Description
Book SynopsisCan the Supreme Court be free of politics? This book argues for an openly political role for the Supreme Court. It asserts that politically motivated constitutional decisionmaking is not only inevitable, it is legitimate and desirable as well. It examines that a political Court possesses instrumental value in American democracy.
Trade Review"A lively and original work... I found the book thought provoking, and ... I recommend it highly."--Thomas M. Keck, The Law and Politics Book Review
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 3 PART 1. The Failure of Contemporary Constitutional Theory 9 1. Conventional Constitutional Theory: The Neutralist Approach 11 2. Constitutional Indeterminacy and Judicial Subjectivity: Critical Legal Studies 36 3. The Skeptics and the Idea of Provisional Review 55 PART II. In Defense of a Political Court 75 Introduction 77 4. The Virtues of Political Motive in Constitutional Decisionmaking: Political Representation 80 5. The Virtues of Political Motive in Constitutional Decisionmaking: A Constrained and Consensus-Seeking Court 133 6. A Political Court and the "Crisis of Legitimacy" 161 7. Democratic Theory Revisited 189 8. Whither the Court and Constitution? 226 Notes 255 Bibliography 321 Table of Cases 359 Index 361
