Historical Linguistics, Inkblots, and Life after Death: The Privileges Or Immunities of Citizens of the United States
Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: The recent Supreme Court decision of Saenz v. Roe suggests that the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment may have a new lease on life.In this Article, Professor Curtis examines the Clause using a method advocated by Justice Felix Frankfurter and many others: interpreting a constitutional amendment based on the common understanding of the words of the amendment at the time it was proposed and debated.Application of this method provides substantial support for the view that the words "privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States" include the rights of American citizens listed in the Constitution, especially those in the Bill of Rights.This Article looks at usage of "privileges" and "immunities" from the colonial period through Reconstruction and uncovers many examples in which people used the words to refer to basic protections in the federal Bill of Rights.The search also shows that these rights, privileges, and immunities were viewed as belonging to citizens of the United States or to all American citizens.More recent court opinions and a presidential proclamation also illustrate the use of "privileges or immunities" to describe Bill of Rights protections.Finally, the Article reflects on the problems that lie behind the apparent superficial simplicity of appeals to original meaning.
Author: Michael Kent Curtis
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2782043917