Description
Book SynopsisEssays contest the notion of the absolute preeminence of judicial review in constitutional interpretation, analyzing the role of Congress as a constitutional interpreter and responsible constitutional agent
Trade Review“
Congress and the Constitution is a timely and provocative book on whether, when, and how Congress thinks about the meaning of the Constitution. The excellent scholarship in this volume raises deep questions about the relationship between Congress and the courts in interpreting the Constitution and sets an agenda for further work in this important area. In so doing, the book makes a significant contribution.”—Elena Kagan, Dean of Harvard Law School
“The subject of this collection—the treatment of the Constitution by legislators in Congress—is both extremely interesting and important, and I do not believe that there is any other single book that is so effective in bringing together a wide range of relevant materials.”—Sanford Levinson, author of
Wrestling with DiversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vii
Introduction / Neal Devins and Keith E. Whittington 1
Prolegomena for a Sampler: Extrajudicial Interpretation of the Constitution, 1789–1861 / David P. Currie 18
Congressional Attitudes toward Constitutional Interpretation / Bruce G. Peabody 39
Constitutional Analysis by Congressional Staff Agencies / Louis Fisher 64
Hearing about the Constitution in Congressional Committees / Keith E. Whittington 87
The Federal Appointments Process as Constitutional Interpretation / Michael J. Gerhardt 110
Lawyers in Congress / John C. Yoo 131
Congressional Responses to Judicial Review / J. Mitchell Pickerill 151
Court, Congress, and Civil Rights / Michael J. Klarman 173
Quasi-Constitutional Law: The Rise of Super-Statutes / William N. Eskridge Jr. and John Ferejohn 198
Congressional Fact Finding and the Scope of Judicial Review / Neal Devins 220
Institutional Design of a Thayerian Congress / Elizabeth Garrett and Adrian Vermeule 242
Evaluating Congressional Constitutional Interpretation: Some Criteria and Two Informal Case Studies / Mark Tushnet 269
Can Congress Be Trusted with the Constitution? The Effects of Incentives and Procedures / Barbara Sinclair 293
About the Contributors 313
Index 315
