Geoffrey Stone, "Obama's Supreme Court"

What will the election of Barack Obama mean for the Supreme Court of the United States? To answer this question, it is necessary to understand the current make-up of the Court and its direction. What are the predispositions of the current Justices? What do we mean today by the terms "liberal" and "conservative"? What does it mean to say that a Justice believes in "strict construction," "original meaning," "judicial activism," or "judicial restraint"? How should we assess the competing perspectives on judicial interpretation? And, when the dust settles, what can we expect of the Obama Supreme Court? Geoffrey Stone is Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago Law School. This talk was recorded April 14, 2009 as part of the Chicago's Best Ideas lecture series.