Supreme Court Expansion of Presidential Power

Supreme Court Expansion of Presidential Power PDF

Author: Louis Fisher

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Published: 2017-07-14

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 0700624678

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In the fourth of the Federalist Papers, published in 1787, John Jay warned of absolute monarchs who "will often make war when their nations are to get nothing by it." More than two centuries later, are single executives making unilateral decisions any more trustworthy? And have the checks on executive power, so critical in the Founders' drafting of the Constitution, held? These are the questions Louis Fisher pursues in this book. By examining the executive actions of American presidents, particularly after World War II, Fisher reveals how the Supreme Court, through errors and abdications, has expanded presidential power in external affairs beyond constitutional boundaries—and damaged the nation's system of checks and balances. Supreme Court Expansion of Presidential Power reviews the judicial record from 1789 to the present day to show how the balance of power has shifted over time. For nearly a century and a half, the Supreme Court did not indicate a preference for which of the two elected branches should dominate in the field of external affairs. But from the mid-thirties a pattern clearly emerges, with the Court regularly supporting independent presidential power in times of "emergency," or issues linked to national security. The damage this has done to democracy and constitutional government is profound, Fisher argues. His evidence extends beyond external affairs to issues of domestic policy, such as impoundment of funds, legislative vetoes, item-veto authority, presidential immunity in the Paula Jones case, recess appointments, and the Obama administration's immigration initiatives. Fisher identifies contemporary biases that have led to an increase in presidential power—including Supreme Court misconceptions and errors, academic failings, and mistaken beliefs about "inherent powers" and "unity of office." Calling to account the forces tasked with protecting our democracy from the undue exercise of power by any single executive, his deeply informed book sounds a compelling alarm.

The Presidency and the Constitution

The Presidency and the Constitution PDF

Author: M. Genovese

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2005-08-19

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1403979391

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This comprehensive case law book examines the evolution of judicial interpretation of the scope and limitations of presidential power. From interbranch struggles for power, to presidential selection, to campaign financing, to war powers, hardly an issue arises for the modern presidency that does not eventually find itself framed as a legal problem to be addressed by the courts. Each section provides an introduction providing background and framework for students. Throughout, the analysis is informed by the view that court decisions are framed by legal arguments and constitute legal issuances and are also framed by politics, and have profound political consequences. Coinciding with a broader intellectual and disciplinary return to institutions and law as key to understanding the presidency and modern politics, this book will find special favour among scholars who teach courses on the presidency and related areas.

The Specter of Dictatorship

The Specter of Dictatorship PDF

Author: David M. Driesen

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2021-07-20

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1503628620

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Reveals how the U.S. Supreme Court's presidentialism threatens our democracy and what to do about it. Donald Trump's presidency made many Americans wonder whether our system of checks and balances would prove robust enough to withstand an onslaught from a despotic chief executive. In The Specter of Dictatorship, David Driesen analyzes the chief executive's role in the democratic decline of Hungary, Poland, and Turkey and argues that an insufficiently constrained presidency is one of the most important systemic threats to democracy. Driesen urges the U.S. to learn from the mistakes of these failing democracies. Their experiences suggest, Driesen shows, that the Court must eschew its reliance on and expansion of the "unitary executive theory" recently endorsed by the Court and apply a less deferential approach to presidential authority, invoked to protect national security and combat emergencies, than it has in recent years. Ultimately, Driesen argues that concern about loss of democracy should play a major role in the Court's jurisprudence, because loss of democracy can prove irreversible. As autocracy spreads throughout the world, maintaining our democracy has become an urgent matter.

The Limits of Presidential Power

The Limits of Presidential Power PDF

Author: Lisa Manheim

Publisher: Manheim & Watts, LLC

Published: 2018-01-10

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 9780999698808

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This one-of-a-kind guide provides a crash course in the laws governing the President of the United States. In an engaging and accessible style, two law professors explain the principles that inform everything from President Washington's disagreements with Congress to President Trump's struggles with the courts, and more. Timely and to the point, this guide provides the essential information every informed civic participant needs to know about the laws that govern the president-and what those laws mean for those who want to make their voices heard.

The Law of the Executive Branch

The Law of the Executive Branch PDF

Author: Louis Fisher

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 482

ISBN-13: 0199856214

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The Law of the Executive Branch: Presidential Power places the law of the executive branch firmly in the context of constitutional language, framers' intent, and more than two centuries of practice. Each provision of the US Constitution is analyzed to reveal its contemporary meaning and in concert with the application of presidential power.

Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law

Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law PDF

Author: Maurice Adams

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-02-02

Total Pages: 559

ISBN-13: 1316883256

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Rule of law and constitutionalist ideals are understood by many, if not most, as necessary to create a just political order. Defying the traditional division between normative and positive theoretical approaches, this book explores how political reality on the one hand, and constitutional ideals on the other, mutually inform and influence each other. Seventeen chapters from leading international scholars cover a diverse range of topics and case studies to test the hypothesis that the best normative theories, including those regarding the role of constitutions, constitutionalism and the rule of law, conceive of the ideal and the real as mutually regulating.

Presidential Power and the Constitution

Presidential Power and the Constitution PDF

Author: Edward Samuel Corwin

Publisher: Ithaca : Cornell University Press

Published: 1976

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13:

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The distinguised constitutional expert reviews key issues and factors pertaining to the evolution of the dominant Presidency and to the consequences for the United States' constitutional government.

The Power of the Presidency

The Power of the Presidency PDF

Author: Robert S. Hirschfield

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 523

ISBN-13: 1351476556

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The American presidency is the most powerful political office in the world. But this impressive statement serves only to raise a whole series of fundamental questions: What is the scope of presidential powers and what are its limits? Can the president use all the authority of his office or is that authority more formal than effective? Does the presidency have sufficient power to meet today's needs or do the problems of the modern age demand a more powerful executive? Is there a danger of dictatorship in the growth of political authority or will the presidency remain an office of constitutional democratic leadership?This book explores such questions by presenting a wide range of views on presidential power from a variety of sources: original supporters and opponents of the office; presidents themselves; Supreme Court decisions; and professional students of the presidency.