Federal judges, legal scholars, pundits, and reporters frequently
describe the Supreme Court as the final word on the meaning of the
Constitution. The historical record presents an entirely different
picture. A close and revealing reading of that record, from 1789 to
the present day, Reconsidering Judicial Finality reminds us of the
"unalterable fact," as Chief Justice Rehnquist once remarked, "that
our judicial system, like the human beings who administer it, is
fallible." And a Court inevitably prone to miscalculation and
error, as this book clearly demonstrates, cannot have the
incontrovertible last word on constitutional questions. In this
deeply researched, sharply reasoned work of legal myth-busting,
constitutional scholar Louis Fisher explains how constitutional
disputes are Settled by all three branches of government, and by
the general public, with the Supreme Court often playing a
secondary role. The Court's decisions have, of course, been
challenged and reversed in numerous cases-involving slavery, civil
rights, child labor legislation, Japanese internment during World
War II, abortion, and religious liberty. What Fisher shows us on a
case-by-case basis is how the elected branches, scholars, and
American public regularly press policies contrary to Court
rulings-and regularly prevail, although the process might sometimes
take decades. From the common misreading of Marbury v. Madison, to
the mistaken understanding of the Supreme Court as the trusted
guardian of individual rights, to the questionable assumptions of
the Court's decision in Citizens United, Fisher's work charts the
distance and the difference between the Court as the ultimate
arbiter in constitutional matters and the judgment of history. The
verdict of Reconsidering Judicial Finality is clear: to treat the
Supreme Court's nine justices as democracy's last hope or as
dangerous activists undermining democracy is to vest them with
undue significance. The Constitution belongs to all three branches
of government-and, finally, to the American people.
General
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