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| The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom | 
 enlarge | Authors: Robert A. Levy, William Mellor
Publisher: Sentinel HC
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (12 reviews)
Sales Rank: 9230
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 1595230505
Dewey Decimal Number: 347.73260264
EAN: 9781595230508
ASIN: 1595230505
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
A superb exposition of how the defenders of the Constitution have eroded our freedom July 11, 2008
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
"Regrettably, the [Supreme] court has too often taken the plain wording of the Constitution and interpreted it to mean exactly the opposite of what the Founding Fathers intended. By that process the Court profoundly altered the American legal, political, and economic landscape."
So begins Richard Epstein's forward to this truly remarkable book.
The authors, Robert Levy, of the Cato Institute, and William Mellor, of the Institute of Justice, have chosen twelve Supreme Court cases they believe "changed the course of American history".
The book is not written solely for lawyers. In fact, it is written for the citizen concerned with the expansion of government at the expense of individual freedom.
The tragedy of this book is that it will be read by so few people when it should be read by every citizen, regardless of political persuasion, who is concerned the fate of the United States.
These twelve cases are considered by the authors to be the worst decisions of the Supreme Court of the modern era. In most cases, they also list a runner-up. Events move quickly, so it is quite likely that the authors would add Boumedienne v. Bush, the incredible decision that grants a variety of rights to terrorists. Personally I think that Boumedienne will vie with Dredd Scott as being the most lunkheaded decision ever made by the Court. U.S. v. Miller, 1939 case about the Second Amendment, has been resolved by the very recent decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. (One can see how endangered the Constitution is by the 5-4 vote of the Court in Heller.)
The authors (unsurprisingly) relate each of the cases to a specific topic. The book consists of two parts, the first on how the Court has allowed government to expand far beyond the intentions of the Founding Fathers and the second on how the Court's decisions have eroded freedom.
The topics and "dirty dozen" cases are:
Promoting the general welfare (Helvering v Davis)
Regulating Interstate Commerce (Wickard v. Filburn)
Rescinding Private Contracts (Home Building & Loan v. Blaisdell)
Lawmaking by Administrative Agencies (Whitman v. American Trucking)
Campaign Finance Reform and Free Speech (McConnel v. FEC)
Gun Owner's Rights (United States v. Miller)
Civil Liberties Versus National Security (Korematsu v. U.S.)
Asset Forfeiture Without Due Process (Bennis v. Michigan)
Eminent Domain for Private Use (Kelo v. City of New London)
Taking Property by Regulation (Penn Central v . New York)
Earning an Honest Living (U.S. v. Carolene Products)
Equal Protection and Racial Preferences (Grutter v. Bolinger)
As you can see, critical liberties we take for granted are covered, such as what most people consider their "right" to earn an honest living. In fact, as the authors point out, more than 20% of jobs are subject to regulation or licensing requirements - and no matter how stupid or anti-competitive the restrictions, the Court has given the states free reign to restrict your right to earn a living. This chapter is frightening - but so are all the other chapters. Once you see how the Court has truly altered the intent of the Constitution in the past seven decades, you will worry about tomorrow and what could happen if more left-wingers are appointed to the Court.
If you are concerned for the future of the United States and its Constitution, read this book. I suspect that after reading it, you - like me - will be suggesting to everyone you know that they read it too.
Jerry
A look at how the Supreme Court has botched decisions and eroded our freedoms June 17, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I believe you and every American interested in our freedoms and the Supreme Court should read this book. The authors, Robert Levy and William Mellor, pick 12 Supreme Court cases they believe were poorly decided and had detrimental consequences to our society. Each of these cases is given its own chapter and often includes another case as a "dishonorable mention" that they may also reference.
Now, we are far too deferential to the Supreme Court and even the Federal Courts. We allow them to "correct society" through rulings that are really super-legislation. This is not in the Constitution and is bad for our society. It allows the legislative branch to avoid its responsibilities, and plants undemocratic sentiments in the hearts and minds of the citizenry. But this is my point of view.
Richard Epstein gives a very nice introduction and goes over his views on the cases selected. While he mostly agrees with the authors, he offers up some disagreements and explains why. This helps the reader start his or her critical thinking as they work through the book. Yes, it is written for the general public, but it is reading you will want to read and argue with in your own mind to come to your own conclusions.
