Part V Themes, Ch.39 Is Constitutional Law Really Law?
David A. Strauss
From: The Oxford Handbook of the U.S. Constitution
Edited By: Mark Tushnet, Sanford Levinson, Mark A. Graber
We certainly talk about U.S. constitutional law as if it is law. There are Constitutional Law classes in law schools. Constitutional law is often the basis for claims made in litigation—by people alleging police brutality, for example, or by criminal defendants who say that the evidence against them was illegally obtained, or by protesters who believe the government has denied them the freedom of speech. Lawyers make arguments to judges about constitutional law. There is an authoritative text: everyone agrees that the Constitution is “law” (although they disagree...
