concepts
type: Collection
type: ConceptGroup
member: original intent

constitutions and constitutionalism
type: Concept
narrower: original intent

original intent
type: Concept
broader: constitutions and constitutionalism
definition: Original intent is a method of interpreting the Constitution that determines the meaning of a passage mainly by looking at the Framers' intentions. The Supreme Court has often relied in part on historical evidence in interpreting the Constitution, but political conservatives since the 1980s have argued for more scrupulous attention to original intent as a way of narrowing or overturning some expansive rulings on individual rights. [Source: The Supreme Court A to Z; Original Intent]