Politics in constitutional law: cases and questions (original) (raw)
Related papers
Ad Americam, 2013
Most scholars conducting research on the U.S. presidency analyze a particular presidency, ranking the ideology and political role of the chief executive, his rhetoric, interior policy program, foreign policy activity, and impact on the economy, as well as the role of the president as national commander of the armed forces. My main field of research is not the presidency, but the American judiciary. However, careful analysis of the theoretical and practical aspects of the functioning of American courts, and especially the U.S. Supreme Court, reveals the enormous impact of presidents on justice. Presidents nominate judges (and Supreme Court Justices), they may determine the scope of legal briefs presented in cases where the government is the party, and they can influence governmental participation as amicus curiae before the Court, which has become a vital tool of the United States in recent years. The growing political role of the Supreme Court, its enormous activity in applying judicial review, and its high position within the U.S. governmental structure have not only caused changes to the checks-and-balances system, but, above all, have resulted in the increased political activity of various presidents towards the tribunal. As a result, many chief executives consider their 'judicial policy' as one of the most important elements of their legacy. From this perspective, we may rank presidents who had the greatest (or the least) impact on the membership and operation of the Court (i.e. Washington, F.D.R., Lincoln versus Taylor, Harrison, Carter), as well as presidents who were willing to impose 1 This article was presented during the international conference Ranking American Presidents held at Northumbria University, Newcastle, on February 23 rd , 2012. Its methodology and substance regarding the nomination process to the Supreme Court of the United States is based on the author's own research, which is described in his book Sąd Najwyższy Stanów Zjednoczonych Ameryki: od prawa do polityki. Krakow: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, 2011.
Syllabus: POL 220 INTRODUCTION TO LAW & POLITICS
This course is concerned with three large and essential questions: What is politics? What is law? And what is the relation between them? After surveying the replies to these perennial questions in the ancient, medieval, and modern ages, we then bring these same inquiries into the context of the American political and legal tradition, starting with the Constitution itself and ending with contemporary controversies in jurisprudence.
FOREWORD Politics and Law, Again
2006
The Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies is pleased to publish this fifth volume of the Cato Supreme Court Review, an annual critique of the Court’s most important decisions from the term just ended, plus a look at the cases ahead—all from a classical Madisonian perspective, grounded in the nation’s first principles, liberty and limited government. We release this volume each year at Cato’s annual Constitution Day conference. And each year in this space I discuss briefly a theme that seemed to emerge from the Court’s term or from the larger setting in which the term unfolded. A year ago, with the Roberts hearings looming immediately before us and several stormy years of appellate court confirmation hearings just behind us, I focused on Politics and Law, arguing that our judicial confirmation hearings had become so ‘‘political’’ because so much of the twentieth century’s constitutional jurisprudence had amounted to politics trumping law. With that politicization of the ...
Law, Politics, and the Constitution. New Perspectives from Legal and Political Theory.
2014
The fourth Yearbook of the Central and Eastern European Forum of Young Legal, Political and Social Theorists reassesses central concepts of modern constitutionalism between the poles of law and politics: separation of powers, constitutional review, and constitutional rights and obligations. Fourteen legal scholars and political scientists from the region contribute to interrelated debates in both disciplines. Two questions are particularly raised: How can the aforementioned concepts be understood? And: Which role do they play in current national and supra-national institutions? With regard to the second question, an essential part of the chapters focuses on current developments within the European Union and in post-socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe.
Constitutionalism, Law & Politics II: American Constitutionalism Spring 2022
“Constitutionalism, Law & Politics II: American Constitutionalism” is the gateway course to the Constitutional Studies program at Notre Dame. It attempts to understand the nature of the American regime and her most important principles. It explores the American Constitution and the philosophical and political ideas that animated its creation and subsequent development. It proceeds by examining select statesmen and critical historical periods—specifically, the Founding era, Lincoln and the slavery crisis, and the Progressives.
NEWSLETTER OF THE LAW & COURTS SECTION OF THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION
2011
1 With spring classes winding down--or, in some cases, having wrapped up weeks ago--I hope everyone is gearing up for a (choose one) relaxing/productive summer. Since the Law and Courts Newsletter is probably not ranked highly on anyone's “beach reading” list, I'll keep my comments here brief. At the same time, it's never too early to look forward to the APSA Annual Meeting in New Orleans.