{"product_id":"the-conservative-assault-on-the-constitution","title":"The Conservative Assault on the Constitution","description":"\u003cp\u003eOver the last few decades  the Supreme Court and the federal appellate courts have undergone a dramatic shift to the right  the result of a determined effort by right-wing lawmakers and presidents to reinterpret the Constitution by reshaping the judiciary. Conservative activist justices have narrowed the scope of the Constitution  denying its protections to millions of Americans  exactly as the lawmakers who appointed and confirmed these jurists intended. Basic long-standing principles of constitutional law have been overturned by the Rehnquist and Roberts courts. As distinguished law professor and constitutional expert Erwin Chemerinsky demonstrates in this invaluable book  these changes affect the lives of every American.  As a result of political pressure from conservatives and a series of Supreme Court decisions  our public schools are increasingly separate and unequal  to the great disadvantage of poor and minority students. Right-wing politicians and justices are dismantling the wall separating church and state  allowing ever greater government support for religion. With the blessing of the Supreme Court  absurdly harsh sentences are being handed down to criminal defendants  such as life sentences for shoplifting and other petty offenses. Even in death penalty cases  defendants are being denied the right to competent counsel at trial  and as a result innocent people have been convicted and sentenced to death. Right-wing politicians complain that government is too big and intrusive while at the same time they are only too happy to insert the government into the most intimate aspects of the private lives of citizens when doing so conforms to conservative morality. Conservative activist judges say that the Constitution gives people an inherent right to own firearms but not to make their own medical decisions. In some states it is easier to buy an assault rifle than to obtain an abortion.  Nowhere has the conservative assault on the Constitution been more visible or more successful than in redefining the role of the president. From Richard Nixon to George W. Bush  conservatives have sought to significantly increase presidential power. The result in recent years has been unprecedented abuses  including indefinite detentions  illegal surveillance  and torture of innocent people.  Finally  access to the courts is being restricted by new rulings that deny legal protections to ordinary Americans. Fewer lawsuits alleging discrimination in employment are heard; fewer people are able to sue corporations or governments for injuries they have suffered; and even when these cases do go to trial  new restrictions limit damages that plaintiffs can collect.  The first step in reclaiming the protections of the Constitution  says Chemerinsky  is to recognize that right-wing justices are imposing their personal prejudices  not making neutral decisions about the scope of the Constitution  as they claim  or following the \"original meaning\" of the Constitution. Only then do we stand a chance of reclaiming our constitutional liberties from a rigid ideological campaign that has transformed our courts and our laws. Only then can we return to a constitutional law that advances freedom and equality.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44974359281717,"sku":"ByrdShop_1416574689","price":35.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781416574682.jpg?v=1770655437","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-conservative-assault-on-the-constitution","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}