Radicals in Robes: Why Extreme Right-Wing Courts Are Wrong for America - Hardcover

Though they claim a devotion to history, Sunstein believes fundamentalists are "seeking to produce a federal judiciary that operates as an arm of the political branches." In making this point, Sunstein shows how "judicial activism" by extreme conservative judges has been on the rise since the Reagan administration, moving the Supreme Court hard to the right in the process. He discusses the implications of this shift on issues such as the right to privacy, marriage, affirmative action, national security, the separation of powers, gun control, and religion in public life, among others. In Radicals in Robes, Sunstein skillfully outlines complex constitutional issues in clear language, making this a useful and thought-provoking book for lay readers and legal experts alike. --Shawn Carkonen

"Radicals in Robes explains why it is important to prevent the right-wing takeover of the federal judiciary. Cass Sunstein embeds his argument within a more general theory of judicial 'minimalism' that would limit the further politicization of judicial appointments. It is an important argument, and he presents it well." -- Sanford Levinson, author of Wrestling with Diversity

"In an angry age too easily seduced by partisan aggressiveness and simple-minded slogans, Cass R. Sunstein, one of our country's finest legal scholars, argues for a constitutional law based on common sense, patience, modesty, and restraint. These are virtues we need now more than ever." -- Jack M. Balkin, Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment, Yale Law School, author of The Laws of Change

"This book clarifies the stakes in current struggles over the role of courts in American democracy. For all those seeking a path between the extremes of old judicial liberalism and the new 'fundamentalist' counterrevolution, Cass R. Sunstein offers one here, and he does so with the energy, clarity, and scholarly commitment for which he has become so widely known." -- Richard Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law, NYU School of Law