U.S. Supreme Court,
Constitutional Law
Jul. 15, 2015
Judicial activism! But only if we lose
Contrary to Chief Justice John Robert's dissent in the recent same-sex marriage ruling, the decision was based on the Constitution.
Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law
UC Berkeley School of Law
Erwin's most recent book is "Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism." He is also the author of "Closing the Courthouse," (Yale University Press 2017).
Those who favor marriage equality for gays and lesbians celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, but was it correct as a matter of constitutional law? Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a forceful dissent saying the decision could not be seen as based on the Constitution. He declared: "If you are among the many Americans - of whatever sexual orientation - who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celeb...
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