Legislative deferrals : statutory ambiguity, judicial power, and American democracy / George I. Lovell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lovell, George I., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political questions and judicial power--United States.

Political questions and judicial power.

Judge-made law--United States.

Judge-made law.

Legislative power--United States.

Legislative power.

Separation of powers--United States.

Separation of powers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxi, 290 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Why do unelected federal judges have so much power to make policy in the United States? Why were federal judges able to thwart apparent legislative victories won by labor organizations in the Lochner era? Most scholars who have addressed such questions assume that the answer lies in the judiciary's constitutionally guaranteed independence, and thus worry that insulated judges threaten democracy when they stray from baseline positions chosen by legislators. This book argues for a fundamental shift in the way scholars think about judicial policy-making. Scholars need to notice that legislators also empower judges to make policy as a means of escaping accountability. This study of legislative deference to the courts offers a dramatic reinterpretation of the history of twentieth-century labor law and shows how attention to legislative deferrals can help scholars to address vexing questions about the consequences of judicial power in a democracy.

Contents:

Rethinking judicial policy making in a separation of powers system

False victories: labor, Congress, and the courts, 1898-1935

"As harmless as an infant": the Erdman Act in Congress and the courts

Killing with kindness: legislative ambiguity, judicial policy making, and the Clayton Act

The Norris-LaGuardia Act, for once: learning what to learn from the past

Legislative deferrals and judicial policy making in the administrative state: a brief look at the Wagner Act.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 08 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 270-278) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-13722-5

1-280-43663-8

0-511-18073-X

0-511-20482-5

0-511-06219-2

0-511-30767-5

0-511-50987-1

0-511-07065-9

OCLC:

171135862