Law's Allure: How Law Shapes, Constrains, Saves, and Kills Politics

334 Pages·2009·2.05 MB·English

by  Gordon Silverstein

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LAW’SALLURE
HowLawShapes,Constrains,Saves,andKillsPolitics
Judicial and political power are inextricably linked in America, but, by the
time John Roberts and Samuel Alito joined the Supreme Court, that link
seemed more important, more significant, and more pervasive than ever
before.Fromwarpowerstoabortion,fromtobaccotointegration,fromthe
environmenttocampaignfinance,Americansincreasinglyturnawayfromthe
political tools of negotiating, bargaining, and persuading to embrace what
theyhavecometobelieveisamoreeffective,moreefficient,andevenmore
just world of formal rules, automated procedures, litigation, and judicial
decisionmaking.
Usingmorethantencontroversialpolicycasestudies,Law’sAllure:How
LawShapes,Constrains,Saves,andKillsPoliticsdrawsaroadmaptohelp
politicians, litigators, judges, policy advocates, and those who study them
understand the motives and incentives that encourage efforts to legalize,
formalize, and judicialize the political process and American public policy,
aswellastherisksandrewardsthesechoicescangenerate.
GordonSilversteinisassistantprofessorofpoliticalscienceattheUniversity
of California, Berkeley. A former journalist with a PhD from Harvard Uni-
versity, Professor Silverstein also has taught at Rice University, Dartmouth
College,Lewis&ClarkCollege,andtheUniversityofMinnesota.Professor
SilversteinhaswrittenanumberofarticlesandbookchaptersonAmerican
politics,theseparationofpowers,andjudicialpowerincomparativeperspec-
tiveandistheauthorofImbalanceofPowers:ConstitutionalInterpretation
andtheMakingofAmericanForeignPolicy(1996).

Law’s Allure
How Law Shapes, Constrains, Saves,
and Kills Politics
Gordon Silverstein
UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
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© Gordon Silverstein 2009
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First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-65036-9 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-89647-4 Hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-72108-0 Paperback
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accurate or appropriate.
For
Nelson W. Polsby
and our students,
past, present, and future

contents
Acknowledgments pageix
Introduction:Law’sAllure:TheJuridificationofAmerican
PoliticsandPublicPolicy 1
PART I. LAW’S ALLURE: WHY, WHY NOW,
AND WHY IT MATTERS
1. Motives,Incentives,Patterns,andProcess 15
2. WhyNow?FromMayandMayNot–ToMust 42
3. LawIsDifferent:ThePowerofPrecedent 63
PART II. LAW’S ALLURE: PATTERNS, PROCESS, AND
CAUTIONARY TALES
4. PovertyandAbortion:TheRisksandRewardsofa
JudicialStrategy 95
5. EnvironmentalRegulation:AConstructivePattern 128
6. CampaignFinance:ADeconstructivePattern 152
7. TheSeparationofPowers:WhentheCourtSays
Yes–andNo 175
8. WarPowersandPrecedent:WhentheCourtIsReluctant
toIntervene 209
PART III. LAW’S ALLURE: COSTS AND CONSEQUENCES
9. Tobacco:HowLawSaves–andKillsPolitics 245
Conclusion:ThePromiseandPerilofLaw’sAllure 266
Bibliography 287
Index 307
vii