Superintending Democracy

by Banks, Christopher P.

• ISBN13: 9781884836725
• ISBN10: 1884836720
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Akron Pr

Summary

This timely book is a diverse collection of essays by nationally recognized scholars, politicians, and lawyers that challenges the popular myth that the U.S. Supreme Court is an apolitical institution. It analyzes the manner in which the U.S. Supreme Court superintends the electoral process through its judicial decision-making. As a provocative study of the intersection between law and politics, it considers whether the nation's highest court, as an inherently undemocratic and "counter-majoritarian" political institution, should enter the so-called "political thicket" and decide legal disputes concerning political corruption, campaign finance, political parties, patronage, and redistricting. Because there are few books on the U.S. Supreme Court and its impact on American electoral politics, Superintending Democracy is a welcome addition to social science and legal scholarship. It is a book for political scientists, legal scholars, and students who are interested in learning about American politics, constitutional law, or the political nexus between law and courts.

Author Biography

Christopher P. Banks is associate professor of political science at The University of Akron. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law. He is a member of the American Political Science Association. John C. Green is professor of political science and director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at The University of Akron. He is a graduate of Cornell University with a Ph.D. in political science

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	ix
Preface	xi
Superintending Democracy: Introduction	1	(12)
Christopher P. Banks
John C. Green
PART I Superintending Political Resources
The United States Supreme Court's Response to American Political Corruption: The Failure of Constitutional Law or the Success of Republican Liberty?	13	(38)
Christopher P. Banks
A Legal Strategy for Challenging Buckley v. Valeo	51	(32)
John C. Bonifaz
Gregory G. Luke
Brenda Wright
Dollars and Sense: In Praise of Buckley v. Valeo	83	(23)
Joel M. Gora
The Role of Disclosure in Campaign Finance Reform	106	(27)
Trevor Potter
Splitting the Difference: The Supreme Court's Search for the Middle Ground in Racial Gerrymandering Cases	133	(16)
Barbara Perry
PART II Superintending Political Actors
The Right to Party: The United States Supreme Court and Contemporary Political Parties	149	(14)
John C. Green
The United States Supreme Court as an Obstacle to Political Reform: The Weak Constitutional Justification for the Two-Party System	163	(24)
David K. Ryden
Ironies Abound in the United States Supreme Court's Rulings Limiting Political Patronage	187	(14)
David M. O'Brien
Whitewater, Iran-Contra, and the Limits of the Law	201	(18)
Katy J. Harriger
The Influence of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on the United States Supreme Court's Decision Making in Minority Voting Rights Law	219	(18)
Steven C. Tauber
``A December Storm over the U.S. Supreme Court'': Bush v. Gore and Superintending Democracy	237	(90)
Christopher P. Banks
Appendix. Summaries of Key Cases
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)	265	(11)
Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party (1997)	276	(6)
Elrod v. Burns (1976)	282	(5)
Shaw v. Reno I (1993)	287	(7)
Bush v. Gore (2000)	294	(33)
Notes	327	(42)
Bibliography	369	(12)
About the Contributors	381	(4)
Subject Index	385	(9)
Case Index	394