Content area
Full text
BOOK REVIEW: THE CONSERVATIVE ASSAULT ON THE CONSTITUTION By Erwin Chemerinsky, Simon and Schuster (2010)
The Constitution touches everyone. This is the title of the Introduction to Erwin Cherminsky's book, The Conservative Assault on the Constitution, and one of the key messages to take away from this book. Chemerinsky, Dean of the USC-Irvine Law School and a constitutional lawyer, has written an eloquent challenge to the long-term conservative shift in the Supreme Court that explains the implications of this turn for the everyday lives of Americans. The book highlights two explicit arguments: 1) judges make decisions that are grounded in their politics and beliefs, and, 2) the Supreme Court's conservative faction has been actively engaged in expanding the powers of business and government and undermining the rights of individuals.
Drawing on an historical analysis of prominent legal battles as well as his own experiences arguing cases before the Supreme Court and various appellate courts, Chemerinsky vigorously criticizes the procedures and decisions of the Supreme Court over the past four decades. He argues that since 1968, conservative politicians and justices have refashioned constitutional law to favor government and business over individual citizens, consumers, and workers. Furthermore, he points out that these changes have detrimentally affected the lives of ordinary people, even though most Americans do not follow the Court's decisions very closely: "Changes are not just about legal rules and abstract principles. They affect people in the most intimate and important aspects of their lives." Having made his case, he concludes with constructive alternatives that address the injustices of the current system.
Chemerinsky dedicates most of the...