Paste Magazine's "10 Best Books of November"
"Thank heaven for Erwin Chemerinsky. The dean of constitutional law has done it again; his latest book, We the People, really is his finest work. In his usual clear and concise fashion, Chemerinsky gives us a framework for understanding both the United States Constitution and the current threats to our democracy. This book could not have come at a better time. It is a life preserver for those who feel adrift in the uncharted waters of the Trump era." —Laurie L. Levenson, Los Angeles Review of Books
“A blueprint for resistance and change . . . it’s crucial as a potential umbrella under which all forms of progressive defiance can actualize a vision of the preamble’s promise."—Paste Magazine
“Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, one of our nation’s leading constitutional scholars, has written a masterful guide on how progressives should think about constitutional law as we move forward in the twenty-first century. After thoroughly discrediting the conservatives’ bogus claims of being committed to originalism, judicial restraint, and “value-neutral judging,” Chemerinsky identifies five fundamental values that should guide our interpretation of the Constitution: ensuring democratic government, providing effective governance, establishing justice, securing liberty, and achieving equality. He then brilliantly demonstrates both why those values should be at the center of constitutional interpretation and how they should play out in the resolution of a broad range of specific constitutional controversies. This is a thoughtful, accessible, and engaging enterprise that should be read by anyone contemplating law school, by all law students, and by lawyers (and other citizens) throughout the land.” —Geoffrey R. Stone, Edward H. Levi Distinguished Professor of Law, The University of Chicago, and author of The Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime
"With characteristic clarity, Dean Chemerinsky synthesizes his encyclopedic knowledge of the Constitutional canon to offer a detailed guide to a Progressive interpretation of the Constitution. From the text of the Preamble, he identifies four key principles undergirding the Constitution: a democratic form of government, an effective government, fair treatment for the people of the nation and the protection of individual liberty. To these he adds a final, implicit principle that is made explicit with the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment: equality. Using these five principles as his guide, Chemerinsky walks his readers through some of the major legal controversies of our time, explaining how these principles point toward a Progressive understanding of the proper role of government on issues ranging from federalism to presidential power and from the rights of the criminally accused to campaign finance laws. Accessible to the lay reader, but of interest to scholars, this book serves as a useful primer on Constitutional case law, a practical guide to the constitutional arguments that Progressives can make both in and out of the courtroom, and a message of hope in the long-term possibility of justice." —Jennifer Chacon, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law
"Demolishing the rationalization (the imagined “original” intent of 18th century men) used by a Republican court to justify reactionary public policy, Chemerinsky explains why the constitutional principles of democratic and effective government committed to establish security, justice, liberty and equality can, going forward, be the bases for authoritative challenges to the Trump court’s partisan agenda." —Richard Rothstein, author of Color of Law, long-listed for the National Book Award
"This work will become the DEFINING text on progressive constitutionalism — a parallel to Thomas Picketty’s contribution but for all who care deeply about constitutional law. Beautifully written and powerfully argued, this is a masterpiece." —Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law School, and author of Free Culture
"Chemerinsky pulls no punches...rock-solid arguments...rooted in history, in a profound progressive philosophy." —Kirkus (starred review)
Praise for Erwin Chemerinsky
“A catalyst for fundamentally changing the nation’s most important and . . . least democratic institution . . . A scholar with intellectual power, passion and pluck.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
"One of the shining lights of legal academia."—The New York Times
Praise for The Conservative Assault on the Constitution
"Our Constitution depends on the courts to keep it alive; we all depend on Erwin Chemerinsky to remind us why that is so important. This book is essential reading for anyone who cares about preserving our constitutional birthright."—Susan N. Herman, President, American Civil Liberties Union
"Erwin Chemerinsky knows the Constitution as a legal scholar and the Supreme Court as a lawyer who represents clients there. It's a rare and powerful combination that makes him uniquely qualified to write this disturbing and persuasive book about the impact of the current Supreme Court's approach to constitutional interpretation."—Linda Greenhouse, lecturer, Yale Law School; former New York Times Supreme Court correspondent
★ 2018-08-27
The veteran author of numerous volumes about the Constitution and the courts returns with a close look at our founding document through progressive eyes.
Chemerinsky (Dean, Univ. of California School of Law; Closing the Courthouse Door: How Your Constitutional Rights Became Unenforceable, 2017, etc.) pulls no punches. In the first sentence he mentions the "devastating" election of Donald Trump, and throughout he expresses deep concern about the certain consequent conservative bent of the Supreme Court. After some initial comments about the state of the Constitution today—and the challenges to progressives—he guides us through the document, emphasizing what he identifies as key provisions and pointing out where he thinks the Supreme Court has succeeded and where it has erred. One crucial point he raises continually: the significance of the Preamble, for it is there, he argues, that the values of the document (and of us) reside, and yet the court tends to ignore that portion of the Constitution, basing decisions on articles and amendments. Chemerinsky believes this is a mistake and that the courts should apply the democratic values contained in the Preamble. After this section, the author moves through the document, examining such issues as the Electoral College (get rid of it, he says), federalism, the separation of powers, fairness in policing practices and court-imposed punishments, freedoms of religion and speech, privacy, affirmative action, and others. He balances his patent passion for the issues he has identified with scholarly documentation and many references to and descriptions of key court cases and decisions. Repeatedly, he praises the protections and social advances made possible by liberal justices and condemns the restrictions and corporate-friendly decisions of the conservatives. With modesty, he also admits his own losses in cases he argued before the court.
The explicit subtitle will likely dissuade some, but Chemerinsky's rock-solid arguments are rooted in history, in a profound progressive philosophy.
