Supreme Myths ─ Why the Supreme Court Is Not a Court and Its Justices Are Not Judges

It is a commonplace concern that the US Supreme Court's constitutional law decisions reflect the personal and political views of the Justices, but Segall (law, Georgia State U.-Atlanta), goes beyond the conventional calls for more objectivity to argue that the problem is much deeper and requires more radical reform. He contends that when people in a democracy reasonably disagree over difficult policy questions not obviously resolved by their Constitution, those differences should be resolved by public debate and elections, not by the personal opinions of unelected, life-tenured Justices and the supreme myths, disguised as law, that they create. Unlike many critics of the Supreme Court, Segall seems to agree with the content of most controversial decisions, but warns of the consequences of achieving those goals in such a manner. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Eric J. Segall is professor of law at Georgia State University College of Law in Atlanta, where he has been faculty since 1991.