| Description |
viii, 279 pages ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
1. Introduction: Our Present Straits -- Pt. 1. Political Prudence vs. Juris Prudence. 2. Statesmanship and the Judiciary. 3. John Marshall on Statesmanship. 4. The Breadth of National Judicial Power in the Marshall Era. 5. The "Nationalism" of McCulloch v. Maryland -- Pt. 2. Natural Law in the Supreme Court. 6. The Early Cases on "Natural Law" 7. The Metamorphosis of the Early Precedents -- Pt. 3. America's Philosophic Teachers and the Judicial Function. 8. Sovereignty and Judging in Hobbes's Leviathan. 9. The Movement Toward Constitutionalism in Locke's Second Treatise. 10. The Political Science of Blackstone's Commentaries. 11. Conclusion: Living Constitutionally |
| Summary |
Franck challenges three propositions central to current debates about the supreme Court's role in American life: that the Court has the final word in interpreting the Constitution above competing views from other government branches; that it may legitimately initiate actions to correct political or social dysfunctions left uncorrected by those branches; and that constitutional decisions may be grounded in natural law or a "higher law" located beyond the text of the Constitution. Franck claims these erroneous propositions have allowed the Court's power to grow well beyond its constitutional mandate. He persuasively argues that a more accurate and responsible view of judicial power can be revived by reexamining the Framers' thought, the writings of liberal philosopher (especially Hobbes, Locke, and Blockstone), and the early opinions of the Supreme Court |
| Analysis |
Constitutional law |
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Overseas item |
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US Supreme Court |
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United States |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [261]-269) and index |
| Subject |
United States. Supreme Court.
|
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Constitutional law -- United States.
|
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Political questions and judicial power -- United States.
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| LC no. |
95043073 |
| ISBN |
0700607617 (alk. paper) |
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