false 50123 0 0 93650 0393327574 9780393327571 5 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171258128m/93650.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171258128s/93650.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93650.A_Court_Divided_The_Rehnquist_Court_and_the_Future_of_Constitutional_Law 3.89 19 "An incisive consideration of the Supremes, offering erudite yet accessible clues to legal thinking on the most important level."—Kirkus Reviews

In this authoritative reckoning with the eighteen-year record of the Rehnquist Court, Georgetown law professor Mark Tushnet reveals how the decisions of nine deeply divided justices have left the future of the Court—and the nation—hanging in the balance.

Many have assumed that the chasm on the Court has been between its liberals and its conservatives. In reality, the division was between those in tune with the modern post-Reagan Republican Party and those who, though considered to be in the Court's center, represent an older Republican tradition. As a result, the Court has modestly promoted the agenda of today's economic conservatives, but has regularly defeated the agenda of social issues conservatives—while paving the way for more radically conservative path in the future.]]> 50123 3.91 43 8 2005 3209791 0807000361 9780807000366 2 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3209791.I_Dissent_Great_Opposing_Opinions_in_Landmark_Supreme_Court_Cases 4.20 5
The surprising answer Tushnet offers: not all that different. Tushnet introduces and explains sixteen influential cases from throughout the Court's history, putting them into political context and offering a sense of what could have developed if the dissents were instead the majority opinions. Ultimately, Tushnet demonstrates that the words of Supreme Court justices are only one piece of a larger puzzle that defines what the Constitution means to us. We should not value their opinions over other pieces, such as social movements, politics, economics, and more.

