Author: Janina BougheyPublisher:
ISBN: 9781760022341
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Interpreting Executive Power
Author: Janina BougheyPublisher:
ISBN: 9781760022341
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Democracy’s Chief Executive
Author: Peter M ShanePublisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520380908
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Legal scholar Peter M. Shane confronts U.S. presidential entitlement and offers a more reasonable way of conceptualizing our constitutional presidency in the twenty-first century. In the eyes of modern-day presidentialists, the United States Constitution’s vesting of “executive power” means today what it meant in 1787. For them, what it meant in 1787 was the creation of a largely unilateral presidency, and in their view, a unilateral presidency still best serves our national interest. Democracy’s Chief Executive challenges each of these premises, while showing how their influence on constitutional interpretation for more than forty years has set the stage for a presidency ripe for authoritarianism. Democracy’s Chief Executive explains how dogmatic ideas about expansive executive authority can create within the government a psychology of presidential entitlement that threatens American democracy and the rule of law. Tracing today’s aggressive presidentialism to a steady consolidation of White House power aided primarily by right-wing lawyers and judges since 1981, Peter M. Shane argues that this is a dangerously authoritarian form of constitutional interpretation that is not even well supported by an originalist perspective. Offering instead a fresh approach to balancing presidential powers, Shane develops an interpretative model of adaptive constitutionalism, rooted in the values of deliberative democracy. Democracy’s Chief Executive demonstrates that justifying outcomes explicitly based on core democratic values is more, not less, constraining for judicial decision making—and presents a model that Americans across the political spectrum should embrace.
Democracy’s Chief Executive
Author: Peter M ShanePublisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520380916
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Legal scholar Peter M. Shane confronts U.S. presidential entitlement and offers a more reasonable way of conceptualizing our constitutional presidency in the twenty-first century. In the eyes of modern-day presidentialists, the United States Constitution’s vesting of “executive power” means today what it meant in 1787. For them, what it meant in 1787 was the creation of a largely unilateral presidency, and in their view, a unilateral presidency still best serves our national interest. Democracy’s Chief Executive challenges each of these premises, while showing how their influence on constitutional interpretation for more than forty years has set the stage for a presidency ripe for authoritarianism. Democracy’s Chief Executive explains how dogmatic ideas about expansive executive authority can create within the government a psychology of presidential entitlement that threatens American democracy and the rule of law. Tracing today’s aggressive presidentialism to a steady consolidation of White House power aided primarily by right-wing lawyers and judges since 1981, Peter M. Shane argues that this is a dangerously authoritarian form of constitutional interpretation that is not even well supported by an originalist perspective. Offering instead a fresh approach to balancing presidential powers, Shane develops an interpretative model of adaptive constitutionalism, rooted in the values of deliberative democracy. Democracy’s Chief Executive demonstrates that justifying outcomes explicitly based on core democratic values is more, not less, constraining for judicial decision making—and presents a model that Americans across the political spectrum should embrace.
The Living Presidency
Author: Saikrishna Bangalore PrakashPublisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674245210
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
A constitutional originalist sounds the alarm over the presidency’s ever-expanding powers, ascribing them unexpectedly to the liberal embrace of a living Constitution. Liberal scholars and politicians routinely denounce the imperial presidency—a self-aggrandizing executive that has progressively sidelined Congress. Yet the same people invariably extol the virtues of a living Constitution, whose meaning adapts with the times. Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash argues that these stances are fundamentally incompatible. A constitution prone to informal amendment systematically favors the executive and ensures that there are no enduring constraints on executive power. In this careful study, Prakash contends that an originalist interpretation of the Constitution can rein in the “living presidency” legitimated by the living Constitution. No one who reads the Constitution would conclude that presidents may declare war, legislate by fiat, and make treaties without the Senate. Yet presidents do all these things. They get away with it, Prakash argues, because Congress, the courts, and the public routinely excuse these violations. With the passage of time, these transgressions are treated as informal constitutional amendments. The result is an executive increasingly liberated from the Constitution. The solution is originalism. Though often associated with conservative goals, originalism in Prakash’s argument should appeal to Republicans and Democrats alike, as almost all Americans decry the presidency’s stunning expansion. The Living Presidency proposes a baker’s dozen of reforms, all of which could be enacted if only Congress asserted its lawful authority.
