Evan Burnick, a law professor at Northern Illinois University, recently published an insightful review of Professor J. Joel Alicea's latest paper, Constitutional Theory and the Problem of Disagreement, in the prestigious online journal JOTWELL, which is dedicated to highlighting exemplary scholarship across various legal fields.
Burnick's review is available here.
Joel Alicea's paper, Constitutional Theory and the Problem of Disagreement, 173 U. Pa. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming, 2024), is available at [SSRN].
Constitutional Law
JOTWELL
by: Evan Burick
Date: September 19, 2024
Imperfectionist Constitutional Theory
Joel Alicea wants to make the world a better place with constitutional theory and thinks that you should, too. More specifically: In choosing how to interpret a constitution, you ought to consult moral views which you believe to be correct, while making room for widespread social practices which aren’t entirely consistent with those views. It’s a testament to Alicea’s intellect, prudence, and rhetoric that readers are likely to be persuaded. His paper, Constitutional Theory and the Problem of Disagreement, feels less like an argument than a friendly conversation from which truth gradually but inexorably emerges.
. . .