitimate Fourteenth Amendment.” “The originalist legislator might have to face questions … such as the legitimacy of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

What happens when the SCOTUS starts throwing out Constitutional amendments that are foundational to the functioning of moders society?
36 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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She's an "originalist" who thinks that the 14th and 15th Ammendments are illegitimate. From DKos. (Original Post) Crunchy Frog Sep 2020 OP
I'd like to see someone go back to her law school--whoever taught her constituional law and pose hlthe2b Sep 2020 #1
✔️ blm Sep 2020 #6
I'll bet her law school transcripts show her to have been intheflow Sep 2020 #36
If they ever rule constitutional amendments are unconstitutional... regnaD kciN Sep 2020 #2
Amendments can only be removed by another amendment repealing it. Tommymac Sep 2020 #31
Thank you so much for posting DonaldsRump Sep 2020 #3
The Dems had better grill her until she's charcoal on that one. Crunchy Frog Sep 2020 #7
Agreed entirely. DonaldsRump Sep 2020 #9
Kamala needs to be the one to grill her and pin her down on this one. BComplex Sep 2020 #11
Seems like she may not even believe that she has a right to vote... dchill Sep 2020 #4
My thought too Rebl2 Sep 2020 #32
Don't you think this is really simple. AnnaLee Sep 2020 #5
She thinks these Ammendments are illegitimate because... Crunchy Frog Sep 2020 #8
Look at the original. Igel Sep 2020 #27
OK, there were only 14 states in 1791... JPbelgium Sep 2020 #10
Yes, that's a good point, too. BComplex Sep 2020 #12
Originalism Defined ProfessorGAC Sep 2020 #13
What about the 13th Amendment? Sanity Claws Sep 2020 #14
They pick and choose which ones they want to question. Crunchy Frog Sep 2020 #20
Doesn't Citizens United depend on the 14th? Retrograde Sep 2020 #15
What's illigitmate is her current appointment, and her nomination. GoCubsGo Sep 2020 #16
It's important that questioning in the confirmation hearings... Crunchy Frog Sep 2020 #24
Her writings, not an opinion, hopefully treestar Sep 2020 #17
The 15th amendment treestar Sep 2020 #18
It's not just Roe v Wade. Trump's Supreme Court pick could challenge Brown v Board of Education octoberlib Sep 2020 #19
It's also the entirety of the Civil Rights Act. Crunchy Frog Sep 2020 #26
I wonder what she thinks of the 19th Amendment. PoindexterOglethorpe Sep 2020 #21
They cant throw out an approved and ratified Constitutional Amendment as unconstitutional lol... Volaris Sep 2020 #22
How can an amendment be "illegitimate?" The whole point of an amendment is to change ... LAS14 Sep 2020 #23
Their reasoning is that they were passed without the participation of the Treason States. Crunchy Frog Sep 2020 #25
Thanks. nt LAS14 Sep 2020 #34
The Court has pretty much beaten part of the 14th Amendment into oblivion..... lastlib Sep 2020 #35
They need to question her about the potential illegitimacy of the 13th amendment andym Sep 2020 #28
I really don't think Biden has any choice but to expand the SC. Lonestarblue Sep 2020 #29
"ORIGINALISTS" READ THE CONSTITUTION..... calclar Sep 2020 #30
Yep! Rebl2 Sep 2020 #33

hlthe2b

(102,192 posts)
1. I'd like to see someone go back to her law school--whoever taught her constituional law and pose
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:12 PM
Sep 2020

this premise to them. How did she form this delusionary interpretation of the constitution and the amendments? Assuming it was from idiocy unrelated to law school, I'd still like to see that interview televised and that point made.

regnaD kciN

(26,044 posts)
2. If they ever rule constitutional amendments are unconstitutional...
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:12 PM
Sep 2020

...the United States officially ceases to exist.

Tommymac

(7,263 posts)
31. Amendments can only be removed by another amendment repealing it.
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 05:43 PM
Sep 2020

Like Prohibition.

Ruling a Constitutional Amendment Unconstitutional is an oxymoron...

But hey, we have one of those for a President right now.

DonaldsRump

(7,715 posts)
3. Thank you so much for posting
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:13 PM
Sep 2020

I can see hours of SJC hearing questioning by the Ds on this point alone. It will make Barrett realize how idiotic her views are and force her to lock in a position which she will try to temper in an attempt to look reasonable. It will make it harder for her to deviate from that position if she makes it to SCOTUS.

Crunchy Frog

(26,579 posts)
7. The Dems had better grill her until she's charcoal on that one.
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:19 PM
Sep 2020

Bringing out the facts about where she really stands will hopefully motivate more people to vote Biden.

