originalism

American  

[uh-rij-uh-nl-iz-uhm] / əˈrɪdʒ ə nlˌɪz əm /

noun

Law.

1. the doctrine that a legal document or statute should be interpreted by determining its original meaning, or how it would have been understood by informed readers when it was first written.

2. the doctrine that a legal document or statute should be interpreted according to the actual or supposed intent of the author or authors, taking into consideration the historical context.

3. either of these doctrines in reference to legal interpretations of a constitution, especially the U.S. Constitution.

   Judges who disagree with judicial activism, such as Justice Antonin Scalia, tend to embrace originalism.

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Other Word Forms

• originalist noun

Etymology

Origin of originalism

First recorded in 1980–85; original ( def. ) + -ism ( def. )

Example Sentences

ADF’s efforts have led Waggoner to arguments that are potentially at odds with the conservative judicial framework known as originalism, which aims to apply constitutional text as it was understood when adopted.

From The Wall Street Journal

"There's growing consensus among originalists among all different stripes that the Roberts Court conservatives are not serious about methods and not serious about originalism," Shugerman said.

From Salon

You write that "Most stories about originalism’s rise begin with Robert Bork," but you start much earlier than that, with Brown v.

From Salon

In a Federalist Society keynote address two years ago at Arizona’s Waldorf Hotel, Clint Bolick described originalism and federalism — or the division of power between national and local governments — as two of his “favorite isms.”

From Los Angeles Times

“It seems old and dusty — and thus objective and reliable. And maybe it is indeed all those things. But let’s be clear: It’s not originalism.”

From New York Times