The Case Against the Supreme Court
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The Case Against the Supreme Court Hardcover – September 25, 2014
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Erwin Chemerinsky is the founding dean and distinguished professor of law and the Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, with a joint appointment in political science. He lives in Irvine.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 42 people found the following review helpful
By
David Wineberg
TOP 1000 REVIEWER on September 25, 2014
Format: Hardcover
3 Comments
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For most Americans and for most observers worldwide, the US Supreme Court is a sacred, shining, untouchable, pure, dependable defender of the law, and by extension, of the people. According to Erwin Chemerinsky, nothing could be farther from the truth. Through a shameful history of case law, The Case Against The Supreme Court shows justices determining the functioning of society through their own lenses, religion, and political bents. When the law is inconvenient, they simply ignore it, or worse, declare it unconstitutional and dispense with it altogether. They have often made it literally impossible for people to sue at all, despite Congress passing laws specifically concerning their rights. The Court isolates those laws and makes them unattainable, either through prerequisite conditions that can never be fulfilled, or by granting immunity to the perpetrators, or by declaring the law's intent as something diametrically opposed to what Congress clearly intended. Sometimes the Court has simply interpreted that very law as if it were written to favor business instead of the citizen, often a stretch. Unfortunately, their word is final, and again, Congress be damned. It is a juicy, meaty read, as well as shameful, embarrassing and depressing.
Chemerinsky cites an early justice (Marshall) to the effect that the primary reason for having a Supreme Court is to enforce the constitution against the will of the majority. It is to protect minorities who don't have political clout, and protect against the majority imposing repressive actions. Unfortunately, justices are human, with prejudices and baggage, and once in power, they often seek to please themselves rather than interpret the case and the relevant laws.Read more ›
Chemerinsky cites an early justice (Marshall) to the effect that the primary reason for having a Supreme Court is to enforce the constitution against the will of the majority. It is to protect minorities who don't have political clout, and protect against the majority imposing repressive actions. Unfortunately, justices are human, with prejudices and baggage, and once in power, they often seek to please themselves rather than interpret the case and the relevant laws.Read more ›
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By
Amanda
on October 11, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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2 Comments
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Incredibly well written and revealing about how our democracy is consistently under-mined by the so-called justice system. Except for Justices Ginsberg, Kagan, and Sotomayor, this is the least Supreme Court, and is a disgrace to this country.
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13 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By
R. Lee Barrett
on September 26, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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Chemerinsky's "The Case Against the Supreme Court" reminds me of a story about a small village that prided itself on its timekeepers. In the center of the village was a grand clock tower with the finest and most accurate clock in all of the region. In the square near the clock tower was a renowned clock maker who made the grandest and most accurate mantle clocks most had ever seen. Every day, just before noon, the tower keep would stroll past the clock shop on his way to the clock tower and gaze at the clock maker's wares. This happened every day for years, although the tower keep never once entered the clock maker's shop, and certainly never, ever bought a clock from him. The two men always waived and smiled and were cordial, but rarely spoke; the shop keeper busy preparing to set all of his clocks to noon each day when he heard the noon time peal of the bells from the clock tower. He had great respect for the tower keep, and wanted to make sure that all of his clocks matched exactly the time on the great clock tower. Finally, one morning the clock maker decided this had gone on long enough and met the tower keep on the sidewalk. "For years, you have walked past my shop and looked at my clocks and never purchased one. Why have you not honored me by purchasing one of my clocks? Surely you know I make the finest mantle clocks in all of the region."
The tower keep responded, "Sir, you do indeed make the finest mantle clocks in the region. Your skills are unmatched. It is for this reason that I stop by your shop each day to check the time. I honor you by making sure that the clock tower matches exactly the time on your beautiful clocks."
The color drained from the clock maker's face as he realized the grave mistake that the two men had been making for countless years.Read more ›
The tower keep responded, "Sir, you do indeed make the finest mantle clocks in the region. Your skills are unmatched. It is for this reason that I stop by your shop each day to check the time. I honor you by making sure that the clock tower matches exactly the time on your beautiful clocks."
The color drained from the clock maker's face as he realized the grave mistake that the two men had been making for countless years.Read more ›
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1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By
Gilbert Cantlin
on October 20, 2014
Format: Hardcover
2 Comments
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Marvelous Mal is certainly Mal. If he can consider our Constitution so grand when it legitimized the slavery of black people, yet allowed southerners where most of them were owned to count them as 3/5ths of a person in order to increase their representation in our national legislature, both his math and his thinking are out of joint. If malicious Mal can justify the prevention of women from voting for well over 100 years--to say nothing about all the other corrections that had to be made to that original Constitution--he can yell about justice, right-winged justice, from his rooftop till the cows come back to chew on cotton and defecate at polling places, it won't make make what was very undemocratic democratic.
It would be good to learn what he thinks in plain talk about the voting rights act and all the efforts his Republicans are making now to suppress the black and brown vote and the vote of everyone who isn't wealthy and doesn't sign on with their undemocratic conservatism, or help to purchase corrupt politicians.
And what about the murder in our streets and homes because we allow a Wild West mentality to persist with guns. Republicans even prevented, Dr. Vivek Murthy, President Obama's nominee for Surgeon General to go forward because he honestly recognized the health, life, and death problem of guns and the National Rifle Association doesn't give a hoot.
It would be good to learn what he thinks in plain talk about the voting rights act and all the efforts his Republicans are making now to suppress the black and brown vote and the vote of everyone who isn't wealthy and doesn't sign on with their undemocratic conservatism, or help to purchase corrupt politicians.
And what about the murder in our streets and homes because we allow a Wild West mentality to persist with guns. Republicans even prevented, Dr. Vivek Murthy, President Obama's nominee for Surgeon General to go forward because he honestly recognized the health, life, and death problem of guns and the National Rifle Association doesn't give a hoot.
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