The Politics of Judicial Independence: Courts, Politics, and the Public

by Peabody, Bruce Garen

• ISBN13: 9780801897726
• ISBN10: 0801897726
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-12-15
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr

Summary

The judiciary in the United States has been subject in recent years to increasingly vocal, aggressive criticisms by media members, activists, and public officials at the federal, state, and local level. This collection probes whether these attacks and 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 if the U.S. courts are indeed experiencing anything new and consider 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.

Author Biography

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.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Choreography of Courts-Congress Conflicts	p. 19
Congress and Judicial Supremacy	p. 45
Presidential Manipulations of Judicial Power	p. 68
Institutional Interdependence and the Separation of Powers	p. 100
The Public and Judicial Independence	p. 123
Judicial Elections and Public Perception of the Courts	p. 147
Conflicts with Courts in Common Law Nations	p. 168
The Siege on the Israeli Supreme Court	p. 192
Self-Regulation and an Independent Judiciary	p. 213
Judicial Credibility	p. 227
Conclusion	p. 249
Appendix: Timeline of Important Events, 1968-2010	p. 255
List of Contributors	p. 259
Notes	p. 261
Index	p. 321
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