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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
Buy New: $15.04
You Save: $10.91 (42%)
New (28) Used (8) from $14.38
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 20874
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
Condition: Brand new
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Product Description
A non-lawyers guide to the worst Supreme Court decisions of the modern era
The Dirty Dozen takes on twelve Supreme Court cases that changed American historyand yet are not well known to most Americans.
Starting in the New Deal era, the Court has allowed breathtaking expansions of government power that significantly reduced individual rights and abandoned limited federal government as envisioned by the founders.
For example:
Helvering v. Davis (1937) allowed the government to take money from some and give it to others, without any meaningful constraints
Wickard v. Filburn (1942) let Congress use the interstate commerce clause to regulate even the most trivial activitiesneither interstate nor commerce
Kelo v. City of New London (2005) declared that the government can seize private property and transfer it to another private owner
Levy and Mellor untangle complex Court opinions to explain how The Dirty Dozen harmed ordinary Americans. They argue for a Supreme Court that will enforce what the Constitution actually says about civil liberties, property rights, racial preferences, gun ownership, and many other controversial issues.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 good complement to Barnett's Restoring the Lost Constitution August 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a good complement to Randy Barnett's _Restoring the Lost Constitution_. _The Dirty Dozen_ looks at twelve bad Supreme Court decisions that have effectively erased some of the explicit constitutional limits on the federal government and reduced individual freedom. The preface by Richard Epstein expresses a few minor disagreements about some of the cases chosen, and the end of the book explains why Roe v. Wade and Bush v. Gore didn't make the cut. Those that did include Korematsu v. United States (1944), which said that the U.S. program of internment for Japanese Americans was constitutional, Kelo v. City of New London (2005), which said that governments can seize private property in order to give it to other private hands, Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell (1934), which said that the government can unilaterally void parts of private contracts despite Article I Section 10's explicit language to the contrary, and Bennis v. Michigan (1996), which said that government can use civil forfeiture to take property without compensation that is involved in a crime even if the owner of the property has no involvement in that crime.
Fear July 27, 2008
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
I listened to Robert Levy on Harvard Book Club. The man is brilliant. To the extent that the book claims that the Supreme Court failed to interpret the constitution in a reasonable manner, the book is one-man's opinion of what the constitutional law should be. Levy criticizes the notion of a "living, breathing" constitution because it encourages "judicial policy-making." Yet, this is what the law interpreters have done since Roman and Norman times. Law has never been a fixed rule, in our common-law system. The law is a reasonable interpretation within the established structural and doctrinal framework to fit the evolving standards of decency. This book is just one political opinion of what the constitutional provisions are. My fear is that a non-lawyer, reading this book, will inevitably get an idea that the Supreme Court is not upholding the constitutional principles. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For those non-lawyers, that are intrigued by the book, I can not stress enough the following: You must read many more judicial opinions to get a glimpse on how the Supreme Court operates and how laws evolve and devolve. For example, legal students have a benefit and duty of reading casenotes and comparing many opinions on a narrow topic; which the non-lawyer readers of this book do not.
Outstanding - one of the best I have read July 14, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have read the Constitution several times and it has always been a mystery to me how many (if not most) laws are permissible by our courts and deemed congruent with our founding fathers vision. This book no only addresses my confusion but does it in a clear entertaining style free of Latin and other confusing "legalese". I highly recommend this well written engaging book.
An expertly crafted and harsh criticism of the courts July 12, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Supreme Court is governed by humans, and humans do make errors."The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom" is an examination of these mistakes that have cost America dearly. Pointing out cases in which the Supreme Court has bumbled and allowed the federal government to interfere with private contracts or political support, detain prisoners charge, wrongfully seize property, and other misdeeds of the court, "The Dirty Dozen" is an expertly crafted and harsh criticism of the courts. Highly recommended for community library law collections.
A superb exposition of how the defenders of the Constitution have eroded our freedom July 11, 2008
13 out of 16 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
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