The Bill of Rights: The Next 200 Years

Authors

Geoffrey R. Stone, University of Chicago Law School

Publication Title

Washington University Law Quarterly

Abstract

Why is prediction so difficult? After all, even if we reject the static concept of original intent, constitutional interpretation is "law," and "law" should have some element of constancy, certainty, and predictability. What, then, is the problem? The problem is time. In fact, law, even constitutional law, is generally quite constant, certain, and predictable-if we look at it in relatively short time-bites. But over decades, to say nothing of centuries, law, and especially constitutional law, is unpredictable in the extreme.

Recommended Citation

Geoffrey R. Stone, The Bill of Rights: The Next 200 Years, 70 Wash. U. L. Q. 1 (1992).
Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol70/iss1/1