Real disputes and social issues, not abstract text, generate constitutional law.

Evidence

The Constitution, in short, is what the judges say it is, as Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes once bluntly put it. What they say is said in the context of actual cases. Actual cases arise out of real disputes between real litigants. They are always a product of their times. They reflect the social issues of the day; hence, realistically, it is these issues that are the immediate sources, or incentives, for the creation of constitutional law. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 923

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the book’s earlier chapter on courts making law despite formal theory denying it. — connects to: A written constitution only becomes living law through enforcement. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 921; Modern constitutional law rests on open-textured phrases, not clear constitutional text. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 982; Legitimacy can be derived from constitutional practices rather than from justifications. — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 15 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Constitutional validity can only be judged against concrete facts in real cases #corroborates (0.82) — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 3493
• Legitimacy can be derived from constitutional practices rather than from justifications. #corroborates (0.75) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 15