Coercing Virtue: The Worldwide Rule of Judges

by Robert H. Bork

In general, courts have been activist in opposing majority views on such matters as sexual practices, secularism versus religion, rights of speech and expression and feminism. This judicial activism appears to impinge on the legitimate domains of the executive and legislative branches of government and constitutes the judicialization of politics and morals.

According to Bork, a number of courts tend to act in this activist fashion. As well, international tribunals appear to exceed their jurisdiction, posing a threat to national sovereignty just as the national courts threaten democratic government. This activism is more than a threat; Bork argues that both sovereignty and self-government have already been seriously damaged.

Coercing Virtue attempts to account for the phenomenon of why so may courts in democratic nations behave in an imperialistic manner and why the results almost always appear to advance the liberal political and cultural agenda.

Genres: Law, Politics, History, Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published March 12, 2002

About the author

Robert Heron Bork was an American legal scholar who advocated the judicial philosophy of originalism. Bork served as a Yale Law School professor, Solicitor General, Acting Attorney General, and a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 1987, he was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan, but the Senate rejected his nomination. Bork had more success as an antitrust scholar, where his once-idiosyncratic view that antitrust law should focus on maximizing consumer welfare has come to dominate American legal thinking on the subject.

Reviews

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not as in-depth as Slouching Towards Gomorrah, but as a lawyer, I found the things he discusses quite disturbing (as he intended). He focuses on the manner in which judicial activism--judges who disregard the intend of the authors of a constitution or statute in favor of the judges' own preferences--undermines democracy because there is no recourse against their decisions. In effect, nine people on the Supreme Court can overrule all the elected representatives in the country. And often have. It is possible to say with hindsight that in some cases they reached a good result, but I still believe they reached it in the wrong way--in a way that is bad for the country.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason why the American Left so feared Judge Bork is because he revered the Constitution and wasn't going to abuse his judicial authorities by using them to project his personal beliefs. This exposé on judicial activism exposes the relentless, insidious assault on Western Civilization by corrupt, narcissists in black robes who use impose their personal visions from the bench. Written more than 2 decades ago, Bork demonstrates that liberal democracy is being subverted on a global scale by the very institution created precisely to ensure the foundational principles of Western Civilization remain intact. That activist judges can sit as final arbitrators over democratically elected legislators has undermined the concept that the citizenry lives in a representative republic. Bork makes the convincing case that increasingly, democratic nations are being run by activists in robes.

[Lance Cahill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixture of off the cuff analysis and overview of four distinct topics: internationalization of law; US, Canadian, and Israeli judicial interpretation. Bork’s unifying theme is that a New Class is using the judiciary to impose their normative vision of a community as metaphor. Exploration of Canada and Israel was enlightening and coverage of the US covers themes covered well before. Implicit in Bork’s vision is a very limited role for the judiciary with deference accorded to policy makers except for a narrow and well-defined bundle of rights.

[Adrienne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the data on recent history in Canada, Europe, and Israel. The book isn't good for much else. There might be something worthwhile deep down, very deep down, but the book was just not well thought through or presented. It just comes off as a bit of a rant.

[Myron · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Give us a king like the nations..." America's search for the normative outside of her founding charter. Internationalization of U.S. law. The author, as always, brings example after example to the reader's attention, thankfully.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

not nearly as powerful (or heavy) as his two previous books