Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Dissent Great Opposing Opinions in Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Dissent: Great Opposing Opinions in Landmark Supreme Court Cases by Mark Tushnet

I listened to this on my MP3 player and found it to be a very interesting perspective on American history. So many of the big Supreme Court cases dealing with race, gender, privacy , worker's rights, etc. were decided one way but years later overturned. So it seems like the justices who dissented on the original cases were ahead of their times. Or maybe so many of the decisions are influenced by politics and public opinion and not so much on the impartial view of the court. Not surprising, there have been many judicial appointments that are based on politics more than competence so the results should also not surprise. Many dissents are quoted in the book and some are not based on the reasoning that you would imagine. I think this book would be interesting to anyone who likes American history or the judicial system.

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