Art of Judging: Volume 8

by James. E Bond

Overview

The single most important issue in American constitutional law is the role the Supreme Court should play in interpretation of the constitution. This issue has been a source of controversy since at least 1803, when Chief Justice John Marshall proclaimed that the Supreme Court could declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. But public attention has been refocused by the recent debate between Attorney General Edwin Meese and Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. The Attorney General admonished the Justices to confine themselves to strict construction of the Constitution-to apply the Constitution as the framers intended. Justice Brennan rejected this as errant and arrogant because the framers had certainly not thought about the specific problems facing the country today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780912051147
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	01/30/1987
Series:	Studies in Social Philosophy and Policy Series , #8
Pages:	92
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

James E. Bond is the Dean of the University of Puget Sound School of Law, and has taught at Wake Forest University and Washington and Lee University. From his youthful involvement in the civil rights movement to his long tenure as President of the Fund for the Protection of Individual Rights, he has been involved in helping persons struggling against the overwhelming power of the state. As a student and scholar of constitutional law, he has focused primarily on how the Supreme Court should exercise its mandate to protect the individual from the state.

Table of Contents

1: The Debate: How Should Justices Interpret the Constitution?; 2: The Choice: Should Justices Act as Statesmen or as Craftsmen?; 3: The Importance of the Choice: Does Survival of the Rule of Law Depend on the Style of Judicial Decision Making?; 4: A Case Study in Mixed Judicial Styles of Decision Making: Can Justices Act as Both Statesmen and Craftsmen?; 5: A Case Study in Contrasting Styles of Judicial Decision Making: How May Statesmen and Craftsmen Differ in Deciding Cases?; 6: The Case For Craftsmanship: Why Should Justices Decide as Craftsmen?; 7: The Case Against Statesmanship: Why Should Justices Refrain from Deciding as Statesmen?; 8: Conclusion: How Will Craftsmen Insure the Triumph of the Rule of Law?