Democracy by Decree; What Happens When Courts Run Government

by Ross Sandler and David Schoenbrod

• ISBN13: 9780300092721
• ISBN10: 0300092725
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2002-12-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Sandler and Schoenbrod tell how the courts, with the best intentions and often with the approval of elected officials, came to control ordinary policy making through decrees. These court regimes, they assert, impose rigid and often ancient detailed plans that prove ineffective and wasteful. Elected officials cannot respond to changing realities unless attorneys, court-appointed functionaries, and lower-echelon officials agree. The result is neither judicial government nor good government, say Sandler and Schoenbrod, and they offer practical reforms that would set governments free from this stranglehold and allow courts to do their legitimate job of protecting rights.

Author Biography

Ross Sandler is professor of law and director of New York Law School's Center for New York City Law.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vi
Introduction: The Legal Hook	p. 1
How Courts Came to Govern	p. 13
How Congress Creates Rights: A Case Study	p. 35
How Courts Enforce Rights: A Case Study	p. 45
Something New Is Going On In Court	p. 98
How Court Management Works	p. 113
A Good Thing Gone Wrong	p. 139
Why the Wrong Thing Continues	p. 162
Road to Reform	p. 183
New Principles	p. 193
Summary and Conclusion	p. 223
Appendix	p. 229
Notes	p. 239
Acknowledgments	p. 269
Index	p. 275
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