The Judiciary Reviewed Should the Courts Be Bound By "Original Intent"? The power of judicial review is an important feature of our federal court system. It allows the courts to nullify laws that are not consistent with the present-day interpretation of the U. S. Constitution by deeming them unconstitutional. This function grants the courts two major powers: the power to overturn legislation, and the authority to interpret the constitution and set a precedent that later …showed first 75 words of 1470 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1470 total…intention for us to base judicial decisions on. A unified intention of the Framers simply does not apply to most issues. There was extensive debate and argumentation among the Framers themselves regarding many of these issues. The words of James Madison himself refute Mr. Bork's position. And, although I agree with the essence of Mr. Bork's argument, the concept of original intent is overly ambiguous and impractical to be considered when making important legal decisions.