R&L Logo R&L Logo
  • GENERAL
    • Browse by Subjects
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Chases's Calendar
  • ACADEMIC
    • Textbooks
    • Browse by Course
    • Instructor's Copies
    • Monographs & Research
    • Reference
  • PROFESSIONAL
    • Education
    • Intelligence & Security
    • Library Services
    • Business & Leadership
    • Museum Studies
    • Music
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Psychotherapy
  • FREUD SET
Cover Image
Hardback
eBook
share of facebook share on twitter
Add to GoodReads

Regulating Our Constitutional Rights

Democratic Rule or Judicial Fiat?

William B. Glidden

The author argues that we the people’s rights under the Constitution as amended cannot be characterized as “specific prohibitions” against government. Life, liberty, and property rights, and the freedoms of religion, speech, and press, for example, are neither self-defining nor precise. Accordingly, in our representative democracy, the unelected, unaccountable, life-tenured judges on the Supreme Court should defer to the laws of Congress affecting these rights absent a clear constitutional violation. But the modern conservative Court has become increasingly willing to overturn the laws and policy choices of our nation’s elected representatives based on the judges’ political and ideological preferences. Congress has the constitutional power to control the jurisdiction of the lower federal courts and the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, but it has not chosen to exercise this power in any meaningful way to preserve and protect the American people’s right to be governed by majoritarian rule

  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
Lexington Books
Pages: 280 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9⅜
978-1-66693-611-7 • Hardback • May 2023 • $105.00 • (£81.00)
978-1-66693-612-4 • eBook • May 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
Subjects: Law / Government / Federal, Political Science / American Government / Legislative Branch, Law / Constitutional

William B. Glidden taught history and political science at Clarkson College of Technology in Potsdam, New York, and spent his career as a lawyer in the Law Department of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Should We Reform the Role and Operation of the Court?

Chapter 2: The Drafting and Ratification of Our Constitution

Chapter 3: The Original Meaning of the Bill of Rights

Chapter 4: The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment

Chapter 5: The Court Shreds Congress’s Fourteenth Amendment Enforcement Power

Chapter 6: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process

Chapter 7: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Bill of Rights in the States

Chapter 8: The Court’s Enforcement of the Bill of Rights Against Congress

Chapter 9: Choosing Policies for Abortion, Religious Liberty, and Free Speech

Chapter 10: The Court Should Veto Only Clear Mistakes of Congress

Appendix: Table of Cases

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Glidden’s book coincides with the stress facing national courts in the US and abroad. President Joe Biden commissioned a panel to examine judicial reform. The panel published a comprehensive report in December 2021 detailing and analyzing a wide array of current ideas to reform judicial legitimacy but concluded without formally endorsing a path forward. Glidden’s book goes in a bolder direction: it begins and ends with a proposed constitutional amendment designed to return interpretation powers in the 14th Amendment—and its crucial array of equal protection and due process policies—to Congress. The amendment proposal requires unanimity in the Supreme Court for a federal law to be overturned. Glidden supports this idea through a historical summary of judicial review, which morphed into a culture of judicial supremacy in which the Supreme Court substitutes its will for the will of elected representatives, who reflect both parties and every region of the country. Despite the even poorer esteem many feel for the House and Senate, Glidden spends several chapters asserting his main point that “it has been primarily Congress, not the Supreme Court, which historically has promoted and nurtured democracy” (p. 14). Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.


— Choice Reviews


William B. Glidden mourns the evisceration of the Fourteenth Amendment and the erection of a juristocracy that has disrespected Congress’s powers almost from the first. Calling for a new constitutional provision requiring unanimity on the Supreme Court to overturn legislation, Regulating Our Constitutional Rights is an essential contribution for our age of revived debate about whether American democracy should continue to allocate so much power to judges.


— Samuel Moyn, Yale University


Glidden presents a history of the U.S. Constitution and its judicial interpretation that leads him to the skeptical conclusion that the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretations of the Constitution have on balance failed to improve the working of our democratic system. Addressing recent proposals for “Court reform,” he offers a constitutional amendment that would restate the core meaning of the Constitution and implement it by requiring that any decision invalidating a federal statute be unanimous. A useful contribution to on-going debates about the Supreme Court and its role in our government.


