The Hollow Hope

by Rosenberg, Gerald N.

• ISBN13: 9780226726700
• ISBN10: 0226726703
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-05-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

In follow-up studies, dozens of reviews, and even a book of essays evaluating his conclusions, Gerald Rosenberg's criticsnot to mention his supportershave spent nearly two decades debating the arguments he first put forward inThe Hollow Hope. With this substantially expanded second edition of his landmark work, Rosenberg himself steps back into the fray, responding to criticism and adding chapters on the same-sex marriage battle that ask anew whether courts can spur political and social reform. Finding that the answer is still a resounding no, Rosenberg reaffirms his powerful contention that it's nearly impossible to generate significant reforms through litigation. The reason? American courts are ineffective and relatively weakfar from the uniquely powerful sources for change they're often portrayed as. Rosenberg supports this claim by documenting the direct and secondary effects of key court decisionsparticularlyBrown v. Board of EducationandRoe v. Wade. He reveals, for example, that Congress, the White House, and a determined civil rights movement did far more thanBrownto advance desegregation, while pro-choice activists invested too much inRoeat the expense of political mobilization. Further illuminating these cases, as well as the ongoing fight for same-sex marriage rights, Rosenberg also marshals impressive evidence to overturn the common assumption that even unsuccessful litigation can advance a cause by raising its profile. Directly addressing its critics in a new conclusion,The Hollow Hope, Second Editionpromises to reignite for a new generation the national debate it sparked seventeen years ago.

Author Biography

Gerald N. Rosenberg teaches both law and political science at the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures
The Dynamic and the Constrained Court	p. 9
Civil Rights
Introduction	p. 39
Bound for Glory? Brown and the Civil Rights Revolution	p. 42
Constraints, Conditions, and the Courts	p. 72
Planting the Seeds of Progress?	p. 107
The Current of History	p. 157
Abortion and Women's Rights
Introduction	p. 173
Transforming Women's Lives? The Courts and Abortion	p. 175
Liberating Women? The Courts and Women's Rights	p. 202
The Court as Catalyst?	p. 228
The Tide of History	p. 247
The Environment, Reapportionment, and Criminal Law
Introduction	p. 269
Cleaning House? The Courts, the Environment, and Reapportionment	p. 271
Judicial Revolution? Litigation to Reform the Criminal Law	p. 304
Same-Sex Marriage
Introduction	p. 339
You've Got That Loving Feeling? The Litigation Campaign for Same-Sex Marriage	p. 342
Confusing Rights with Reality: Litigation for Same-Sex Marriage and the Counter-Mobilization of Law	p. 355
Conclusion: The Fly-Paper Court	p. 420
Epilogue	p. 430
Appendices
Black Children in Elementary and Secondary School with Whites: 1954-72	p. 433
Blacks at Predominantly White Public Colleges and Universities	p. 436
Black Voter Registration in the Southern States: Pre- and Post-Voting Rights Act	p. 437
Laws and Actions Designed to Preserve Segregation	p. 438
Method for Obtaining Information for Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1	p. 440
Illegal Abortions	p. 441
Method for Obtaining Information for Tables 8.1A, 8.1B, 8.2A, and 8.2B, and for Figures 8.1 and 8.2	p. 444
Coding Rules and Methods for Obtaining Information for Tables 13.3, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, and 13.7	p. 446
Case References	p. 449
References	p. 457
Index	p. 513
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