Judicial Independence and the American Constitution

Judicial Independence and the American Constitution PDF Author: Martin H. Redish
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 1503601846
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The Framers of the American Constitution took special pains to ensure that the governing principles of the republic were insulated from the reach of simple majorities. Only super-majoritarian amendments could modify these fundamental constitutional dictates. The Framers established a judicial branch shielded from direct majoritarian political accountability to protect and enforce these constitutional limits. Paradoxically, only a counter-majoritarian judicial branch could ensure the continued vitality of our representational form of government. This important lesson of the paradox of American democracy has been challenged and often ignored by office holders and legal scholars. Judicial Independence and the American Constitution provocatively defends the centrality of these special protections of judicial independence. Martin H. Redish explains how the nation's system of counter-majoritarian constitutionalism cannot survive absent the vesting of final powers of constitutional interpretation and enforcement in the one branch of government expressly protected by the Constitution from direct political accountability: the judicial branch. He uncovers how the current framework of American constitutional law has been unwisely allowed to threaten or undermine these core precepts of judicial independence.

Judicial Independence and the American Constitution

Judicial Independence and the American Constitution PDF Author: Martin H. Redish
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 1503601846
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book

Book Description
The Framers of the American Constitution took special pains to ensure that the governing principles of the republic were insulated from the reach of simple majorities. Only super-majoritarian amendments could modify these fundamental constitutional dictates. The Framers established a judicial branch shielded from direct majoritarian political accountability to protect and enforce these constitutional limits. Paradoxically, only a counter-majoritarian judicial branch could ensure the continued vitality of our representational form of government. This important lesson of the paradox of American democracy has been challenged and often ignored by office holders and legal scholars. Judicial Independence and the American Constitution provocatively defends the centrality of these special protections of judicial independence. Martin H. Redish explains how the nation's system of counter-majoritarian constitutionalism cannot survive absent the vesting of final powers of constitutional interpretation and enforcement in the one branch of government expressly protected by the Constitution from direct political accountability: the judicial branch. He uncovers how the current framework of American constitutional law has been unwisely allowed to threaten or undermine these core precepts of judicial independence.

The Politics of Judicial Independence in the UK's Changing Constitution

The Politics of Judicial Independence in the UK's Changing Constitution PDF Author: Graham Gee
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316240533
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
Judicial independence is generally understood as requiring that judges must be insulated from political life. The central claim of this work is that far from standing apart from the political realm, judicial independence is a product of it. It is defined and protected through interactions between judges and politicians. In short, judicial independence is a political achievement. This is the main conclusion of a three-year research project on the major changes introduced by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, and the consequences for judicial independence and accountability. The authors interviewed over 150 judges, politicians, civil servants and practitioners to understand the day-to-day processes of negotiation and interaction between politicians and judges. They conclude that the greatest threat to judicial independence in future may lie not from politicians actively seeking to undermine the courts, but rather from their increasing disengagement from the justice system and the judiciary.

Without Fear or Favor

Without Fear or Favor PDF Author: G. Alan Tarr
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804783500
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
The impartial administration of justice and the accountability of government officials are two of the most strongly held American values. Yet these values are often in direct conflict with one another. At the national level, the U.S. Constitution resolves this tension in favor of judicial independence, insulating judges from the undue influence of other political institutions, interest groups, and the general public. But at the state level, debate has continued as to the proper balance between judicial independence and judicial accountability. In this volume, constitutional scholar G. Alan Tarr focuses squarely on that debate. In part, the analysis is historical: how have the reigning conceptions of judicial independence and accountability emerged, and when and how did conflict over them develop? In part, the analysis is theoretical: what is the proper understanding of judicial independence and accountability? Tarr concludes the book by identifying the challenges to state-level judicial independence and accountability that have emerged in recent decades, assessing the solutions offered by the competing sides, and offering proposals for how to strike the appropriate balance between independence and accountability.

The Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers PDF Author: Alexander Hamilton
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1528785878
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
Classic Books Library presents this brand new edition of “The Federalist Papers”, a collection of separate essays and articles compiled in 1788 by Alexander Hamilton. Following the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, the governing doctrines and policies of the States lacked cohesion. “The Federalist”, as it was previously known, was constructed by American statesman Alexander Hamilton, and was intended to catalyse the ratification of the United States Constitution. Hamilton recruited fellow statesmen James Madison Jr., and John Jay to write papers for the compendium, and the three are known as some of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Alexander Hamilton (c. 1755–1804) was an American lawyer, journalist and highly influential government official. He also served as a Senior Officer in the Army between 1799-1800 and founded the Federalist Party, the system that governed the nation’s finances. His contributions to the Constitution and leadership made a significant and lasting impact on the early development of the nation of the United States.

American Judicial Power

American Judicial Power PDF Author: Michael Buenger
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1783477903
Category : LAW
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
American Judicial Power: The State Court Perspective is a welcome addition to the breadth of studies on the American legal system and provides an accessible and highly illuminating overview of the state courts and their functions. The study of America’s courts is overwhelmingly skewed toward the federal government, and therefore often overlooks state courts and their importance. Michael Buenger and Paul De Muniz fill this gap in the study of American constitutionalism, as they examine the wide and distinctive powers these courts exercise, and their role in administering the bulk of the nation’s justice system. This groundbreaking work covers many critical topics pertaining to the state courts, including: a comparison of the role of state and federal courts, the history of America’s state courts, the judicial selection processes utilized in the states, the unique roles assigned to state courts and the varying structure of those courts, the relationship between state judicial power and state legislative power, and the opportunities and challenges that are and will be facing the state courts. With an insightful foreword from Sanford Levinson, this revolutionary book will be of interest to students, educators, and researchers in the fields of law, political science, and government. Constitutional law experts will also benefit from an analysis of the state courts and their powers.

A Distinct Judicial Power

A Distinct Judicial Power PDF Author: Scott Douglas Gerber
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199765871
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
This title provides a comprehensive critical analysis of the origins of judicial independence in the United States. The book examines the political theory of an independent judiciary and chronicles how each of the original 13 states and their colonial antecedents treated their respective judiciaries.

Institutions of American Democracy: The Judicial Branch

Institutions of American Democracy: The Judicial Branch PDF Author: Kermit L. Hall
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 0195171721
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 610

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Book Description
Presents a collection of essays examining the American judiciary, including such topics as judicial review and interpretation, judicial activism, the judiciary and the political process, and selecting Supreme Court justices.

Essentials Of The American Constitution

Essentials Of The American Constitution PDF Author: Charles H. Sheldon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429969287
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Constitutional politics is the continuing search for equilibrium between the grants of power and the limits placed on that power. The Essentials of the American Constitution examines the five closely integrated components which make up the fundamental law: the Compact, separation of powers, federalism, representation, and the Bill of Rights. It is the interaction between these components that gives the Constitution its dynamism. Landmark decisions handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court involve two or more of these components. This book’s unique approach shows how the components more often than not work together, one assisting another, one explaining another, or one reinforcing another. It gives a firm foundation for students wishing to take advanced courses in constitutional law or civil liberties and provides an overall view of the fundamental principle of the American Constitution.

The Logic of Persecution

The Logic of Persecution PDF Author: Martin H. Redish
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804755931
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
This book provides an exploration of the intersection between the McCarthy Era and the theory of free expression, as well as the implications of that intersection for both historical and constitutional inquiry.

The Limits of Judicial Independence

The Limits of Judicial Independence PDF Author: Tom S. Clark
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139492314
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
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.