NCJ Number
117449
Journal
Saint Louis University Law Journal Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall 1987) Pages: 1-15
Date Published
1987
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The U.S. Constitution is a statement of ideals and a loose web of principles whose interpretations and applications change with changing legal culture and social organization.
Abstract
Although the Constitution is a remarkable document, Americans do not live under the rule of a document but rather under a complex constitutional system, which cannot be understood except in the context of American legal culture. Legal culture consists of the ideas, attitudes, values, opinions, and expectations that people hold with regard to law and the legal system. Legal culture is complex and constantly evolving. The Constitution always has been, and always will be, interpreted from the perspective of the social and cultural system in which it is currently embedded. The judges who interpret the Constitution are themselves the product of the current legal culture. This is not to say that U.S. Supreme Court decisions reflect a cultural consensus throughout the land. The constitutional system and its products are controversial almost by definition; what is not controversial never gets to the Supreme Court. The constitutional system is litigant-driven, which means the Supreme Court hears only those issues about which there is significant conflict and debate. The public has become attuned to an active judiciary; even the opponents of particular decisions accept this power as a fact, assume its role in American polity, and counterattack themselves through the courts. 22 footnotes.