DonaldsRump

(7,715 posts)
9. Agreed entirely.
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:41 PM
Sep 2020

This idiot's own words will cost the Rs dearly on November 3. We might not be able to stop this one (but, you never know what comes out of these hearings). Let's see.

Sticking to the facts, and most especially her own words, will be fabulous and be the best way to hammer Barrett.

The one thing I am concerned about is Leningrad Lindsey Graham has limited the SJC hearing to 10 calendar days (I believe October 12-22). There is so much to nail her on, they need to be careful with the time, particularly with Lyin' Lindsey chairing the hearings, who, with his snarling, puerile, and sycophantic manners (or lack thereof) will do everything he can to eat into the D's time.

And the Ds need to give Senator Kamala Harris a shining role. I hope the Ds cede much of their own individual time to Kamala. A few things Senator Harris might let others hammer Barrett on are her cult and what she would do in the event of a presidential election case making it to SCOTUs. Kamala can go to town with Barrett on (a) the 14th amendment issue; (b) Roe v. Wade; (c) marriage equality; (d) ACA repeal; and (e) Barrett's (and the Reputincans') utter hypocrisy in making and trying to confirm this appointment in light of what happened to Merrick Garland (my understanding is that the polling indicates many voters are troubled by this issue alone, without even getting to the other issues).

Barrett is going to equivocate all over the place, and I can think of no better folks than Senators Harris, Klobuchar, and Hirono to box Barrett in. The beauty with this hearing is that Barrett was a law professor, and she has written so many law review articles and given so many speeches, it will be hard for her to maneuver.

BComplex

(8,029 posts)
11. Kamala needs to be the one to grill her and pin her down on this one.
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:55 PM
Sep 2020

I'd pay extra for front row seats in that little skirmish.

AnnaLee

(1,035 posts)
5. Don't you think this is really simple.
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:16 PM
Sep 2020

If the originals wanted to create a static document, they would not have left it open to amendment.

Crunchy Frog

(26,579 posts)
8. She thinks these Ammendments are illegitimate because...
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:20 PM
Sep 2020

the losers in the War of Southern Treason did not participate in passing them.

Igel

(35,293 posts)
27. Look at the original.
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 05:31 PM
Sep 2020

She's talking about views that a legislator might view as valid. Her opinion in the previous paragraph is that these would never come before the court and the court would properly deny such questions certiori.

The first word in the excised quote in the OP, "Congress," bears contrastive stress--it's the Congress that would be faced with these arguments, not the court. (And she footnotes the source of the arguments; not every mention of something in an academic paper is evidence of support, esp. in a field where odd or opposing views are properly discussed, to be argued against or dealt with as irrelevant).

A page later, "Once a precedent is deeply rooted, challenges die out and the Court is no longer required to deal with the question of the precedent’s correctness. The rules of adjudication, moreover—including the Court’s practice of answering only the questions presented in the petition for certiorari—relieve the Court of any obligation to identify and correct any error that may lurk in a case. The Court employs a variety of techniques that permit it to assume the correctness of some background issues and focus its attention on the ones that are actually controverted. The upshot is that the Court need not confront the question whether foundational precedent ought to be overruled. Members of Congress are differently situated...." This refers back to the odd "questionable" precedents in the OP. Again, the same contrastive focus on "Congress".

In fact, she continues to say that would be unnecessary and even inappropriate for a legislator who adopts an originalist stance to be concerned about such issues as the constitutionality of Social Security funding, the status of West Virginia, or the 14th Amendment. In other words, instead of addressing the issues in the works she cites, she dismisses the question as basically wrong-headed.

Meaning, in other words, that not only does she not adopt the views attributed to her but she actively argues that others who are originalists should not hold them, either. It's like the one CEO who was fired because he said that it was against company policy to use the word _______. To ban the word is to mention it; to mention it is not to endorse it. (And you can tell I just skimmed the danged article because I realize I was primed to clone one of her lines without realizing it.)

This is one of these quotes that somebody cited a while back and now has a disembodied life of its own. I don't blame the Koz writer for not checking into it--it's probably been cut-and-pasted numerous times since somebody actually stopped to think it was in an actual article and isn't the entire text. Then again, the entire text would require more effort and lead to nuance, while the quote adduced is a twitvertisement.

Sometimes you don't have to leave out words in a sentence to change its meaning (like quoting "Under no circumstances should we miss this opportunity to reform the police" as "Under no circumstances should we ... reform the police&quot . Sometimes just stripping out the context and recontextualizing it is sufficient.

ProfessorGAC

(64,963 posts)
13. Originalism Defined
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 03:57 PM
Sep 2020

A sophomoric philosophy of constitutional law adhered to by people who are far less intelligent than they imagine themselves to be.

