Title: Constitutional Empiricism: Quasi-Neutral Principles and Constitutional Truths
Abstract: This Article describes and analyzes "constitutional empiricism," a trend, instituted by the Rehnquist Court, which is characterized by judicial reliance in constitutional review on empirical and scientific data, conventions, and processes. The Court has historically relied upon traditional sources, such as text, structure, and history, to interpret constitutional powers and rights. In the continuing search for neutrality and objectivity, however, the Court has recently turned not only to social science and other empirical data, which have become common sources of interpretation in constitutional cases, but also to the precepts and methods of scientific and empirical inquiry.