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Original intent : the battle for America /

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Original Intent is the judicial philosophy promoted by President George W. Bush and Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Originalists believe the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted in the way the Founding Fathers understood it in 1789 -- an era when only white men were all...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Sherin, Anthony (Director), Bork, Robert (interviewee (expression)), Chemerinsky, Erwin (interviewee (expression)), Dershowitz, Alan M. (interviewee (expression)), Meese, Edwin (interviewee (expression)), Simpson, Alan K. (interviewee (expression)), Strassen, Nadine (interviewee (expression)), Totenberg, Nina (interviewee (expression))
Format: Video
Language:English
Language Notes:English.
Published: New York, NY : Filmakers Library, 2008.
Series:Filmakers Library online.
Subjects:
United States. > Constitution.
Constitution (United States)
Constitutional law > United States > Philosophy.
Judicial power > United States.
Judicial review > United States.
Pouvoir judiciaire > États-Unis.
Contrôle juridictionnel des lois > États-Unis.
Constitutional law > Philosophy
Judicial power
Judicial review
United States
Documentary.
Documentaries and Factual Films
Streaming videos.
documentary film.
Documentary films
Feature films
Nonfiction films
Feature films.
Video recordings for the hearing impaired.
Documentary films.
Nonfiction films.
Documentaires.
Films autres que de fiction.
Vidéos pour personnes handicapées auditives.
Online Access:Connect to this streaming video (Alexander Street Press)
Description
Summary:Original Intent is the judicial philosophy promoted by President George W. Bush and Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Originalists believe the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted in the way the Founding Fathers understood it in 1789 -- an era when only white men were allowed to vote and slavery was legal. Others believe the Constitution was crafted in broad, open-ended language and that its meaning evolves over time. Original Intent: The Battle for America argues that the far right is using originalism as a cover to advance a radically conservative political agenda. With the appointments of Justices Roberts and Alito, the balance of the Supreme Court shifted dramatically to the right. Many laws that are considered fundamental rights can be overturned, particularly laws that protect civil rights, voting rights, affirmative action, reproductive rights, privacy, and sexual freedom. The film contains interviews with: Robert Bork, Supreme Court nominee; Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, UC Irvine Law School; Prof. Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School; Edwin Meese, Attorney General, Reagan Administration; Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY); Prof. Nadine Strassen, NY Law School and President, ACLU; and Nina Totenberg, Legal Affairs Correspondent, National Public Radio. An essential film for courses in political science, government, constitutional law and American studies.
Item Description:Originally released as DVD.
Title from resource description page (viewed May 24, 2011).
Physical Description:1 online resource (video file (54 min.)) : sound, color.
Playing Time:00:54:44
Audience:For College; Adult audiences.
Awards:Best Feature Documentary, Harlem International Film Festival, 2007
Best Feature Film, Newburyport Documentary Film Festival, 2007
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, 2007
Kansas International Film Festival, 2007