Written in accessible and lively language, edited with a lay readership in mind, I Dissent offers an invaluable collection for anyone interested in American history and how we define constitutional rights. By placing the Supreme Court back into the framework of the government rather than viewing it as a near-sacred body issuing final decisions that cannot be questioned, Tushnet provides a radically fresh view of the judiciary and a new approach to reading the overlooked writings of major contentious figures from throughout American history.]]> 50123 3.91 43 8 2008 1302124 0691070350 9780691070353 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182616064m/1302124.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182616064s/1302124.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1302124.Taking_the_Constitution_Away_from_the_Courts 3.33 3
Tushnet urges that we create a "populist" constitutional law in which judicial declarations deserve no special consideration. But he warns that in so doing we must pursue reasonable interpretations of the "thin Constitution"--the fundamental American principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution. A populist Constitution, he maintains, will be more effective than a document exclusively protected by the courts. Tushnet believes, for example, that the serious problems of the communist scare of the 1950s were aggravated when Senator Joseph McCarthy's opponents were lulled into inaction, believing that the judicial branch would step in and declare McCarthy's actions unconstitutional. Instead of fulfilling the expectations, the Court allowed McCarthy to continue his crusade until it was ended. Tushnet points out that in this context and in many others, errors occurred because of the existence of judicial review: neither the People nor their representatives felt empowered to enforce the Constitution because they mistakenly counted on the courts to do so. Tushnet's clarion call for a new kind of constitutional law will be essential reading for constitutional law experts, political scientists, and others interested in how and if the freedoms of the American Republic can survive into the twenty-first century.]]> 50123 3.91 43 8 1999 613108 0195093143 9780195093148 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176323524m/613108.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176323524s/613108.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/613108.Making_Constitutional_Law_Thurgood_Marshall_and_the_Supreme_Court_1961_1991 4.50 2 Making Civil Rights Law, which covered Thurgood Marshall's career from 1936-1961, this book focuses on Marshall's career on the Supreme Court from 1961-1991, where he was the first African-American Justice. Based on thorough research in the Supreme Court papers of Justice Marshall and others, this book describes Marshall's approach to constitutional law in areas ranging from civil rights and the death penalty to abortion and poverty. It locates the Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991 in a broader socio-political context, showing how the nation's drift toward conservatism affected the Court's debates and decisions.]]> 50123 3.91 43 8 1997 87352 0195104684 9780195104684 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171103013m/87352.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171103013s/87352.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/87352.Making_Civil_Rights_Law_Thurgood_Marshall_and_the_Supreme_Court_1936_1961 4.50 2 Making Civil Rights Law provides a chronological narrative history of the legal struggle, led by Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, that preceded the political battles for civil rights. Drawing on interviews with Thurgood Marshall and other NAACP lawyers, as well as new information about the private deliberations of the Supreme Court, Tushnet tells the dramatic story of how the NAACP Legal Defense Fund led the Court to use the Constitution as an instrument of liberty and justice for all African-Americans. He also offers new insights into how the justices argued among themselves about the historic changes they were to make in American society. Making Civil Rights Law provides an overall picture of the forces involved in civil rights litigation, bringing clarity to the legal reasoning that animated this "Constitutional revolution", and showing how the slow development of doctrine and precedent reflected the overall legal strategy of Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP.]]> 50123 3.91 43 8 1994 629947 0195304241 9780195304244 1 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/629947.Out_of_Range_Why_the_Constitution_Can_t_End_the_Battle_over_Guns 3.00 2 Out of Range, one of the nation's leading legal scholars takes a calm, objective look at this bitter debate. Mark V. Tushnet brings to this book a deep expertise in the Constitution, the Supreme Court, and the role of the law in American life. He breaks down the different positions on the Second Amendment, showing that it is a mistake to stereotype them. Tushnet's exploration is honest and nuanced; he finds the constitutional arguments finely balanced, which is one reason the debate has raged for so long. Along the way, he examines various experiments in public policy, from both sides, and finds little clear evidence for the practical effectiveness of any approach to gun safety and prosecution. Of course, he notes, most advocates of the right to keep and bear arms agree that it should be subject to reasonable regulation. Ultimately, Tushnet argues, our view of the Second Amendment reflects our sense of ourselves as a people. The answer to the debate will not be found in any holy writ, but in our values and our vision of the nation. This compact, incisive examination offers an honest and thoughtful guide to both sides of the argument, pointing the way to solutions that could calm, if not settle, this bitter dispute.]]> 50123 3.91 43 8 2007 4597117 0804752265 9780804752268 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4597117.Arguing_Marbury_v_Madison 5.00 1 Marbury v. Madison, decided in 1803, is the foundation stone of the American doctrine of judicial review. Remarkably, the case was decided without the parties having presented an oral argument to the Supreme Court. This book begins with a unique transcript of an oral argument in the case, conducted before a bench of four distinguished federal judges. The transcript is followed by essays on Marbury's intellectual background, its significance in U.S. constitutional history, and the way in which we might think of constitutional theory and judicial review in terms sensitive to the historical and political contexts in which the practice persists. Distinguished commentators question some of the claims made in the essays, and offer their own perspectives on Marbury's importance.]]> 50123 3.91 43 8 2005 1396006 0691120552 9780691120553 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183261175m/1396006.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1183261175s/1396006.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1396006.The_New_Constitutional_Order 3.00 1
Tushnet argues that the constitutional arrangements that prevailed in the United States from the 1930s to the 1990s have ended. We are now in a new constitutional order--one characterized by divided government, ideologically organized parties, and subdued constitutional ambition. Contrary to arguments that describe a threatened return to a pre-New Deal constitutional order, however, this book presents evidence that our current regime's animating principle is not the old belief that government cannot solve any problems but rather that government cannot solve any more problems.

Tushnet examines the institutional arrangements that support the new constitutional order as well as Supreme Court decisions that reflect it. He also considers recent developments in constitutional scholarship, focusing on the idea of minimalism as appropriate to a regime with chastened ambitions. Tushnet discusses what we know so far about the impact of globalization on domestic constitutional law, particularly in the areas of international human rights and federalism. He concludes with predictions about the type of regulation we can expect from the new order.

This is a major new analysis of the constitutional arrangements in the United States. Though it will not be received without controversy, it offers real explanatory and predictive power and provides important insights to both legal theorists and political scientists.]]> 50123 3.91 43 8 2003 1050546 0807855952 9780807855959 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180526898m/1050546.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180526898s/1050546.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1050546.The_NAACP_s_Legal_Strategy_against_Segregated_Education_1925_1950_With_a_New_Epilogue_by_the_Author 3.00 1 Brown decision. While touching on the general social, political, and economic climate in which the NAACP acted, Mark V. Tushnet emphasizes the internal workings of the organization as revealed in its own documents. He argues that the dedication and political and legal skills of staff members such as Walter White, Charles Hamilton Houston, and Thurgood Marshall were responsible for the ultimate success of public interest law. This edition contains a new epilogue by the author that addresses general questions of litigation strategy, the contested question of whether the Brown decision mattered, and the legacy of Brown through the Burger and Rehnquist courts.]]> 50123 3.91 43 8 2005 4858845 0816025037 9780816025039 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4858845.Abortion 0.0 0 50123 3.91 43 8 458889 0.0 0 1 1995