Description
Beacon Press I Dissent by Mark Tushnet
For the first time a collection of dissents from the most famous Supreme Court cases If American history can truly be traced through the majority decisions in landmark Supreme Court cases then what about the dissenting opinions? In issues of race gender privacy workers rights and more would advances have been impeded or failures rectified if the dissenting opinions were in fact the majority opinions? In offering thirteen famous dissentsfrom Marbury v. Madison and Brown v. Board of Education to Griswold v. Connecticut and Lawrence v. Texas each edited with the judges eloquence preservedrenowned Supreme Court scholar Mark Tushnet reminds us that court decisions are not pronouncements issued by the utterly objective they are in fact political statements from highly intelligent but partisan people. Tushnet introduces readers to the very concept of dissent in the courts and then provides useful context for each case filling in gaps in the Courts history and providing an overview of the issues at stake. After each case he considers the impact the dissenting opinion would have had if it had been the majority decision. Lively and accessible I Dissent offers a radically fresh view of the judiciary in a collection that is essential reading for anyone interested in American history.