by My understanding is that Bret Kavanaugh presents himself as a textualist, following Antonin Scalia he argues that words in the constitition and laws should be interpreted using their conventional meanings when they were written. This is in contrast to the different approach based on considering legislative history (which is impossible for the main body of the Constitution because the procedings of the Convention were secret). It is in very marked contrast to the approach based on following precedent and deferring to the interpretation made by other judges in the past. This third “living constitution” approach makes statute law like common law mainly a body of precedents. Notably over here (in Rome) no one argues for the third approach. It is a truism
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My understanding is that Bret Kavanaugh presents himself as a textualist, following Antonin Scalia he argues that words in the constitition and laws should be interpreted using their conventional meanings when they were written. This is in contrast to the different approach based on considering legislative history (which is impossible for the main body of the Constitution because the procedings of the Convention were secret). It is in very marked contrast to the approach based on following precedent and deferring to the interpretation made by other judges in the past. This third “living constitution” approach makes statute law like common law mainly a body of precedents. Notably over here (in Rome) no one argues for the third approach. It is a truism that “giurisprudenza non è legge” (jurisprudence is not law I translate un-necessarily since English legal terms come from right here in Rome (unlike the English legal tradition)).
Although not a lawyer, I felt the need to present pretentious introduction so that I might address the question “have I boofed yet”. Don’t worry, I have absolutely no intention whatsoever to answer this question, but I hope you are not shocked to read my confession that, at an earlier period in my life, I have, in fact, farted.
Addressing the Senate Judiciary Committee eminent judge Bart Kavanaugh argued that the slang term “boofed” which he wrote on his page of the 1982 Georgetown Prep yearbook should be interpreted as meaning “farted”. I see that he has no respect for or loyalty too textualism.
First an actual textualist would consider context. The slang term appears in the printed passage (among the oldest surviving exemplars of Judge Kavanaugh’s opus) “Judge, have you boofed yet?” Judge Kavanaugh asserts that he was publicly asking a close friend if he had, as of then, at any time in his life, farted. The word “boofed” alone doesn’t clearly refer to something other than farting. The additional (highly ironic) proper name “Judge” and the words “have”, “you” and “yet” provide enough context to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Judge Kavanaugh is a perjurer, criminal, and felon.
But a textualist considers more than the context within the document undergoing learned exegesis. It is necessary to inquire as to how the word was used by contemporaries of the author. Kavanaugh must explore, and must ask the eminent Senators to explore, 35 year old discussions of anal sex by teenagers to be true to his stated principles.
Or he could just admit that when he was 17 he publicly asked a friend if that friend had fucked a butt yet.
An embarrassing youthful indiscretion is not a felony. But Kavanaugh chose to lie, because that’s what he does.