Meese Warns of ‘Chameleon’ in Constitution
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WASHINGTON — Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III, stepping up his debate with the Supreme Court, said that interpreting the Constitution’s “spirit” and not its words turns the historic document into a “chameleon.”
Elaborating on his concept of “original intention”--that the Constitution should be read as it was written nearly 200 years ago--Meese said the current “judicial activism” on the federal bench invites the danger of “seeing the Constitution as an empty vessel into which each generation may pour its passion and prejudice.”
Meese made his remarks to a conservative lawyers’ group.
While each generation “has its own fashions and passions,” judicial activism is not faithful to the Constitution’s words, Meese said.
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