— Mark Tushnet, Harvard Law School


Regulating Our Constitutional Rights

Democratic Rule or Judicial Fiat?

Cover Image
Hardback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • The author argues that we the people’s rights under the Constitution as amended cannot be characterized as “specific prohibitions” against government. Life, liberty, and property rights, and the freedoms of religion, speech, and press, for example, are neither self-defining nor precise. Accordingly, in our representative democracy, the unelected, unaccountable, life-tenured judges on the Supreme Court should defer to the laws of Congress affecting these rights absent a clear constitutional violation. But the modern conservative Court has become increasingly willing to overturn the laws and policy choices of our nation’s elected representatives based on the judges’ political and ideological preferences. Congress has the constitutional power to control the jurisdiction of the lower federal courts and the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, but it has not chosen to exercise this power in any meaningful way to preserve and protect the American people’s right to be governed by majoritarian rule

Details
Details
  • Lexington Books
    Pages: 280 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9⅜
    978-1-66693-611-7 • Hardback • May 2023 • $105.00 • (£81.00)
    978-1-66693-612-4 • eBook • May 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
    Subjects: Law / Government / Federal, Political Science / American Government / Legislative Branch, Law / Constitutional
Author
Author
  • William B. Glidden taught history and political science at Clarkson College of Technology in Potsdam, New York, and spent his career as a lawyer in the Law Department of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Introduction

    Chapter 1: Should We Reform the Role and Operation of the Court?

    Chapter 2: The Drafting and Ratification of Our Constitution

    Chapter 3: The Original Meaning of the Bill of Rights

    Chapter 4: The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment

    Chapter 5: The Court Shreds Congress’s Fourteenth Amendment Enforcement Power

    Chapter 6: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process

    Chapter 7: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Bill of Rights in the States

    Chapter 8: The Court’s Enforcement of the Bill of Rights Against Congress

    Chapter 9: Choosing Policies for Abortion, Religious Liberty, and Free Speech

    Chapter 10: The Court Should Veto Only Clear Mistakes of Congress

    Appendix: Table of Cases

    Bibliography

    Index

    About the Author

Reviews
Reviews
  • Glidden’s book coincides with the stress facing national courts in the US and abroad. President Joe Biden commissioned a panel to examine judicial reform. The panel published a comprehensive report in December 2021 detailing and analyzing a wide array of current ideas to reform judicial legitimacy but concluded without formally endorsing a path forward. Glidden’s book goes in a bolder direction: it begins and ends with a proposed constitutional amendment designed to return interpretation powers in the 14th Amendment—and its crucial array of equal protection and due process policies—to Congress. The amendment proposal requires unanimity in the Supreme Court for a federal law to be overturned. Glidden supports this idea through a historical summary of judicial review, which morphed into a culture of judicial supremacy in which the Supreme Court substitutes its will for the will of elected representatives, who reflect both parties and every region of the country. Despite the even poorer esteem many feel for the House and Senate, Glidden spends several chapters asserting his main point that “it has been primarily Congress, not the Supreme Court, which historically has promoted and nurtured democracy” (p. 14). Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.


    — Choice Reviews


    William B. Glidden mourns the evisceration of the Fourteenth Amendment and the erection of a juristocracy that has disrespected Congress’s powers almost from the first. Calling for a new constitutional provision requiring unanimity on the Supreme Court to overturn legislation, Regulating Our Constitutional Rights is an essential contribution for our age of revived debate about whether American democracy should continue to allocate so much power to judges.


    — Samuel Moyn, Yale University


    Glidden presents a history of the U.S. Constitution and its judicial interpretation that leads him to the skeptical conclusion that the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretations of the Constitution have on balance failed to improve the working of our democratic system. Addressing recent proposals for “Court reform,” he offers a constitutional amendment that would restate the core meaning of the Constitution and implement it by requiring that any decision invalidating a federal statute be unanimous. A useful contribution to on-going debates about the Supreme Court and its role in our government.


