2.18.2004

Who has the last word on the Constitution? -- Despite Justice Scalia's wildest fantasies, the people of the United States are actually the arbiters of our Constitution, or so argues this NYU law professor. This sounds thrillingly populist -- but also troublingly political. We're in the midst of a constitutional crisis here in Massachusetts right now, and should we punish the SJC for interpreting the law in a way that chafes some of the populace? As many have noted, if civil rights decisions were left to the popular vote, we'd probably still be in the Jim Crow era today.

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