The Limits of Judicial Independence
The Limits of Judicial Independence

Author: Tom S. Clark

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-11-22

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 1139492314

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This book investigates the causes and consequences of congressional attacks on the US Supreme Court, arguing that the extent of public support for judicial independence constitutes the practical limit of judicial independence. First, the book presents a historical overview of Court-curbing proposals in Congress. Then, building on interviews with Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, and judicial and legislative staffers, the book theorizes that congressional attacks are driven by public discontent with the Court. From this theoretical model, predictions are derived about the decision to engage in Court-curbing and judicial responsiveness to Court-curbing activity in Congress. The Limits of Judicial Independence draws on illustrative archival evidence, systematic analysis of an original dataset of Court-curbing proposals introduced in Congress from 1877 onward and judicial decisions.

Congress and the Court
Congress and the Court

Author: Walter F. Murphy

Publisher: Quid Pro Books

Published: 2014-08-31

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 1610272684

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Princeton political scientist Walter Murphy analyzed the role of Congress in trying to manage an activist Supreme Court at a time of seismic change in the law and evolving interplay between these powerful institutions. As the original dustjacket offered, this is a "first-rate assessment of the delicate balance of power between Congress and the Supreme Court as it affects the American political process." The new digital republication of this classic work adds a 2014 Foreword by law professor Thomas Baker, who notes the continuing relevance of Murphy's insights: "The principal object lesson he offers is that what happened in the 1950s happened before and will happen again, that separation of powers showdowns are cyclical." In sum, "This book was recognized immediately upon publication as an important contribution to the literature on separation of powers and in particular the constitutional dynamic between Congress and the Court." It "continues to enjoy in the canon of constitutional law" a recognized status, to both legal academics and political scientists, as Baker explains in his contemporary introduction. The new digital edition presents the original text and tables accurately and properly formatted as an ebook; it features active contents, linked chapter footnotes and endnotes, and even a fully-linked Index for continuity with the original print edition. Originally published by the University of Chicago Press, this is an authorized and unabridged new addition to the Classics of Law & Society Series from Quid Pro Books.

The Nature of Supreme Court Power
The Nature of Supreme Court Power

Author: Matthew E. K. Hall

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-09-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781107617827

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Few institutions in the world are credited with initiating and confounding political change on the scale of the United States Supreme Court. The Court is uniquely positioned to enhance or inhibit political reform, enshrine or dismantle social inequalities, and expand or suppress individual rights. Yet despite claims of victory from judicial activists and complaints of undemocratic lawmaking from the Court's critics, numerous studies of the Court assert that it wields little real power. This book examines the nature of Supreme Court power by identifying conditions under which the Court is successful at altering the behavior of state and private actors. Employing a series of longitudinal studies that use quantitative measures of behavior outcomes across a wide range of issue areas, it develops and supports a new theory of Supreme Court power. Matthew E. K. Hall finds that the Court tends to exercise power successfully when lower courts can directly implement its rulings; however, when the Court must rely on non-court actors to implement its decisions, its success depends on the popularity of those decisions. Overall, this theory depicts the Court as a powerful institution, capable of exerting significant influence over social change.

The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy
The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy

Author: John Agresto

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2016-10-15

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 1501712918

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In The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy John Agresto traces the development of American judicial power, paying close attention to what he views as the very real threat of judicial supremacy. Agresto examines the role of the judiciary in a democratic society and discusses the proper place of congressional power in constitutional issues. Agresto argues that while the separation of congressional and judicial functions is a fundamental tenet of American government, the present system is not effective in maintaining an appropriate balance of power. He shows that continued judicial expansion, especially into the realm of public policy, might have severe consequences for America's national life and direction, and offers practical recommendations for safeguarding against an increasingly powerful Supreme Court. John Agresto's controversial argument, set in the context of a historical and theoretical inquiry, will be of great interest to scholars and students in political science and law, especially American constitutional law and political theory.

Curbing the Court
Curbing the Court

Author: Brandon L. Bartels

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-08-20

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1107188415

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Explains when, why, and how citizens try to limit the Supreme Court's independence and power-- and why it matters.

Strategic Party Government
Strategic Party Government

Author: Gregory Koger

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2017-01-30

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 022642474X

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Why is Congress mired in partisan polarization? The conventional answer is that members of Congress and their constituencies fundamentally disagree with one other along ideological lines. But Gregory Koger and Matthew J. Lebo uncover a more compelling reason that today’s political leaders devote so much time to conveying their party’s positions, even at the expense of basic government functions: Both parties want to win elections. In Strategic Party Government, Koger and Lebo argue that Congress is now primarily a forum for partisan competition. In order to avoid losing, legislators unite behind strong party leaders, even when they do not fully agree with the policies their party is advocating. They do so in the belief that party leaders and voters will reward them for winning—or at least trying to win—these legislative contests. And as the parties present increasingly united fronts, partisan competition intensifies and pressure continues to mount for a strong party-building strategy—despite considerable disagreement within the parties. By bringing this powerful but underappreciated force in American politics to the forefront, Koger and Lebo provide a new interpretation of the problems facing Congress that is certain to reset the agenda for legislative studies.

Why Parties?
Why Parties?

Author: John H. Aldrich

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-07-24

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0226012751

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Since its first appearance fifteen years ago, Why Parties? has become essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the nature of American political parties. In the interim, the party system has undergone some radical changes. In this landmark book, now rewritten for the new millennium, John H. Aldrich goes beyond the clamor of arguments over whether American political parties are in resurgence or decline and undertakes a wholesale reexamination of the foundations of the American party system. Surveying critical episodes in the development of American political parties—from their formation in the 1790s to the Civil War—Aldrich shows how they serve to combat three fundamental problems of democracy: how to regulate the number of people seeking public office, how to mobilize voters, and how to achieve and maintain the majorities needed to accomplish goals once in office. Aldrich brings this innovative account up to the present by looking at the profound changes in the character of political parties since World War II, especially in light of ongoing contemporary transformations, including the rise of the Republican Party in the South, and what those changes accomplish, such as the Obama Health Care plan. Finally, Why Parties? A Second Look offers a fuller consideration of party systems in general, especially the two-party system in the United States, and explains why this system is necessary for effective democracy.

All Judges Are Political—Except When They Are Not
All Judges Are Political—Except When They Are Not

Author: Keith Bybee

Publisher: Stanford Law Books

Published: 2010-08-24

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13:

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Comparing law to the American practice of common courtesy, this book explains how our courts not only survive under conditions of suspected hypocrisy, but actually depend on these conditions to function.

Law and Politics
Law and Politics

Author: Keith E. Whittington

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780415680356

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A new title in the Routledge Major Works series, Critical Concepts in Political Science, this is a four-volume collection of cutting-edge and canonical research on law and politics.