Ugly American Hermeneutics

Authors

Francis J. Mootz III

Abstract

This article will appear in a Symposium on comparative legal hermeneutics that includes four articles by American scholars and four articles by Brazilian scholars. I argue that the "ugly American" hermeneutics exemplified in Justice Scalia's opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller is unfortunate, even if we supplement Justice Scalia's hermeneutical fantasy with the much more careful and balanced philosophical work by Larry Solum, Keith Whittington and other scholars. Nevertheless, the pragmatic work of interpretation by lawyers and judges in the day-to-day world of legal practice shows a plain-faced integrity of which we Americans can be proud.

Publication Citation

10 Nev. L. J. 587 (2010)

Recommended Citation

Mootz, Francis J. III (2010) "Ugly American Hermeneutics," Nevada Law Journal: Vol. 10: Iss. 3, Article 2.
Available at: https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/nlj/vol10/iss3/2