The Evolution of Becoming an Originalist

Georgetown Law Professor Randy Barnett is the author of A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist, a new memoir about his remarkable legal career. He joins Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his role in the evolution of originalism from a philosophy of judicial restraint to one of constitutional conservatism dedicated to restoring “the lost Constitution.”

Resources:

• Randy Barnett, A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist (2024) 
• Randy Barnett, Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty (2014) 
• Randy Barnett, “Two Conceptions of the Ninth Amendment,” (1989)  
• Ronald Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously (1978) 
• Antonin Scalia, “Originalism: The Lesser Evil,” (1989)  
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012) 
• “Originalism: A Matter of Interpretation,” NCC America’s Town Hall Program (2022) 

Stay Connected and Learn More:

• Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.  
• Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.  
• Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. 
• You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Donate