ACTIVE AVOIDANCE: THE MODERN SUPREME COURT AND LEGAL CHANGE

• Published in: Harvard law review Vol. 128; no. 8; pp. 2109 - 2165
• Main Authors: Katyal, Neal Kumar, Schmidt, Thomas P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge The Harvard Law Review Association 01.06.2015; Harvard Law Review Association
• Subjects: Births; Bonds; Business; Changes; Constitution; Constitutional interpretation; Constitutional law; Courts; Demonstrations; Judicial restraint; Legislative process; Litigation; Methods; Political aspects; Reproductive health; Sovereignty; Supreme Court; Supreme Court decisions; U.S.A; United States; United States Supreme court; Validity; Voting; Voting rights; United States > US

The Supreme Court in the last few years has resolved some of the most divisive and consequential cases before it by employing the same maneuver: construing statutes to avoid constitutional difficulty. Although the Court generally justifies the avoidance canon as a form of judicial restraint, these r...