Edwin Meese III, Ronald Reagan's attorney general, launched a judicial philosophy in the 1980s that has fundamentally reshaped American courts. His "originalism" movement sought to interpret the Constitution strictly according to its text and original public meaning at ratification, rejecting what conservatives viewed as judicial activism and loose constitutional interpretation.
Meese's vision faced decades of resistance. Progressive judges and scholars dismissed originalism as a reactionary tool to overturn established precedent. Democratic presidents appointed judges aligned with living constitutionalist approaches. The movement appeared marginal through much of the 1990s and 2000s.
The landscape shifted dramatically under Donald Trump. With three Supreme Court appointments, originalism achieved institutional dominance at the highest judicial level. Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett embraced textualist and originalist methodologies. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas added weight to the philosophical bloc.
The results transformed constitutional law. The Supreme Court's June 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade explicitly applied originalist reasoning, holding that abortion rights lacked grounding in the Constitution's text or original meaning. The Court similarly ruled against an individual right to carry guns under New York's licensing system, then struck down affirmative action in college admissions, each decision anchored in originalist interpretation.
Biden appointees like Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson inherited a Court already committed to this framework. Dissenting opinions now argue against originalism rather than within its bounds. Lower courts staffed with Trump appointees apply originalist logic to immigration, regulatory power, and voting rights.
Meese's four-decade arc from Reagan administration official to court-reshaping theorist demonstrates how sustained ideological movements reshape institutions. His originalism survived ridicule, waited for institutional opportunity, and capitalized when political power aligned