The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics
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Narrated by:
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Jim Seybert
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By:
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Stephen Breyer
About this listen
A growing chorus of officials and commentators argues that the Supreme Court has become too political. On this view, the confirmation process is just an exercise in partisan agenda-setting, and the jurists are no more than “politicians in robes” - their ostensibly neutral judicial philosophies mere camouflage for conservative or liberal convictions.
Stephen Breyer, drawing upon his experience as a Supreme Court justice, sounds a cautionary note. Mindful of the Court’s history, he suggests that the judiciary’s hard-won authority could be marred by reforms premised on the assumption of ideological bias. Having, as Hamilton observed, “no influence over either the sword or the purse”, the Court earned its authority by making decisions that have, over time, increased the public’s trust. If public trust is now in decline, one part of the solution is to promote better understandings of how the judiciary actually works: how judges adhere to their oaths and how they try to avoid considerations of politics and popularity.
Breyer warns that political intervention could itself further erode public trust. Without the public’s trust, the Court would no longer be able to act as a check on the other branches of government or as a guarantor of the rule of law, risking serious harm to our constitutional system.
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When the stories that lead our daily news involve momentous constitutional questions, present-minded journalists and busy citizens cannot always see the stakes clearly. In The Constitution Today, Akhil Reed Amar, America's preeminent constitutional scholar, considers the biggest and most bitterly contested debates of the last two decades. He shows how the Constitution's text, history, and structure are a crucial repository of collective wisdom, providing specific rules and grand themes relevant to every organ of the American body politic.
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Amar is a Brilliant Arguer
- By MJ Schirmer on 11-16-16
By: Akhil Reed Amar
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Broken Government
- How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches
- By: John W. Dean
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
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In his eighth book, Dean takes the broadest and deepest view yet of the dysfunctional chaos and institutional damage that the Republican Party and its core conservatives have inflicted on the federal government. He assesses the state of all three branches of government, tracing their decline through the presidencies of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II.
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Attention Policy Wonks - This is the book for you
- By Neal on 09-19-09
By: John W. Dean
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How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America
- By: Brion McClanahan
- Narrated by: Thomas Rosenfeld
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
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He is the star of a hit Broadway musical, the face on the 10-dollar bill, and a central figure among the founding fathers. But do you really know Alexander Hamilton? Rather than lionize Hamilton, Americans should carefully consider his most significant and ultimately detrimental contribution to modern society: the shredding of the United States Constitution. Connecting the dots between Hamilton's invention of implied powers in 1791 to transgender bathrooms and same-sex marriage today, Brion McClanahan shows the origins of our modern federal leviathan.
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Thank You Audible
- By No to Statism on 10-03-18
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Enlightened Democracy
- The Case for the Electoral College, 2nd Edition
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Enlightened Democracy traces the history of the Electoral College from the Constitutional Convention to the present. The Electoral College protects our republic and promotes our liberty. Americans should defend their unique presidential election system at all costs.
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Hold your breath
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The Conscience of the Constitution
- The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty
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- Narrated by: James Foster
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
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Timothy Sandefur's insightful book provides a dramatic new challenge to the status quo of constitutional law and argues a vital truth: our Constitution was written not to empower democracy, but to secure liberty. Yet the overemphasis on democracy by today's legal community - rather than the primacy of liberty, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence - has helped expand the scope of government power at the expense of individual rights.
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Liberty!
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Supreme Power
- 7 Pivotal Supreme Court Decisions That Had a Major Impact on America
- By: Ted Stewart
- Narrated by: Art Allen
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Ted Stewart explains how the Supreme Court and its nine appointed members now stand at a crucial point in their power to hand down momentous and far-ranging decisions. Today's Court affects every major area of American life, from health care to civil rights, from abortion to marriage. This fascinating book reveals the complex history of the Court as told through seven pivotal decisions.
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Polemical, downright ridiculous at times
- By Joe Igla on 11-04-17
By: Ted Stewart
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The Supreme Court
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- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
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A leading Supreme Court expert recounts the personal and philosophical rivalries that forged our nation's highest court and continue to shape our daily lives. The Supreme Court is the most mysterious branch of government, and yet the Court is at root a human institution, made up of very bright people with very strong egos, for whom political and judicial conflicts often become personal.
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Overruled!
- By Stephen McLeod on 08-23-08
By: Jeffrey Rosen
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James Madison and the Making of America
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- Unabridged
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In James Madison and the Making of America, historian Kevin Gutzman looks beyond the way James Madison is traditionally seen - as "The Father of the Constitution” - to find a more complex and sometimes contradictory portrait of this influential Founding Father and the ways in which he influenced the spirit of today's United States.
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Not a traditional biography
- By David on 12-14-12
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The Founding Fathers' Guide to the Constitution
- By: Brion McClanahan
- Narrated by: David Cochran Heath
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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How did the founding generation intend for us to interpret and apply the Constitution? Are liberals right when they cite its “elastic” clauses to justify big government, or are conservatives right when they cite its explicit limits on federal power? Professor Brion McClanahan, popular author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers, finds the answers by going directly to the source—the Founders themselves, who debated all the relevant issues in their state constitutional conventions.
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Biased from the opening
- By David on 11-05-20
By: Brion McClanahan
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What listeners say about The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics
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- Evelyn Suarez
- 09-24-21
Worth reading
Justice Breyer presents a comprehensible explanation of the court’s role in our democracy with examples. He concludes with practical advice on how to ensure that we protect the public acceptance of this important institution
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2 people found this helpful
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- Tony
- 10-04-21
Perspective of our courts by supreme court justice
It's good to get the perspective of our US court system by a supreme Court Justice. I could only hope that all members of Congress could have the same perspective. Perhaps this should be required reading with a pass/fail exam.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Rita Lynch
- 07-15-22
A Must “read or listen”
This is a must listen especially in 2022 !!! The history and importance of the Supreme Court and the recent decisions interact so strongly with Justice Breyer’s review of the court. I anxiously wait to see if he writes another dialogue soon. I cannot strongly enough recommend this book. I gave 3 copies of the hardcover to 3 members of my family… 2 of which are prominent attorneys.
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- Georgia
- 09-19-21
Excellent overview of Suo. Ct. Purpose, position and how it actually works
My title says it all. How judges delve through laws and precedents to balance the essence of the Constitution and what it stands for with the issues of today which is beyond and above politics.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Scott DeWald
- 10-19-22
Thought provoking and educational
Worthwhile listen to what a former recent Supreme Court Justice has to say about the purpose of the Court and its necessary role in our democracy
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