Justice vs. Law: Courts and Politics in American Society

by Eugene Hickok, Gary L. Macdowell

Overview

A detailed analysis of a child-abuse case reveals all of the aspects of the judicial system, including the limits of justice, and makes an argument for judicial restraint.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780743236287
Publisher:	Free Press
Publication date:	01/15/2002
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Eugene Hickok is considered to be an expert on public policy, the U.S. Constitution, and Federalism. He is the former United States Deputy Secretary of Education and taught political science at Dickinson College for 15 years.

Gary McDowell is Tyler Haynes Professor in Leadership Studies, Political Science and Law at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. Previously McDowell directed the Institute of United States Studies and taught American studies at the University of London. He also served as a member of The Fulbright Commission. Earlier he directed the Office of the Bicentennial of the Constitution at the National Endowment for the Humanities, served as chief speechwriter for Attorney General Edwin Meese and held positions at Tulane, Harvard, Harvard Law School and Dickinson.

Editorial Reviews

While the power of the courts directly affects our lives, as have the Roe v. Wade and Brown v. Board of Education decisions, the authors contend that, contrary to our concept of the courts as ``arbiters of competing moral claims,'' their task is not to embody justice but to define public policy under the law. Among other cases in this clear exposition of a highly complex subject, McDowell ( Equity and the Constitution ) and Hickok ( Constitutionalism v. Congress ) cite the three-year-long judicial procedures in DeShaney v. Winnebago County , a case filed in 1988 involving a boy rendered brain-dead by an abusive father. Before the Supreme Court, the mother claimed $1 million in damages, charging Wisconsin social workers with negligence as ``a constitutional deprivation under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.'' She lost. The authors also review politicization of the selection and confirmation of justices, from conservative to activist, including the Bork controversy, and speculate on the future of the present court, along with the ``brokering'' nature of the present Congress. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This overview of recent U.S. Supreme Court controversies shows how the case DeShaney v. Winnego County Social Services (1989), which concerns child abuse, demonstrates major issues of constitutional interpretation and the transformation and meaning of due process of law of the 14th Amendment. Dickinson College professor Hickok and McDowell, a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, reveal conflicting views among Supreme Court justices about the Court's proper role in American politics and the scope of judicial authority. They investigate the court's obligations within the 14th Amendment's due process clause. The authors also praise the effort of Presidents Reagan and Bush to return courts to what the authors consider the proper constitutional role by stemming judicial activism in the federal courts. This book effectively incorporates main tenets of modern constitutional interpretation and provides information about key constitutional controversies. Highly recommended.-- Steven Puro, St. Louis Univ.

Library Journal