Books by "David J. Danelski"
4 books found
Traces the life of the flamboyant lawyer who made a career of representing unpopular people and causes, including the Chicago Seven, and Leonard Peltier and the American Indian Movement.
The framers of the Constitution chose their words carefully when they wrote of a more perfect union--not absolutely perfect, but with room for improvement. Indeed, we no longer operate under the same Constitution as that ratified in 1788, or even the one completed by the Bill of Rights in 1791--because we are no longer the same nation. In The Revolutionary Constitution, David J. Bodenhamer provides a comprehensive new look at America's basic law, integrating the latest legal scholarship with historical context to highlight how it has evolved over time. The Constitution, he notes, was the product of the first modern revolution, and revolutions are, by definition, moments when the past shifts toward an unfamiliar future, one radically different from what was foreseen only a brief time earlier. In seeking to balance power and liberty, the framers established a structure that would allow future generations to continually readjust the scale. Bodenhamer explores this dynamic through seven major constitutional themes: federalism, balance of powers, property, representation, equality, rights, and security. With each, he takes a historical approach, following their changes over time. For example, the framers wrote multiple protections for property rights into the Constitution in response to actions by state governments after the Revolution. But twentieth-century courts--and Congress--redefined property rights through measures such as zoning and the designation of historical landmarks (diminishing their commercial value) in response to the needs of a modern economy. The framers anticipated just such a future reworking of their own compromises between liberty and power. With up-to-the-minute legal expertise and a broad grasp of the social and political context, this book is a tour de force of Constitutional history and analysis.
Examining each of the nearly 100 men who have left the US Supreme Court, explores their resignations and retirements from the lifetime tenure. Considers the diverse circumstances under which they leave and clarifies why they often are reluctant to do so, finding factors such as pensions, party loyalty, and personal pride. Also relates physical ailments to mental faculties to explain how a justice's disability can affect Court decisions. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
A behind-the-scenes look at the role of law clerks and their history at the U.S. Supreme Court. Based on Supreme Court archives, the personal papers of justices and other figures at the Supreme Court, and interviews and written surveys with 150 former clerks, Sorcerers' Apprentices is a be-hind-the-scenes look at the life of a law clerk, and how it has evolved since its nineteenth-century beginnings. Artemus Ward and David L. Weiden reveal that throughout history, clerks have not only written briefs, but also made significant decisions about cases that are often unseen by those outside of justices' chambers. Should clerks have this power, they ask, and, equally important, what does this tell us about the relationship between the Supreme Court's accountability to and re-lationship with the American public? Sorcerers' Apprentices not only sheds light on the little-known role of the clerk but also offers provocative suggestions for reforming the institution of the Supreme Court clerk. Anyone that has worked as a law clerk, is considering clerking, or is interested in learning about what happens in the chambers of Supreme Court justices will want to read this engaging and comprehensive exami-nation of how the role of the law clerk has evolved over its long history. Praise for Sorcerers' Apprentices "A rare book that is both a meticulous piece of scholarship and a good read." — Law and Politics Book Review "Helps illuminate the inner workings of an institution that is still largely shrouded in mys-tery." — The Wall Street Journal Online "Provides excellent insight into the inner workings of the Supreme Court, how it selects cases for review, what pressures are brought to bear on the justices, and how the final opinions are produced." — Library Journal