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Judges show fidelity by strictly adhering to the original public meaning or the plain text of the words written by the legislature.
Yet modern governance raises hard questions. Can a President decline to enforce a law she believes is unconstitutional? Most scholars say yes—if the President has a reasonable constitutional objection. But that power has limits. When President Obama deferred deportation for certain undocumented immigrants (DACA), opponents argued this violated the Take Care Clause. Supporters called it prosecutorial discretion. The dispute shows that executive fidelity, like judicial fidelity, involves interpretive judgment. fidelity to law meaning
Key aspects include:
The debate between H.L.A. Hart and Lon Fuller centered on what "fidelity to law" meant in this context: Judges show fidelity by strictly adhering to the
However, it is not an absolute virtue. History suggests that fidelity to law becomes destructive when it equates to blind obedience to tyranny. A mature understanding of fidelity Most scholars say yes—if the President has a