E.J. Dionne, Constitutional Scholar

Dionne praises retired Justice Souter's remarks at Harvard on the evils of originalism in this morning's Washington Post. Souter's speech is not as revolutionary as Dionne lets on. Many of the same points, especially the Brown v. Board argument have been raised elsewhere and directly challenged. Interestingly, one of Souter's former clerks has written, "Make no mistake: The best originalist on the Supreme Court is not Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas, but David Souter." If Souter's speech proves anything, it is that his judicial philosophy will continue to vex both conservatives and liberals well into the future.