In Berkeley Talks podcast episode 222, UC Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Brian Fitzpatrick, the Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise at Vanderbilt Law School in Nashville, Tennessee, debate the merits of originalism in constitutional interpretation. Originalism is a theory that argues that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted based on its original meaning, as understood at the time of its adoption nearly 250 years ago, rather than evolving with society.
Arguments for originalism in this debate include:
Arguments against originalism include:
This symposium, which took place on March 17, 2025, was UC Berkeley Law’s inaugural Thomas David and Judith Swope Clark Symposium on Constitutional Interpretation. Watch a video of the debate on UC Berkeley Law’s YouTube page.
Listen to the episode and read the transcript on UC Berkeley News (news.berkeley.edu/podcasts).
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