header-logo header-logo

Book review: The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics

28 January 2022 / David Greene
Issue: 7964 / Categories: Features , Profession , International justice
printer mail-detail
"The message of Breyer is that the Supreme Court, like democracy, relies on consensus and a recognition from all institutions of faithfulness to that consensus"

Author: Stephen Breyer

Publisher: Harvard University Press

ISBN: 978067426936

RRP: £15.95


Stephen Breyer is an Associate US Supreme Court Justice. His short book The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics is the product of his lecture that should have been given at the Scalia Lecture 2021 but the pandemic intervened. And a super little book it is dealing with the relationship between the Supreme Court and the executive; highly apposite here and in the US.

Why generally (but not always) do people and governments accept a court decision as conclusive without significant protest? Cicero wrote of the nature of acquiescence and obedience to state power arising from three factors—punishment, rewards and belief that the state is a just one. Breyer’s thesis is that the Supreme Court relies on the latter in its dealings with government.

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll