The Constitution Is Not Self Enforcing

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The Constitution has no real power of its own.  It’s just words on paper—an agreement, a framework. It doesn’t automatically stop violations, punish abusers of power, or protect anyone’s rights unless people and institutions act to make it real. In other words, The Constitution is only as strong as our collective willingness to defend it.
Without enforcement by the branches of government and an engaged public, it becomes symbolic—a parchment barrier rather than a living guardrail. This discussion with law professor Jody Armour explores this reality and its impact on the headlines today.

Jody Armour is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, where he’s taught since 1995. His academic focus: how race, language, morality, psychology and law collide — especially in criminal law, torts, and the role of stereotypes and unconscious bias in legal decision-making. Armour’s earlier book, Negrophobia & Reasonable Racism: The Hidden Costs of Being Black in America, took on racial profiling, police brutality and mass incarceration long before some mainstream audiences did.

Moderator Sharon Kyle is the publisher and co-founder of LA Progressive, an independent news and opinion outlet amplifying voices for social, racial, and economic justice. A former NASA/JPL financial manager, she later became a law professor at the People’s College of Law, a public interest law school.  Kyle also served on the Executive Board and as a Director of the ACLU, advocating for civil rights, criminal justice reform, and government accountability. In addition to her publishing and legal work, she co-founded the Left Coast Forum.