The Originalism Industrial Complex: How Fringe Scholars Feed the Supreme Court's Obsessions The birthright citizenship case, in which a single vote nearly annulled a constitutional guarantee, has sparked heated debate about the role of "fringe academics" in shaping Supreme Court opinions.
Mark Joseph Stern's analysis in Amicus highlights how originalism, a supposedly rigorous legal doctrine, can be reduced to farce when scholars and politicians join forces to peddle dubious theories.
Originalist ideas often germinate among conservative scholars eager to make their mark on the law. These scholars churn out contested scholarship that can almost convince justices to adopt it.