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Douglas Kendall
Douglas Townsend Kendall (1964-2015), originally from Long Island, New York, graduated at the age of 22 with an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Virginia, where he also earned a law degree six years later. Most notably, Kendall founded the Constitutional Accountability Center, a public advocacy law firm grounded in the theory of New Textualism, in 2008 in Washington, D.C. In his tenure as president at the CAC, Doug Kendall co-authored almost fifty briefs filed before the supreme court. Kendall’s legal clientele include the National Governors Association, the National League of Cities, the League of Women Voters, and the American Judicature Society. Before losing a battle to colon cancer at age 51, Kendall was known for his vision of maneuvering originalism for progressive purposes. This approach is now known as New Textualism.

Present Company
Elizabeth Wydra is the current president of the CAC. From 2008-2016, she served as the CAC's chief counsel and stepped in as president following the death of founder Doug Kendall (CAC). Elizabeth is a graduate of Yale law school. The CAC's current roster under Wydra is as follows:

Directors

 * Eleanor D. "Eldie" Acheson, Chair
 * Akhil Reed Amar
 * Peter C. Erichsen
 * Vivek H. Maru
 * Hon. Juliet McKenna
 * Andrew J. Pincus
 * Jim Ryan

Advisors

 * Walter Dellinger
 * Jack M. Balkin

Staff

 * Aneesa Din, Development Manager
 * Brian R. Frazelle, Appellate Counsel
 * David H. Gans, Director of the Human Rights, Civil Rights, and Citizenship Program
 * Brianne J. Gorod, Chief Counsel
 * Kristine A. Kippins, Director of Constitutional Messaging
 * Nina Oat, Research and Administrative Associate
 * Doug Pennington, Director of Communications
 * Ashwin Phatak, Appellate Counsel
 * Leslie Phillips, Deputy Director of Communications
 * Tyler Sonnemaker, Communications Associate and Web Manager
 * Elisabeth M. Stein, Policy Counsel

New Textualism
Since the entrance of the late Justice Antonin Scalia to the United States Supreme court, a shift towards an originalist interpretation of the constitution, which can be approached through examining the text itself or the Framers’ desired application upon writing it. Originalism has been most commonly utilized by Justices Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Roberts, and Kennedy to support conservative ideologies, which has developed a common misconception that originalism can only be utilized in this way (yale citation). Doug Kendall has been a strong critic of this fallacy, dedicating a bulk of his career to “...[challenge] the prevailing conservative vision that the Constitution defines the federal government’s jurisdiction narrowly” by employing an alternative approach to originalism: New Textualism. New Textualism relies heavily on the original meaning and wording of the constitution, but uses this basis to benefit progressive ideology (democracy journal citation). As opposed to original intent as it is commonly employed, which suggests that both the meaning and the application of the constitution must remain static, “...New Textualists believe that while the meaning of the Constitution does not change, application of those principles can lead to different outcomes as circumstances change” (dem joural) Kendall’s inspiration for founding the CRC and subsequently the CAC was the encouragement of a balance to the conservative originalism, stating "[the framers were not] a group of gun-toting, property-loving and tax-hating defenders of big corporations and proponents of small government” = . The presence of New Textualism as a progressive counterpoint to more common conservative uses of originalism will ultimately, in Kendall’s view, result in the most neutral Supreme Court Rulings (proquest). The organization relies on legal arguments based on constitutional text and history, with particular emphasis on the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.[citation in original wiki] Founder and president Douglas Kendall has stated that this renewed focus on the Civil War Amendments can help to reveal the Constitution as a progressive document. [citation in original wiki] A CAC publication about New Textualism states that “the Constitution provides concrete and progressive answers to many important questions.”[citation in original wiki]

= References =