The book is in two parts. The first talks about cases that have led to the expansion of government. Chapter 1 uses Helvering v Davis (1937) and U.S. v Butler (1936) to discuss the misuse of the general welfare clause. Chapter 2 uses Wickard v. Filburn (1942) and Gonzales v. Raich (2005) to demonstrate the abuse of the clause about regulating interstate commerce. Chapter 3 looks at rescinding private contracts with the 1934 case Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell and the 1935 case Gold Clause Cases. Chapter 4 is an important look at lawmaking by administrative agencies through the 2001 case Whiteman v. American Trucking Association, Inc.
Part two is about eroding our freedoms. Chapter 5 examines the infamous efforts at campaign finance reform and free speech. McConnell v. Federal Election Commission 2005 and Buckley v. Valeo in 1976 are explained clearly. Gun owner rights are discussed in chapter 6 using the 1939 case U.S. v. Miller. Of course we are about to get some kind of ruling from our current Supreme Court about the second amendment. Are they going to affirm our rights, deny them or punt? We don't know yet. Chapter 7 is an important look at our civil liberties versus national security using the case Korematsu v. U.S. from 1944.
Chapter 8 talks about asset forfeiture without due process using Bennis v. Michigan from 1996. Closely related is eminent domain for private use discussed in chapter 9. The authors use the rotten decision Kelo v. City of New London from 2005 and Berman v. Parker from 1954. Taking property by regulation (a real problem nowadays) uses the cases Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York from 1978 and the Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency from 2002 in Chapter 10.
Chapter 11 examines earning an honest living using U.S. v. Carolene Products from 1938 and Nebbia v. New York in 1934. Chapter 12 looks at equal protection and racial preferences using the famous Grutter v. Bollinger case from 2003 and the Regents of the U. of California v. Bakke from 1978. The afterword on "Judicial Activism and Tomorrow's Supreme Court" is very much worth reading.
They offer two postscripts. The first is on Roe V. Wade from 1973 and Bush v. Gore in 2000. They also provide a copy of the Constitution for easy reference. There is also a table of the cases referenced, notes, and a helpful index.
I enjoyed this book and recommend that you read it and wrestle with what the authors say about our government, our Constitution, and our manner of living. This is important and serious stuff that each of us needs to think about and act on.
For their next book, I hope they take on cases where the results were popular, but were still wrongly decided because the Supreme Court should have referred it back to the legislature for resolution.
Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
You might also want to look at:
The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial Review
and
The Heritage Guide to the Constitution
stare decisis????? June 3, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
It had been years that I looked for some author to explain the solidity of "stare decicis"of the Common Law, and, I found it here, an honest explanation of how to understand the "dogma" of the stare decisis. Magnigicent and very honest!!!!
Liberalism and the Supreme Court May 31, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
The Dirty Dozen was a real eye opener to the importance of selecting judges for any court, but especially the Supreme Court. Decisions made here bind the entire country to the court's philisophy for generations. A decision for the government against the intent of the constitution is a decision against the people. This book points out the fallacy of assuming the Supreme Court is always correct in its decisions and the dangers posed by judges who are not strict constitutionalists. This book should be required reading for all high school seniors before they cast their first vote.
Excellent book May 28, 2008
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
Levy and Miller did a fantastic job of explaining legal topics in a clear and accurate manner that is accessible to non-lawyers. The premise of the "The Dirty Dozen" is that the Constitution establishes a presumption of liberty for the individual in its interpretation - a premise that is explained in a manner that is also accessible to non-lawyers. The "Dirty Dozen" are cases, primarily from the 20th Century, that most violate those principles. The authors provide some interesting background for each case, placing it in historical and legal context.
Levy and Mellor do a good job of exposing "judicial activism" as the nonce phrase it is. In modern parlance, calling a judge a "judicial activist" just means that judge wrote an opinion that the speaker disagrees with. The authors attempt to recast "judicial activism" as the exercise of judicial power in a manner divorced from the Constitution altogether. However, given the baggage that the phrase carries, it might be better to abandon it altogether.
To the extent I have any disagreements with the book, it is the idea that policy questions are the province of the legislature and not the judiciary. All laws are implementations of policy, so any question of law necessarily carries policy implications. Calling something a "policy question" is as devoid of actual content as calling someone a "judicial activist."
Nevertheless, this is a great book, and is highly recommended to anyone interested in liberty and/or constitutional issues. It's at least worth checking out from the library.
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