By Frank Scarpa
At the Retired Men’s Association (RMA) of Greenwich’s meeting on Wednesday, August 10, Horst Tebbe introduced Dr. Nelson Tebbe, Professor of Constitutional Law at Cornell Law School, who addressed the RMA on the topic of “Originalism on the Supreme Court.” Dr. Tebbe, the son of Horst Tebbe, is a Greenwich native and a graduate of Greenwich High School. He has presented to the RMA a number of times, with acclaim. Dr. Tebbe works on issues relating to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and general constitutional law, and is the author of the book Religious Freedom in an Egalitarian Age. He holds degrees from Brown University, Yale Law School, and the University of Chicago Divinity School. His most recent articles have appeared in the Harvard Law Review, the Columbia Law Review, and the Michigan Law Review, and he has published in popular outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic.
“Originalism,” he explained, is a method of constitutional interpretation that fixes the Constitution in time. It was first promoted in the 1980s by then Attorney General Meese, and later by Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas as a “corrective to judicial activism.” Yet its usage has forced difficult contextual interpretations of such phrases as “a right to bear arms” and “equal protection under the law,” and the fact that the words “woman’ and “women” are nowhere to be found in the document.
Alternatives to Originalism may be found in the concept of “a living Constitution” or in plural approaches combining arguments from texts, history and precedent. Yet another concept is the one of a “common ground Constitution.”
Professor Tebbe then discussed the pros and cons of Originalism. The “pros” would include the concept of “legitimacy,” or of fixing the rule of law so that it is “predictable,” and a promotion of “judicial restraint”–eliminating personal bias. An important “con” is the “Dead Hand Problem,” the idea that it is not “democratic” to impose the will of people who lived 100 years ago. Anti-originalists argue that the original text did not include women, non-whites, or non-land owners. Also, they argue that the text was designed to be open-ended. For example, the Court (in Heller) interpreted the Second Amendment as applying to individuals, not “militias” literally. This sort of interpretation has led to arguments about “historical ambiguity.” The “deeply rooted” concept used by Justice Alito in Dobbs is questionably in accord with Originalism.
As illustrated by the thoughtful and intense Q and A session that followed, arguments on this topic will continue. All jurists and lawyers would hope to prevent “political” interpretations of the Constitution.
Those interested in viewing the full presentation are urged to go to the RMA website and click on the video at https://vimeo.com/user9053619/videos.
The RMA’s next presentation on August 24 will be by Greg Zuckerman, a #1 New York Times bestselling author and award-winning Wall Street Journal investigative journalist about his recent book: “A Shot to Save the World, The Inside Story of the Life-or-Death Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine”. Gregory Zuckerman in A Shot to Save the World takes us inside the top-secret laboratories, corporate clashes and high-stakes government negotiations that led to the development of effective Covid vaccines. A small group of unlikely, untested, disparate scientists scrambled to turn their life’s work into a life saving vaccine in a matter of months – – and beat each other for the glory that a vaccine guaranteed.
Gregory Zuckerman is a 26 year Special Writer at The Wall Street Journal and has been a three time winner of the Gerald Loeb Award – the highest honor in business journalism. Greg is also the author of these best sellers; The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched a Quant Revolution and The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of New Billionaire Wildcatters. Additionally, he has authored The Greatest Trade Ever: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History. Greg also appears regularly on CNBC, Fox Business, Yahoo Finance, National Public Radio, ABC and Bloomberg Television.
This presentation will occur on August 24 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Greenwich as well as on webinar at: https://bit.ly/30lBj21
RMA speaker presentations are presented as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees. The RMA does request that all eligible individuals consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer and community service opportunities that the RMA offers to its members. For further information, visit www.greenwichrma.org or contact Joe Mancinelli (mailto:jlmanc@optonline.net) or Peter Stern (mailto:members@greenwichrma.org).
