Bush v. Gore: The Question of Legitimacy - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300093799 ISBN 13: 9780300093797

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2002

Synopsis

The Supreme Court’s intervention in the 2000 election will shape American law and democracy long after George W. Bush has left the White House. This vitally important book brings together a broad range of preeminent legal scholars who address the larger questions raised by the Supreme Court’s actions. Did the Court’s decision violate the rule of law? Did it inaugurate an era of super-politicized jurisprudence? How should Bush v. Gore change the terms of debate over the next round of Supreme Court appointments?

The contributors―Bruce Ackerman, Jack Balkin, Guido Calabresi, Steven Calabresi, Owen Fiss, Charles Fried, Robert Post, Margaret Jane Radin, Jeffrey Rosen, Jed Rubenfeld, Cass Sunstein, Laurence Tribe, and Mark Tushnet―represent a broad political spectrum. Their reactions to the case are varied and surprising, filled with sparkling argument and spirited debate. This is a must-read book for thoughtful Americans everywhere.

About this title

About the Author:

Bruce Ackerman is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University.

From Library Journal:

Do the political and legal consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore (2000) relieve societal unease about the way democratic and political systems were altered during the 2000 presidential election? Ackerman (Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale Univ.) here collects a series of extended discussions on this topic by a distinguished array of current and former law professors representing many different ideological stances. The essays were written long enough after the decision to provide a different perspective from books published immediately afterward, such as Richard Posner's Breaking the Deadlock: The 2000 Election, the Constitution, and the Courts and Howard Gillman's The Votes That Counted: How the Court Decided the 2000 Presidential Election. The 13 articles almost equally address whether this decision had a solid basis in the "rule of law" or a foundation in legal principles and whether the U.S. Supreme Court should have used the doctrine of "political questions" and allowed either state or congressional institutions to resolve such disputes. Some argue that taking that path would prevent judges from immersing themselves in political thickets and thereby creating dangerous threats to the court's legitimacy with the American public and elected officials. This deft examination of the various legal and political implications of Bush v. Gore will attract readers in academic and law libraries. Steven Puro, St. Louis Univ. Machinery of Death: The Reality of America's Death Penalty Regime.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0300093799
• ISBN 13: 9780300093797
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Ackerman Bruce