More generally, formalism in the law manifests itself as an adherence to procedure and the words of the statutes, even when—or especially when—they cut against what common sense prescribes. Justice Antonin Scalia, the fiercest advocate of legal formalism there is, puts it very directly: “Long live formalism. It is what makes a government a government of laws and not of men.” In Scalia’s view, when judges try to understand what the law intends—its spirit—they’re inevitably bamboozled by their own prejudices and desires. Better to stick to the words of the Constitution and the statutes, treating
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