Description
At the time of the acrimonious campaign to defeat Judge Robert H. Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court, few members of the public, the press, or the Senate had ever actually read-in context or in full the thoughtful views of this distinguished legal scholar and wise judge.
Now, in this illuminating new book, Judge Bork offers a clear and complete statement of his social and legal philosophy, and presents his view that we are witnessing the ultimate "tempting of America'': the triumph of the invitation to put politically desired results above legitimate process in law whenever possible. With a memorable wit, clarity, and authority, Judge Bork demonstrates that what now passes for constitutional theory in our most prestigious law schools, in many of our courts, and in much of liberal society is not legal theory at all, but an egalitarian political agenda which no elected legislature will enact, thereby prompting an elite intellectual and political minority to use the courts "as a means of displacing democratic choice by the imposition of their moral principles."
This dangerous maneuver puts at risk, says Judge Bork, nothing less than the survival of the structure of our government as set in place by the Constitution itself, which more than anything else has protected and guaranteed our freedoms for more than two centuries.
This book will become the definitive formulation of the wisdom and necessity of interpreting the Constitution according to the "original understanding" of the Framers and the people for whom it was written. This does not mean that over the centuries the Constitution cannot take account of new circumstances, but, as Judge Bork makes clear, it does limit the power of judges and maintains the intended sovereignty of the people through their elected representatives.
ISBN:9780029037614
