NCJ Number
117531
Date Published
1988
Length
226 pages
Annotation
This history of the U.S. Supreme Court traces it from its antecedents in colonial and British legal tradition to the present, encompassing the impact of the Court's power of judicial review on important aspects of the Nation's political, economic, and social life.
Abstract
The study highlights the Court's important decisions on issues ranging from the scope and legitimacy of judicial review itself to civil rights, censorship, the rights of privacy, separation of church and State, and the powers of the President and Congress to conduct foreign affairs. The author admires the work of John Marshall but critically reviews the mixed achievements of Marshall's successor, Roger Taney, author of the infamous Dred Scott opinion, which upheld the legitimacy of slavery. The book sharply criticizes the Court's "formalist" era in the early 20th century, when judicial obstructionists are perceived as shielding a wealthy minority from the effects of democratic politics. The book underscores the importance of disagreements over just what law is and over the Court's role in interpreting that law, thus broadening the context for current debates about the Constitution and efforts to establish what some have called a "jurisprudence of original intention." Glossary, recommended readings, subject index.