The Case Against the Supreme Court, Erwin Chemerinsky
The Case Against the Supreme Court, Erwin Chemerinsky
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The Case Against the Supreme Court

Author: Erwin Chemerinsky

Narrator: Philip Hernandez

Unabridged: 14 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 03/28/2023


Synopsis

Both historically and in the present, the Supreme Court has largely been a failure
 
In this devastating book, Erwin Chemerinsky—“one of the shining lights of legal academia” (The New York Times)—shows how, case by case, for over two centuries, the hallowed Court has been far more likely to uphold government abuses of power than to stop them. Drawing on a wealth of rulings, some famous, others little known, he reviews the Supreme Court’s historic failures in key areas, including the refusal to protect minorities, the upholding of gender discrimination, and the neglect of the Constitution in times of crisis, from World War I through 9/11.

No one is better suited to make this case than Chemerinsky. He has studied, taught, and practiced constitutional law for thirty years and has argued before the Supreme Court. With passion and eloquence, Chemerinsky advocates reforms that could make the system work better, and he challenges us to think more critically about the nature of the Court and the fallible men and women who sit on it.

About The Author

Erwin Chemerinsky is the founding dean, Distinguished Professor of Law, and Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law. He has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe, among many other publications. He lives in Irvine, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Socraticgadfly on April 16, 2021

Good overall idea, but some punches are pulled The biggest value is in the title, with the idea that Americans should stop fetishizing the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, it's arguable the court is, not just today but in the past, even worse than Chemerinsky portrays it. Citizens United was wrong and Mc......more

Goodreads review by Ted on April 03, 2019

The Constitution of the United States is a jerry built contraption interpreted by powerful bureaucrats appointed for life who go far beyond any reasonable accounting of the basis behind their decisions. The Case Against the Supreme CourtWhile finding broad "principles" or "original" intentions in th......more

Goodreads review by Jon-Erik on October 27, 2014

The controversy over this book shouldn't be that it calls for major reforms to the Supreme Court. Rather, the controversy should be why it took until 2014 for a major legal scholar to realize this was the case. The answer is that the ascendent generation of legal scholars lived in the one period wher......more

Goodreads review by Michael on November 17, 2014

***I received a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads Program in exchange for a review. The opinions expressed are my own. Erwin Chemerinsky argues that the Supreme Court is not objective and bases its decisions on their own biases rather than the neutral agenda that they claim to follow. M......more

Goodreads review by Jackson on February 20, 2025

An incredible analysis and telling of the United States history through the lense of the Supreme Court. I was worried it was going to be a lot of indigestible lawyer speak but much to my delight, Chemerinsky puts these cases, and his analysis, into plain English accessible to people of any understan......more


Quotes

Praise for Erwin Chemerinsky

“A catalyst for fundamentally changing the nation’s most important and . . . least democratic institution . . . A scholar with intellectual power, passion and pluck.”―Los Angeles Review of Books

"One of the shining lights of legal academia."―The New York Times

Praise for THE CONSERVATIVE ASSAULT ON THE CONSTITUTION

"Our Constitution depends on the courts to keep it alive; we all depend on Erwin Chemerinsky to remind us why that is so important. This book is essential reading for anyone who cares about preserving our constitutional birthright."--Susan N. Herman, Preseident, Amerian Civil Liberties Union
"Erwin Chemerinsky knows the Constitution as a legal scholar and the Supreme Court as a lawyer who represents clients there. It's a rare and poweful combination that makes him uniquely qualified to write this disturbing and persuasive book about the impact of the current Supreme Court's approach to constitutional interpretation."--Linda Greenhouse, lecturer, Yale Law School; former New York Times Supreme Court correspondent