The Warren Court : Constitutional Decision As an Instrument of Reform

Cox, Archibald S.

ISBN 10: 0674947401 / ISBN 13: 9780674947405

Published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A., 1969

About this Item

Slightly smaller book, dark green cloth, silver lettering bright on spine, 144 lightly browned pages. (Lectures for Harvard University and the University of Hawaii) DJ beneath mylar has green squares with white circles design on front, b/w photo of Cox on back with crewcut and bow tie. DJ has light crease along top front edge, very tiny creases at bottom front edge nearer tip, green is very slightly rubbed, 3/4" scratch at back middle right. Near Very Good DJ/Very Fine book.

Seller Inventory # 29121

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Warren Court : Constitutional Decision As an Instrument of Reform
• Publisher: Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
• Publication Date: 1969
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674947401
• ISBN 13: 9780674947405
• Binding: Cloth
• Printing: 2nd Printing
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Law

About this title

Synopsis

The appointment of Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the United States in 1953 marked the opening of a new era in the nation’s constitutional development. As Archibald Cox points out in his Preface, during the next fifteen years the Supreme Court rewrote, with profound social consequences, major constitutional doctrines governing race relations, the administration of criminal justice, and the operation of the political process. The extent and the rapidity of these changes raise grave questions concerning the nature and function of constitutional adjudication and the proper role of the Supreme Court in the national life. In these lectures, originally given in somewhat shorter form in Honolulu in the summer of 1967 under the joint auspices of Harvard Law School and the University of Hawaii, Mr. Cox describes the main lines of constitutional development under the Warren Court. He analyzes the underlying pressures involved and the long-range institutional consequences in terms of the distribution of governmental power. The central theme of Mr. Cox’s book is embodied in his examination of the American paradox that invests the judicial branch with the responsibility of deciding “according to law” our most pressing and divisive social, economic, and political questions. Although not uncritical of the grounds on which several of the court’s crucial decisions have been reached, Mr. Cox comes to the conclusion that the trend of the rulings has been “in keeping with the mainstream of American history―a bit progressive but also moderate, a bit humane but not sentimental, a bit idealistic but seldom doctrinaire, and in the long run essentially pragmatic―in short, in keeping with the true genius of our institutions.”

About the Author

Archibald Cox, Jr. (1912–2004), was an American lawyer who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and later became best known as the first special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal.