The Limits of Judicial Independence

by Tom S. Clark

• ISBN13: 9780521135054
• ISBN10: 0521135052
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-11-22
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book investigates the causes and consequences of congressional attacks on the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the extent of public support for judicial independence constitutes the practical limit of judicial independence. First, the book presents a historical overview of Court-curbing proposals in Congress. Then, building on interviews with Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, and judicial and legislative staffers, the book theorizes that congressional attacks are driven by public discontent with the Court. From this theoretical model, predictions are derived about the decision to engage in Court-curbing and judicial responsiveness to Court-curbing activity in Congress. The Limits of Judicial Independence draws on illustrative archival evidence, systematic analysis of an original dataset of Court-curbing proposals introduced in Congress from 1877 onward and judicial decisions.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. xi
List of Figures	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
A Political History of Court-Curbing	p. 25
Conditional Self-Restraint	p. 62
Court-Curbing and the Electoral Connection	p. 122
Public Support and Judicial Review	p. 159
Ideological Implications of Court-Curbing	p. 207
The Limits of Judicial Independence	p. 255
Elite Interview Methodology	p. 271
Court-Curbing Bills, 1877-2008	p. 276
Bibliography	p. 299
Index	p. 313
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