Constitutional Purposivism

About a month ago, NPR [National Public Radio] reported about the debate over interpretation of the U.S. constitution. The report noted that conservative jurists, particularly Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, are advocates of “constitutional originalism,” defined as “adherence to the ‘original intent’ of the creators of the Constitution.” We’re talking about strict interpretation of the document. Literalism. Only what is said is covered. If it is not there, it is not covered.

The NPR report suggested that U.S. liberals did not have a coherent counter-theory of constitutional interpretation. My research on the Internet suggests that there is and has been a popular liberal counter-theory: constitutional purposivism. According to “purposivism”, the constitution (and other laws) should be interpreted “in light of the purpose behind the legislation.”

Sometimes our Constitution sets highly specific standards, such as when it says the President must be at least 35 years of age. But elsewhere it uses language which is open to interpretation, such as in the Fourth Amendment, where it says that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.”

An “originalist” would argue that there is nothing explicitly written in the Fourth Amendment about “individual privacy” or “abortion rights”, so these concepts have no basis for protection under the U.S. Constitution. The stated purposes of the Constitution are irrelevant. The modern consequences of such an interpretation are irrelevant.

A “purposivist” judge, on the other hand, would consider the stated or implied purpose when interpreting the Constitution. There are modern circumstances to be considered, broad language in the source document, and a question about the consequences of applying the law in a literalist fashion: if you applied the law literally, how would the results compare with the intended purpose of the law? The Constitution was written for a purpose. The purpose therefore matters when you interpret it.

You will have guessed that I am inclined toward purposivism. I believe the Constitution should be interpreted with an eye toward the purposes stated in its Preamble. It clearly states that its purpose is to “promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” I think it is logical to conclude that any interpretation of the Constitution should consider whether the interpretation advances or defeats its stated purposes. Considering the stated purposes of the Constitution, the Fourth Amendment can be read as generally protecting citizens from unreasonable government intrusion into their private lives.

This argument reminds me of Jesus’s reported arguments with the Pharisees [Matthew 12]. The Pharisees accused Jesus of “working” on the Sabbath, which was against the law, because it was the Sabbath and he was busy healing people. Jesus reportedly replied that “it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” In my opinion, Jesus was being a purposivist.