Corrupted by Power: The Supreme Court and the Constitution

Alexander Hamilton called the judiciary the "least dangerous" branch of government. He was right then but wrong today. Since Hamilton's time the Supreme Court has become a cardinal example of Lord Acton's famous dictum: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." It is not a corruption of bribes, or even of bad intentions, but of taking upon itself the right to alter the Constitution whenever past principles offend present preferences of five or more Justices.

Corrupted by Power shows how the Constitution is repeatedly changed to mean whatever the Supreme Court wants it to mean. Precedent is followed only when past decisions support current opinions. Otherwise precedents are overruled, misrepresented or ignored. A conspicuous example is the judicial manufacture of new First Amendment rights, including rights to advocate criminal behavior, publish degrading sex and extreme violence, and advertise vice.

Can the Constitution be rescued? Discover what can be done.

Robert E. Riggs has been Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota and Guy Anderson Professor of Law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University. He has taught and written extensively in the field of constitutional law. He is currently Professor of Law Emeritus.