The Case Against the Supreme Court

Présentation de l'éditeur Both historically and in the present, the Supreme Court has largely been a failure In this devastating book, Erwin Chemerinsky—“one of the shining lights of legal academia” (The New York Times)—shows how, case by case, for over two centuries, the hallowed Court has been far more likely to uphold government abuses of power than to stop them. Drawing on a wealth of rulings, some famous, others little known, he reviews the Supreme Court’s historic failures in key areas, including the refusal to protect minorities, the upholding of gender discrimination, and the neglect of the Constitution in times of crisis, from World War I through 9/11. No one is better suited to make this case than Chemerinsky. He has studied, taught, and practiced constitutional law for thirty years and has argued before the Supreme Court. With passion and eloquence, Chemerinsky advocates reforms that could make the system work better, and he challenges us to think more critically about the nature of the Court and the fallible men and women who sit on it. Extrait The Conservative Assault on the Constitution Enhancing Government Federal Jurisdiction Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies Criminal Procedure (with Laurie Levenson) Constitutional Law Interpreting the Constitution Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) LLC 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014 USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China penguin.com A Penguin Random House Company First published by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Erwin Chemerinsky Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Chemerinsky, Erwin, author. The case against the Supreme Court / Erwin Chemerinsky. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. eBook ISBN 978-0-698-17631-7 1. United States. Supreme Court. 2. Judicial review—United States. I. Title. KF8742.C46 2014 347 73 26—dc23 2014004507 Also by Erwin Chemerinsky Title Page Copyright Dedication Introduction: Assessing the Supreme Court PART I. THE PAST: THE SUPREME COURT IN HISTORY Chapter 1 Protecting Minorities Chapter 2 Enforcing the Constitution in Times of Crisis Chapter 3 Protecting Property and States’ Rights Chapter 4 What About the Warren Court? PART II. THE PRESENT: THE ROBERTS COURT Chapter 5 Employers, Employees, and Consumers Chapter 6 Abuses of Government Power Chapter 7 Is the Roberts Court Really So Bad? PART III. THE FUTURE: WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT? Chapter 8 The Question of Judicial Review Chapter 9 Changing the Court Conclusion: How Should We Think and Talk About the Supreme Court? Acknowledgments Notes Index Introduction: Assessing the Supreme Court Carrie Buck was born in 1906 in Charlottesville, Virginia. She was the first of three children born to Emma Buck. Frederick Buck was Carrie’s father, but he left Emma soon after their wedding. Unable to afford to care for Carrie, Emma placed her with foster parents, J. T. and Alice Dobbs. Carrie went through the sixth grade at the local public school and by all accounts was a normal child. At age seventeen, while Carrie was still living with her foster parents and helping out with chores around their house, she was raped by a nephew of her foster parents and became pregnant. The Dobbs blamed Carrie for the pregnancy and were shamed by it. On January 23, 1924, they involuntarily committed Carrie to the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded. A few months later, on March 28, Carrie gave birth there to a daughter, Vivia