Confirmation Hearings On The Nominations Of Thomas Perrelli Nominee To Be Associate Attorney General Of The United States And Elena Kagan Nominee To Be Solicitor General Of The United States

Confirmation hearings on the nominations of Thomas Perrelli, nominee to be Associate Attorney General of the United States and Elena Kagan, nominee to be Solicitor General of the United States : hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, first session, February 10, 2009.

There is no book of political strategy more canonical than Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, but few ethicists would advise policymakers to treat it as a bible. The lofty ideals of the law, especially, seem distant from the values that the word "Machiavellian" connotes, and judges are supposed to work above the realm of politics. In The Judge, however, Ronald Collins and David Skover argue that Machiavelli can indeed speak to judges, and model their book after The Prince. As it turns out, the number of people who think that judges in the U.S. are apolitical has been shrinking for decades. Both liberals and conservatives routinely criticize their ideological opponents on the bench for acting politically. Some authorities even posit the impossibility of apolitical judges, and indeed, in many states, judicial elections are partisan. Others advocate appointing judges who are committed to being dispassionate referees adhering to the letter of the law. However, most legal experts, regardless of their leanings, seem to agree that despite widespread popular support for the ideal of the apolitical judge, this ideal is mere fantasy. This debate about judges and politics has been a perennial in American history, but it intensified in the 1980s, when the Reagan administration sought to place originalists in the Supreme Court. It has not let up since. Ronald Collins and David Skover argue that the debate has become both stale and circular, and instead tackle the issue in a boldly imaginative way. In The Judge, they ask us to assume that judges are political, and that they need advice on how to be effective political actors. Their twenty-six chapters track the structure of The Prince, and each provides pointers to judges on how to cleverly and subtly advance their political goals. In this Machiavellian vision, law is inseparable from realpolitik. However, the authors' point isn't to advocate for this coldly realistic vision of judging. Their ultimate goal is identify both legal realists and originalists as what they are: explicitly political (though on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum). Taking its cues from Machiavelli, The Judge describes what judges actually do, not what they ought to do.

Judicial Politics in the United States examines the role of courts as policymaking institutions and their interactions with the other branches of government and other political actors in the U.S. political system. Not only does this book cover the nuts and bolts of the functions, structures and processes of our courts and legal system, it goes beyond other judicial process books by exploring how the courts interact with executives, legislatures, and state and federal bureaucracies. It also includes a chapter devoted to the courts' interactions with interest groups, the media, and general public opinion and a chapter that looks at how American courts and judges interact with other judiciaries around the world. Judicial Politics in the United States balances coverage of judicial processes with discussions of the courts' interactions with our larger political universe, making it an essential text for students of judicial politics.

Full constitutional rights for foreign Islamic terrorist detainees. Apologies to the Muslim world for American 'misdeeds, ' and promises to make amends even if the security of the American people is placed in peril. Welcoming radical Muslim sympathizers into high positions of authority. Abridging freedom of expression. And much, much more. Lethal Engagement documents how in these and other ways President Barack Hussein Obama has forsaken the oath of office he took to 'preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.' Lethal Engagement exposes how radical Muslims are re-branding their barbaric ideology to fool their gullible audience in the West and how they play the racism victim card, all with President Obama's help. Lethal Engagement systematically lays out the dangerous entanglement of Obama with the United Nations, which radical Muslims are manipulating to promulgate international law to their liking, and how his nomination of more activist judges willing to throw away the Constitution allows radical Muslims to subvert American law. Lethal Engagement also reveals the radical Muslim plan to destroy the value of the dollar and use the United Nations to replace it with a new global reserve currency, all helped along by the Obama administration's disastrous economic policies. After connecting all these dots, Joseph Klein explains the steps 'we the people' must take to rescue our country

Connecting recent events to their effects on the courts, policy, and society, the Thirteenth Edition of The Supreme Court provides a brief yet comprehensive introduction to the U.S. Supreme Court. In successive chapters, the book examines major aspects of the Court, including the selection, backgrounds, and departures of justices; the creation of the Court′s agenda; the decision-making process and the factors that shape the Court′s decisions; the substance of the Court′s policies; and the Court′s impact on government and American society. Delving deeply into personalities and procedures, author Lawrence Baum provides a balanced explanation of the Court’s actions and the behavior of its justices as he reveals its complexity, reach, and influence. Updated with the most recent data displayed in a lively photo program, the new edition of this bestseller is one of the most engaging books on this subject available.