Sanity Claws

(21,846 posts)
14. What about the 13th Amendment?
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 04:05 PM
Sep 2020

That was one of the post- Civil War amendments and ratified in December 1865.

Crunchy Frog

(26,579 posts)
20. They pick and choose which ones they want to question.
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 04:46 PM
Sep 2020

I think that even they know that questioning the 13th would never fly.

Retrograde

(10,132 posts)
15. Doesn't Citizens United depend on the 14th?
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 04:13 PM
Sep 2020

At least indirectly? IIRC, the case that declared corporations have rights, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific, was based on the 14th.

But I somehow doubt that a conservative court will want to get rid of this: they'll just go after birthright citizenship in some way. BTW, wouldn't this put 4 of Donald's children at risk?

Crunchy Frog

(26,579 posts)
24. It's important that questioning in the confirmation hearings...
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 05:04 PM
Sep 2020

establishes that fact beyond a shadow of a doubt.

treestar

(82,383 posts)
17. Her writings, not an opinion, hopefully
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 04:21 PM
Sep 2020

Surely if she passed the bar exam, she realizes those amendments are the law whether she likes them or not!

treestar

(82,383 posts)
18. The 15th amendment
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 04:24 PM
Sep 2020
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.




She doesn't like that?

octoberlib

(14,971 posts)
19. It's not just Roe v Wade. Trump's Supreme Court pick could challenge Brown v Board of Education
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 04:26 PM
Sep 2020

However, many legal experts and Washington veterans fear that discussions about abortion could be obscuring Trump nominees’ hostility to another landmark civil rights case: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In the 1954 case, the court issued a unanimous opinion — authored by then-Chief Justice Earl Warren — declaring that “in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place.”

In the years since, those nominated for the federal judiciary have frequently been asked their opinion of the Brown case. When the current Chief Justice John G Roberts testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee at his 2005 confirmation hearing, he responded to a question as to whether Warren’s opinion in Brown was the correct one with just two words: “I do.” And during his contentious appearance before the committee in late 2018, then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh said the ruling — which is considered such an important milestone in American history that it is routinely taught to school children — represented “the single greatest moment in Supreme Court history.”

Yet despite the case’s status as a turning point towards equality in the canons of American constitutional jurisprudence, a significant number of nominees put forth by President Trump have refused to say whether they believe those nine justices who declared that Black children cannot be forced to attend separate schools from white children had come to the right decision.

As of last spring, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights found that nearly 30 Trump nominees for both trial and appellate-level courts had declined to state that Brown’s holding was the correct one, and frequently claimed that they did so because it would not be the place of a lower-court judge to evaluate a decision of the Supreme Court.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-supreme-court-pick-ginsburg-amy-coney-barrett-roe-v-wade-brown-v-board-education-b535886.html

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,839 posts)
21. I wonder what she thinks of the 19th Amendment.
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 04:57 PM
Sep 2020

And if she considers that one illegitimate, I certainly hope she isn't registered to vote.

Volaris

(10,269 posts)
22. They cant throw out an approved and ratified Constitutional Amendment as unconstitutional lol...
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 04:59 PM
Sep 2020

They DAMN SURE dont get to claim that it wasnt passed with the necessary number of votes because half the congressional votes needed to defeat it were TO BUSY COMMITTING OPEN FUCKING TREASON AGAINST THE CONGRESS, and therefore didnt bother to show up for the vote...

What fucking planet do they think they're living on???

Well see its illegal because it changes the original document.

Yeah, that's why it's called an AMENDMENT. THATS ITS PURPOSE.

LAS14

(13,780 posts)
23. How can an amendment be "illegitimate?" The whole point of an amendment is to change ...
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 05:00 PM
Sep 2020

... the constitution. Right? Can anyone tell me their reasoning? I don't want to have to read a whole legal publication.

tia
las

lastlib

(23,197 posts)
35. The Court has pretty much beaten part of the 14th Amendment into oblivion.....
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 06:04 PM
Sep 2020

I refer specifically to the "Privileges and Immunities" clause, which has been rendered virtually meaningless.

andym

(5,443 posts)
28. They need to question her about the potential illegitimacy of the 13th amendment
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 05:37 PM
Sep 2020

the one that abolished slavery-- the Confederate states only ratified them due to the imposed reconstruction governments, so do pro-Confederate conservatives think they are illegitimate too?

Lonestarblue

(9,959 posts)
29. I really don't think Biden has any choice but to expand the SC.
Sun Sep 27, 2020, 05:39 PM
Sep 2020

The right-wing court will destroy civil rights, healthcare for all (if it ever passes), reproductive choice, and possibly birthright citizenship for some people. If the DACA case goes back to the SC, they’ll be deported unless Congress acts to protect them. We are seriously regressing with this appointment and this Court.

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