Public Law and Statutory Interpretation
Author: Lisa Burton CrawfordPublisher:
ISBN: 9781760021528
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
This book is the first of its kind to provide a clearly written and comprehensive overview of public law principles, together with the principles and process of statutory interpretation. The former inform the fundamental nature of the Australian legal system; the latter is vital knowledge in a legal system in which statute law is so pervasive. This approach is consistent with the contemporary case law of the Australian High Court, emphasising that the principles of statutory interpretation reflect the constitutional relationship between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.More particularly, the book provides:an overview of the origins and key stages in the development of the Australian legal system;an explanation of the concepts and ideals that form the foundation of Australian public law;an introduction to the institutions, structures and powers of, and relationships between, the three branches of the Australian government; andan explanation of how, in light of key public law principles, legislation is interpreted by Australia's courts.This book will be useful to scholars and practitioners seeking to understand the foundational principles of Australian public law, or statutory interpretation. The four authors, all experienced researchers and teachers in public law, designed it to be a complete resource for introductory public law units, before students move on to more advanced subjects such as Constitutional and Administrative Law.The book adopts an engaging and approachable style with expository and analytical text, combined with carefully edited extracts of key cases and straightforward commentary on both foundational and advanced issues. It also includes:several in-depth case studies, which provide an opportunity to engage with pressing public law issues in a practical context;discussion questions, reflective exercises and other activities, to demonstrate the contemporary significance of the issues explored in the text.
Madison's Nightmare
Author: Peter M. ShanePublisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226749428
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258
Book Description
The George W. Bush administration’s ambitious—even breathtaking—claims of unilateral executive authority raised deep concerns among constitutional scholars, civil libertarians, and ordinary citizens alike. But Bush’s attempts to assert his power are only the culmination of a near-thirty-year assault on the basic checks and balances of the U.S. government—a battle waged by presidents of both parties, and one that, as Peter M. Shane warns in Madison’s Nightmare, threatens to utterly subvert the founders’ vision of representative government. Tracing this tendency back to the first Reagan administration, Shane shows how this era of "aggressive presidentialism" has seen presidents exerting ever more control over nearly every arena of policy, from military affairs and national security to domestic programs. Driven by political ambition and a growing culture of entitlement in the executive branch—and abetted by a complaisant Congress, riven by partisanship—this presidential aggrandizement has too often undermined wise policy making and led to shallow, ideological, and sometimes outright lawless decisions. The solution, Shane argues, will require a multipronged program of reform, including both specific changes in government practice and broader institutional changes aimed at supporting a renewed culture of government accountability. From the war on science to the mismanaged war on terror, Madison’s Nightmare outlines the disastrous consequences of the unchecked executive—and issues a stern wake-up call to all who care about the fate of our long democratic experiment.
Active Liberty
Author: Stephen BreyerPublisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307424618
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 176
Book Description
A brilliant new approach to the Constitution and courts of the United States by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.For Justice Breyer, the Constitution’s primary role is to preserve and encourage what he calls “active liberty”: citizen participation in shaping government and its laws. As this book argues, promoting active liberty requires judicial modesty and deference to Congress; it also means recognizing the changing needs and demands of the populace. Indeed, the Constitution’s lasting brilliance is that its principles may be adapted to cope with unanticipated situations, and Breyer makes a powerful case against treating it as a static guide intended for a world that is dead and gone. Using contemporary examples from federalism to privacy to affirmative action, this is a vital contribution to the ongoing debate over the role and power of our courts.
The Cavalier Presidency
Author: Justin P. DePlatoPublisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 0739188852
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
In this book, Justin DePlato examines and analyzes the reasons and justifications for, as well as instances of, executive emergency power in political thought and action. The book begins by analyzing the theory of executive emergency power across a wide breadth of philosophical history, from Ancient Greek, Renaissance, through modern American political thought. This analysis indicates that in political philosophy two models exist for determining and using executive emergency power: an unfettered executive prerogative or a constitutional dictatorship. The modern American approach to executive emergency power is an unfettered executive prerogative, whereby the executive determines what emergency power is and how to use it. The book addresses the fundamental question of whether executive power in times of crisis may be unfettered and discretionary or rather does the law define and restrain executive emergency power. The author reviews and analyzes seven U.S. presidencies that handled a domestic crisis—Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Lincoln, G. W. Bush, and Obama—to show that presidents become extraordinarily powerful during crises and act unilaterally without oversight. The use of executive emergency power undermines the normal processes of democratic republicanism and harms the rule of law. The author analyzes the U.S. Constitution, formerly classified Department of Justice Memos, primary sourced letters, signing statements, executive orders, presidential decrees, and original founding documents to comprehensively conclude that presidential prerogative determines what emergency powers are and how they are to be executed. This book challenges the claim that presidents determine their emergency power with appropriate congressional oversight or consultation. The analysis of the empirical data indicates that presidents do not consult with Congress prior to determining what their emergency powers are and how the president wants to use them. Justin DePlato joins the highly contentious debate over the use of executive power during crisis and offers a sharp argument against an ever-growing centralized and unchecked federal power. He argues that presidents are becoming increasingly reckless when determining and using power during crisis, often times acting unconstitutional.
The Judicial Interpretation of the Executive Power in Wisconsin
Author: Frank Morgan RiceAn Essay on the True Principles of Executive Power in Great States
Author: Jacques NeckerPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Executive power
Languages : en
Pages : 434
Book Description