Separation of powers in practice / Tom Campbell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Campbell, Thomas, 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Separation of powers--United States.

Separation of powers.

United States.

Separation of powers--United States--Cases.

Physical Description:

x, 235 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Stanford, Calif. : Stanford Law and Politics, 2004.

Summary:

Each branch of American government possesses inherent advantages and disadvantages in structure. In this book, the author relies on a separation-of-powers analysis that emphasizes the advantage of the legislature to draft precise words to fit intended situations, the judiciary' s advantage of being able to do justice in an individual case, and the executive' s homogeneity and flexibility, which best suits it to decisions of an ad hoc nature. Identifying these structural abilities, the author analyzes major public policy issues, including gun control, flag burning, abortion, civil rights, war powers, suing the President, legislative veto, the exclusionary rule, and affirmative action. Each issue is examined not from the point of view of determining the right outcome, but with the intention of identifying the branch of government most appropriate for making the decision.

Contents:

Introduction

Synopsis of the advantages of the separate branches of government

Rules of the legislative process

Statutory construction : the courts review the work of the legislature

Stare decisis : the self-imposed constraint by the judicial branch not shared by the other branches

The proper roles of government : the case of obnoxious speech

The exclusionary rule : when is a matter constitutional, when is it only policy?

Affirmative action : the use of race by government

The Fiesta Bowl : unintended consequences of judicial and legislative activism

Defining constitutional rights : Roe v. Wade

The Civil Rights Act of 1992 : the burden of proof as a judicial function used to achieve a legislative result

Two statutes, a hundred years apart : when court interpretation changes between and after two separate legislative acts

When the Supreme Court does not do its job : the Second Amendment

Methods of solving disputes between (and within) the branches of government

Another method of solving interbranch disputes : legislators going to court to sue the executive branch.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0804747369

0804750270

OCLC:

54767523