The myth of judicial activism : making sense of Supreme Court decisions / Kermit Roosevelt III.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roosevelt, Kermit, 1971-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political questions and judicial power--United States.

Political questions and judicial power.

United States. Supreme Court.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (272 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This carefully considered book is a welcome addition to the debate over judicial activism. Constitutional scholar Kermit Roosevelt III offers an elegantly simple way to resolve the heated discord between conservatives, who argue that the Constitution is immutable, and progressives, who insist that it is a living document that must be reinterpreted in new cultural contexts so that its meaning evolves. Roosevelt uses plain language and compelling examples to explain how the Constitution can be both a constant and an organic document. Recent years have witnessed an increasing drumbeat of complaints about judicial behavior, focusing particularly on Supreme Court decisions that critics charge are reflections of the Justices political preferences rather than enforcement of the Constitution. The author takes a balanced look at these controversial decisions through a compelling new lens of constitutional interpretation. He clarifies the task of the Supreme Court in constitutional cases, then sets out a model to describe how the Court creates doctrine to implement the meaning of the Constitution. Finally, Roosevelt uses this model to show which decisions can be justified as legitimate and which cannot.

Contents:

The plain meaning of the constitution : the fallacy of direct enforcement

The model : what doctrine is for

From activism to legitimacy

Equal protection, criminal procedure, executive detention

Gay rights : Romer, Lawrence, and Goodridge

Abortion : Roe and Casey

Takings : Kelo v. City of New London

The establishment clause

The death penalty : Roper and Atkins

The First Amendment : campaign finance reform

Refusing to defer

Reviled decisions

Branches behaving badly : whom do you trust?

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [237]-246) and index.

ISBN:

1-281-73036-X

9786611730369

0-300-12956-4

OCLC:

923589660