Influence and Legacy of Edwin Meese as Attorney General

Steven Calabresi of Northwestern Law School joins Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his new book, The Meese Revolution: The Making of a Constitutional Moment. Calabresi reviews former Attorney General Edwin Meese’s instrumental role in the rise of originalism, and credits Meese with transforming the Department of Justice into an “academy in exile” where originalism was developed and put into practice. 

Resources: 

• Steven Calabresi and Gary Lawson, The Meese Revolution: The Making of a Constitutional Moment (2024) 
• Edwin Meese III, Speech to the American Bar Association (7/9/1985) 

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