Ginsburg, foreign law, and the Constitution

DallasBlog.com | Tara Ross:

“A reliance on foreign law is still inappropriate. British or German or French laws should not be used to govern Americans. Such a concept is fundamentally incompatible with the concept of self-governance—one of the most basic principles behind the U.S. Constitution. How sad that Justice Ginsburg does not know that.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Ms Ross's report of Justice Ginsburg's speech makes it all but unrecognizable. The actual speech is a balanced and reasonable presentation of the issue, even while advocating one side of the issue. I suggest readers of Dallas Blog read the speech for themselves. Here is one paragraph that summarizes Justice Ginsburg's point nicely:

"Foreign opinions are not authoritative; they set no binding precedent for the U.S. judge. But they can add to the store of knowledge relevant to the solution of trying questions. Yes, we should approach foreign legal materials with sensitivity to our differences, deficiencies, and imperfect understanding, but imperfection, I believe, should not lead us to abandon the effort to learn what we can from the experience and good thinking foreign sources may convey."