Overview

The judiciary in the United States has been subject in recent years to increasingly vocal, aggressive criticism by media members, activists, and public officials at the federal, state, and local level. This collection probes whether these attacks as well as proposals for reform represent threats to judicial independence or the normal, even healthy, operation of our political system. In addressing this central question, the volume integrates new scholarship, current events, and the perennial concerns of political science and law. The contributors-policy experts, established and emerging scholars, and attorneys-provide varied scholarly viewpoints and assess the issue of judicial independence from the diverging perspectives of Congress, the presidency, and public opinion. Through a diverse range of methodologies, the chapters explore the interactions and tensions among these three interests and the courts and discuss how these conflicts are expressed-and competing interests accommodated. In doing so, they ponder whether the U.S. courts are indeed experiencing anything new and whether anti-judicial rhetoric affords fresh insights. Case studies from Israel, the United Kingdom, and Australia provide a comparative view of judicial controversy in other democratic nations. A unique assessment of the rise of criticism aimed at the judiciary in the United States, The Politics of Judicial Independence is a well-organized and engagingly written text designed especially for students. Instructors of judicial process and judicial policymaking will find the book, along with the materials and resources on its accompanying website, readily adaptable for classroom use.

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9780801897719

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Reviews

A sophisticated approach to judicial independence that takes constitutional politics seriously. Peabody and his fellow authors provide vital information on the political foundations of contemporary judicial criticism and the threat (or non-threat) those criticisms raise to constitutional government in the United States. - Mark A. Graber, University of Maryland A timely and important book, featuring insightful explorations into the scope and limits of judicial independence. Deserves attention from anybody who cares about courts. - Keith E. Whittington, Princeton University

Author Information

Bruce Peabody is a constitutional law scholar at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He writes frequently about politics and the judiciary in scholarly journals and the popular press.

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