{"product_id":"justice-kennedys-jurisprudence-the-full-and-necessary-meaning-of-liberty-9780700616626","title":"Justice Kennedy's Jurisprudence: The Full and Necessary Meaning of Liberty","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo understand todays Supreme Court  it is essential to understand the judicial philosophy of its swing vote. For twenty years  Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has voted with the majority more than any of his colleagues. He has provided the deciding vote in cases involving politically charged issues such as affirmative action  the 2000 presidential election  religious expression  gay rights  and executive power to detain suspected terrorists. With a record reliably neither liberal nor conservative  Kennedy has generally been viewed as a capricious  indecisive moderate.  Frank Colucci  however  argues that Kennedy indeed displays a coherent approach to constitutional interpretation. Colucci digs deep into the Justices record  offering a close analysis of not only of Kennedys opinions on the Court but also his prior opinions on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals  his off-the-bench speeches delivered before becoming a Justice  and his testimony at confirmation hearings. Colucci identifies Kennedys core belief: that judges have a duty to ensure the word liberty in the Constitution be given its full and necessary meaning.  Colucci shows that Kennedy rejects theories of originalism and judicial restraint. Instead  Kennedy adopts a moral reading of the Constitutionsimilar to that championed by Ronald Dworkin and Randy Barnett as well as former Justice William J. Brennanin which liberty and human dignity trump even democracy.  Depicting Kennedy as seeking an alternative to the perceived excesses of both the Warren Court and originalist overreaction  Colucci also compares Kennedys rhetoric to Catholic teaching and shows him as struggling to disassociate his personal beliefs from his official duties. Separate chapters offer close readings of Kennedys jurisprudence regarding abortion  free speech  equality  and government structure.  Coluccis persuasive account offers readers a more nuanced understanding of Justice Kennedys arguments about the nature of personal liberty and the proper role of courts in defining and enforcing it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648124182581,"sku":"ByrdShop_0700616624","price":36.03,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780700616626.jpg?v=1781710082","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/justice-kennedys-jurisprudence-the-full-and-necessary-meaning-of-liberty-9780700616626","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}