    — Mark Tushnet, Harvard Law School


ALSO AVAILABLE

  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 37 Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Essential Supreme Court Decisions: Summaries of Leading Cases in U.S. Constitutional Law, Eighteenth Edition
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 800-1299, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 31 Money and Finance 500-End, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 100-169, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 170-199, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 20 Employee Benefits 400-499, Revised as of April 1, 2022: Part 1
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 260-265, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 20 Employee Benefits 400-499 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 500-599, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29 Labor/OSHA 1900-1910.999, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 300-499, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 700-722, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 1300-end, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 700-722, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 266-299, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 266-299, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 300-399, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 72-79, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 82-84, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 85-96, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 136-149, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 100-135, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 400-424, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 72-79, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 60.500 to End, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 60.1-60.499, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 63.8980-End, Revised as of July 1, 2023, Volume 6
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 1000-1059, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29 Labor/OSHA 2000-End, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 63.1-63.599, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 24 Housing Urban Dev 0-199 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment Pt 60 to Appendices, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 300-799, Revised as of January 1, 2022, Part 1
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 100-135, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 723-789, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, TITLE 29 LABOR OSHA 1910.1000-END, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 30 Mineral Resources 1-199, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 52.1019-52.2019, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 723-789, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 52.01-52.1018, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 61-62, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 63.1200-63.1439, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 790-999, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 50-51, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 24 Housing Urban Dev 200-499 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 52.2020-End of Part 52, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 63.600-63.1199, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 37 Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Essential Supreme Court Decisions: Summaries of Leading Cases in U.S. Constitutional Law, Eighteenth Edition
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 800-1299, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 31 Money and Finance 500-End, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 100-169, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 170-199, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 20 Employee Benefits 400-499, Revised as of April 1, 2022: Part 1
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 260-265, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 20 Employee Benefits 400-499 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 500-599, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29 Labor/OSHA 1900-1910.999, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 300-499, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 700-722, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 Food and Drugs 1300-end, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 700-722, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 266-299, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 266-299, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 300-399, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 72-79, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 82-84, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 85-96, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 136-149, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 100-135, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 400-424, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 72-79, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 60.500 to End, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 60.1-60.499, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 63.8980-End, Revised as of July 1, 2023, Volume 6
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 1000-1059, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29 Labor/OSHA 2000-End, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 63.1-63.599, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 24 Housing Urban Dev 0-199 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment Pt 60 to Appendices, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 300-799, Revised as of January 1, 2022, Part 1
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 100-135, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 723-789, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, TITLE 29 LABOR OSHA 1910.1000-END, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 30 Mineral Resources 1-199, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 52.1019-52.2019, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 723-789, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 52.01-52.1018, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 61-62, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 63.1200-63.1439, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 790-999, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 50-51, Revised as of July 1, 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 24 Housing Urban Dev 200-499 2023
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 52.2020-End of Part 52, Revised as of July 1, 2022
  • Cover image for the book Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 Protection of the Environment 63.600-63.1199, Revised as of July 1, 2023
facebook icon twitter icon instagram icon linked in icon NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
  • Mission Statement
  • Employment
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Statement
CONTACT
  • Company Directory
  • Publicity and Media Queries
  • Rights and Permissions
  • Textbook Resource Center
AUTHOR RESOURCES
  • Royalty Contact
  • Production Guidelines
  • Manuscript Submissions
ORDERING INFORMATION
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • National Book Network
  • Ingram Publisher Services UK
  • Special Sales
  • International Sales
  • eBook Partners
  • Digital Catalogs
IMPRINTS
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • Lexington Books
  • Hamilton Books
  • Applause Books
  • Amadeus Press
  • Backbeat Books
  • Bernan
  • Hal Leonard Books
  • Limelight Editions
  • Co-Publishing Partners
  • Globe Pequot
  • Down East Books
  • Falcon Guides
  • Gooseberry Patch
  • Lyons Press
  • Muddy Boots
  • Pineapple Press
  • TwoDot Books
  • Stackpole Books
PARTNERS
  • American Alliance of Museums
  • American Association for State and Local History
  • Brookings Institution Press
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
  • Fortress Press
  • The Foundation for Critical Thinking
  • Lehigh University Press
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Other Partners...