Popular Constitutionalism, Departmentalism, and Judicial Supremacy

s 2002Jorde Lecture.Beautifully crafted, deeply erudite, sharply original, and resonant with passionate conviction, the Lecture addresses a topic of growing significance to contemporary constitutional thought.Together with the book from which it is drawn, 1 the Lecture will no doubt prove a major contribution to our understanding of American constitutional history.Time spent reflecting on Kramer's project is time well spent.Kramer argues for "popular constitutionalism," by which he means a system in which the people assume "active and ongoing control over the interpretation and enforcement of constitutional law." 2 Kramer identifies the enemy of popular constitutionalism as "judicial supremacy," by which he means "the notion that judges have the last word when it comes to constitutional interpretation and that their decisions determine the meaning of the Constitution for everyone." 3Kramer argues for a world in which courts