Academic

Legal Theory Bookworm

By Lawrence Solum

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends The Politics of Precedent on the U.S. Supreme Court Thomas G. Hansford and James F. Spriggs.  Here is a description:

The Politics of Precedent on the U.S. Supreme Court offers an insightful and provocative analysis of the Supreme Court's most important task--shaping the law. Thomas Hansford and James Spriggs analyze a key aspect of legal change: the Court's interpretation or treatment of the precedents it has set in the past. Court decisions do not just resolve immediate disputes; they also set broader precedent. The meaning and scope of a precedent, however, can change significantly as the Court revisits it in future cases. The authors contend that these interpretations are driven by an interaction between policy goals and variations in the legal authoritativeness of precedent. From this premise, they build an explanation of the legal interpretation of precedent that yields novel predictions about the nature and timing of legal change.

And from the reviews:

Stefanie A. Lindquist Law and Politics Book Review : Emphasize[s] the notion that judges' behavior is not purely policy driven, but rather . . . [affected by] other institutional and personal factors.

Mark S. Hurwitz Political Science Quarterly : The authors have done a commendable job in showing how . . . law and politics matter when the Supreme Court interprets precedent.

Saul Brenner, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, coauthor of "Stare Indecisis: Alteration of Precedent on the Supreme Court, 1946-1992" : This is the most important book ever written regarding legal change in the Supreme Court. It will change the dialogue on this topic. The authors address a crucial question and relate it to two of the three theoretical models that currently interest Supreme Court scholars.

Lawrence Baum, Ohio State University, author of "The Supreme Court and American Courts: Process and Policy" : This book makes an important contribution to the understanding of judicial behavior. Its authors carefully develop their theory and apply it to the treatment of precedent in an elegant way that leads to clear predictions about the Supreme Court's behavior.

I was reminded of this book by the excellent paper, entitled "Congressional Overrides and the Interpretation of Precedent at the U.S. Supreme Court," by Hansford and Spriggs at SPSA on Thursday.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on January 12, 2008 (boomark / email).