The Art of Judging

The single most important issue in American constitutional law is that of the role the Supreme Court should play in the interpretation of the Constitution. This issue has been a source of controversy at least since 1803, when Chief Justice John Marshall proclaimed that the Supreme Court could declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. But public attention has been refocused on it by debates over whether it is desirable, or even possible, to interpret the Constitution strictly in terms of the original intent of the framers.