Political Foundations of Judicial Supremacy
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A01=Keith E. Whittington
Activism
Amendment
Author_Keith E. Whittington
Bill Clinton
Category=JPQ
Category=LNAA1
Category=LNAC
Chief Justice
Common law
Consideration
Constitution
Constitutional amendment
Constitutional law
Constitutional theory
Constitutionalism
Constitutionality
Counter-majoritarian difficulty
Court order
Criticism
Deliberation
Dred Scott
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Executive (government)
Federal government of the United States
Federal law
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Freedom of speech
Hostility
Impeachment
Institution
Jacksonian democracy
Judicial activism
Judicial independence
Judicial interpretation
Judicial opinion
Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937
Judiciary
Jurisdiction
Jurisprudence
Law and order (politics)
Lawmaking
Lawsuit
Legislation
Legislator
Legislature
Legitimacy (political)
Marbury v. Madison
Nomination
Oxford University Press
Political machine
Political party
Politician
Politics
Politics of the United States
Popular sovereignty
Populism
Precedent
Presidency of Ronald Reagan
Regime
Rehnquist Court
Richard Nixon
Ronald Reagan
Rule of law
Separation of powers
Slavery
State government
Statute
Supreme Court of the United States
Taney Court
Tax
United States Constitution
United States federal judge
Veto
Voting
World War II
Product details
- ISBN 9780691141022
- Weight: 454g
- Dimensions: 152 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 29 Mar 2009
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Should the Supreme Court have the last word when it comes to interpreting the Constitution? The justices on the Supreme Court certainly seem to think so--and their critics say that this position threatens democracy. But Keith Whittington argues that the Court's justices have not simply seized power and circumvented politics. The justices have had power thrust upon them--by politicians, for the benefit of politicians. In this sweeping political history of judicial supremacy in America, Whittington shows that presidents and political leaders of all stripes have worked to put the Court on a pedestal and have encouraged its justices to accept the role of ultimate interpreters of the Constitution. Whittington examines why presidents have often found judicial supremacy to be in their best interest, why they have rarely assumed responsibility for interpreting the Constitution, and why constitutional leadership has often been passed to the courts. The unprecedented assertiveness of the Rehnquist Court in striking down acts of Congress is only the most recent example of a development that began with the founding generation itself.
Presidential bids for constitutional leadership have been rare, but reflect the temporary political advantage in doing so. Far more often, presidents have cooperated in increasing the Court's power and encouraging its activism. Challenging the conventional wisdom that judges have usurped democracy, Whittington shows that judicial supremacy is the product of democratic politics.
Keith E. Whittington is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of "Constitutional Interpretation" and "Constitutional Construction".
