Overview

Charged with the responsibility of interpreting the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the awesome power to strike down laws enacted by our elected representatives. Why does the public accept the Court’s decisions as legitimate and follow them, even when those decisions are highly unpopular? What must the Court do to maintain the public’s faith? How can it help make our democracy work?   In this groundbreaking book, Justice Stephen Breyer tackles these questions and more, offering an original approach to interpreting the Constitution that judges, lawyers, and scholars will look to for many years to come.

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9780307390837

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Reviews

<p> Deeply thoughtful...Breyer's goal is for the system to work, to solve problems, to improve our national life...He is building an argument for the ages...A clarion call to future generations...This is a brave book. <br>--Jeff Shesol, The New York Times Book Review <br> A sparkling and ambitious book . . . Justice Breyer takes a deep breath and delivers an eloquent exposition that seeks to clarify the court's role in a healthy system of government. <br>--Ken Gormley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette <br> Vivid and full of surprising details . . . Breyer's willingness to present his argument in terms that educated citizens can understand, in the hope of persuading all of us to participate actively in American democracy, exemplifies an idealism about what is possible in a democratic citizenry, and an optimism about it, that is as impressive as it is rare on the Supreme Court . . . Very admirable. <br>--Jeffrey Rosen, The New Republic <br> A calm, reasoned book about how the Sup

<p> A brave book. . . . Deeply thoughtful. . . . An argument for the ages. . . . A clarion call to future generations. . . . Breyer's goal is for the system to work, to solve problems, to improve our national life. <br>-- The New York Times Book Review <br> The most honest discussion of what a judge should do that you will ever find, all the more remarkable because it is written by a sitting Supreme Court justice. <br>-- The Washington Post <br> Breyer's thoughtful book draws readers into the court. . . . It extends his public ruminations with what are becoming his hallmarks: wisdom, modesty, incisiveness. <br>-- Los Angeles Times <br> Vivid and full of surprising details. . . . Exemplifies an idealism about what is possible in a democratic citizenry, and an optimism about it, that is as impressive as it is rare on the Supreme Court. . . . Very admirable. <br>-- The New Republic <br> A calm, reasoned book about how the Supreme Court should do its work and how, in histo

Author Information

Stephen Breyer is an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. He is a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.

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