The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom

by Robert Levy, Robert A. Levy, William Mellor

Book Overview

The Founding Fathers wanted the judicial branch to serve as a check on the power of the legislative and executive, and gave the Supreme Court the responsibility of interpreting the Constitution in a way that would safeguard individual freedoms. Sadly, the Supreme Court has handed down many destructive decisions on cases you probably never learned about in school. In The Dirty Dozen, two distinguished legal scholars shed light on the twelve worst cases,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1935308270
• ISBN13: 9781935308270
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Cato Institute
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Required Reading

If you think that the Constitution will always be there to protect you, think again. This book illustrates what can happen when supreme court justices get it wrong: the laws that protect the people from their government lose their meaning and we're left that much more defenseless. The Dirty Dozen is one of those books that should be on everyone's summer reading list. But the truly magnificent part about this particular work is that its veracity is NOT up for grabs- whereas many books offering one or another particular version of history will be touted as both fact and farce (depending on who you talk to), this one's got all the bases covered. Even the most hardened liberals will concede that the outcomes of the dirty dozen cases are alarming signs that the power of government, when left unchecked, threatens us all.

A superb exposition of how the defenders of the Constitution have eroded our freedom

"Regrettably, the [Supreme] court has too often taken the plain wording of the Constitution and interpreted it to mean exactly the opposite of what the Founding Fathers intended. By that process the Court profoundly altered the American legal, political, and economic landscape." So begins Richard Epstein's forward to this truly remarkable book. The authors, Robert Levy, of the Cato Institute, and William Mellor, of the Institute of Justice, have chosen twelve Supreme Court cases they believe "changed the course of American history". The book is not written solely for lawyers. In fact, it is written for the citizen concerned with the expansion of government at the expense of individual freedom. The tragedy of this book is that it will be read by so few people when it should be read by every citizen, regardless of political persuasion, who is concerned the fate of the United States. These twelve cases are considered by the authors to be the worst decisions of the Supreme Court of the modern era. In most cases, they also list a runner-up. Events move quickly, so it is quite likely that the authors would add Boumedienne v. Bush, the incredible decision that grants a variety of rights to terrorists. Personally I think that Boumedienne will vie with Dredd Scott as being the most lunkheaded decision ever made by the Court. U.S. v. Miller, 1939 case about the Second Amendment, has been resolved by the very recent decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. (One can see how endangered the Constitution is by the 5-4 vote of the Court in Heller.) The authors (unsurprisingly) relate each of the cases to a specific topic. The book consists of two parts, the first on how the Court has allowed government to expand far beyond the intentions of the Founding Fathers and the second on how the Court's decisions have eroded freedom. The topics and "dirty dozen" cases are: Promoting the general welfare (Helvering v Davis) Regulating Interstate Commerce (Wickard v. Filburn) Rescinding Private Contracts (Home Building & Loan v. Blaisdell) Lawmaking by Administrative Agencies (Whitman v. American Trucking) Campaign Finance Reform and Free Speech (McConnel v. FEC) Gun Owner's Rights (United States v. Miller) Civil Liberties Versus National Security (Korematsu v. U.S.) Asset Forfeiture Without Due Process (Bennis v. Michigan) Eminent Domain for Private Use (Kelo v. City of New London) Taking Property by Regulation (Penn Central v . New York) Earning an Honest Living (U.S. v. Carolene Products) Equal Protection and Racial Preferences (Grutter v. Bolinger) As you can see, critical liberties we take for granted are covered, such as what most people consider their "right" to earn an honest living. In fact, as the authors point out, more than 20% of jobs are subject to regulation or licensing requirements - and no matter how stupid or anti-competitive the restrictions, the Court has given the state

A look at how the Supreme Court has botched decisions and eroded our freedoms

I believe you and every American interested in our freedoms and the Supreme Court should read this book. The authors, Robert Levy and William Mellor, pick 12 Supreme Court cases they believe were poorly decided and had detrimental consequences to our society. Each of these cases is given its own chapter and often includes another case as a "dishonorable mention" that they may also reference. Now, we are far too deferential to the Supreme Court and even the Federal Courts. We allow them to "correct society" through rulings that are really super-legislation. This is not in the Constitution and is bad for our society. It allows the legislative branch to avoid its responsibilities, and plants undemocratic sentiments in the hearts and minds of the citizenry. But this is my point of view. Richard Epstein gives a very nice introduction and goes over his views on the cases selected. While he mostly agrees with the authors, he offers up some disagreements and explains why. This helps the reader start his or her critical thinking as they work through the book. Yes, it is written for the general public, but it is reading you will want to read and argue with in your own mind to come to your own conclusions. The book is in two parts. The first talks about cases that have led to the expansion of government. Chapter 1 uses Helvering v Davis (1937) and U.S. v Butler (1936) to discuss the misuse of the general welfare clause. Chapter 2 uses Wickard v. Filburn (1942) and Gonzales v. Raich (2005) to demonstrate the abuse of the clause about regulating interstate commerce. Chapter 3 looks at rescinding private contracts with the 1934 case Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell and the 1935 case Gold Clause Cases. Chapter 4 is an important look at lawmaking by administrative agencies through the 2001 case Whiteman v. American Trucking Association, Inc. Part two is about eroding our freedoms. Chapter 5 examines the infamous efforts at campaign finance reform and free speech. McConnell v. Federal Election Commission 2005 and Buckley v. Valeo in 1976 are explained clearly. Gun owner rights are discussed in chapter 6 using the 1939 case U.S. v. Miller. Of course we are about to get some kind of ruling from our current Supreme Court about the second amendment. Are they going to affirm our rights, deny them or punt? We don't know yet. Chapter 7 is an important look at our civil liberties versus national security using the case Korematsu v. U.S. from 1944. Chapter 8 talks about asset forfeiture without due process using Bennis v. Michigan from 1996. Closely related is eminent domain for private use discussed in chapter 9. The authors use the rotten decision Kelo v. City of New London from 2005 and Berman v. Parker from 1954. Taking property by regulation (a real problem nowadays) uses the cases Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York from 1978 and the Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency from

A great book

The title is misleading. It's not about 12 cases, it's about 12 topics of constitutional abuse, each topic being carefully crafted to teach an abused section of the constitution, along with how that section of the constitution has been abused, complete with the landmark cases: what they were, how they were decided, and how the Supreme Court err'ed on each. As such it's a wonderfully informative book teaching a broad scope of Supreme Court sanctioned constitutional abuse. I found it well written, immensely entertaining, and comprehensive in both its structure and coverage. I couldn't put the book down til reaching the end.

Twelve (+) Bad Cases in One Amazing Book!

When reviewing Epstein's "How Progressives Rewrote the Constitution" I griped that he failed to use the "treasure trove" of case law available to support his argument. Well Levy and Mellor have found it and put it all on display! I was immediately intrigued when I saw the title. What twelve cases would they pick? The title, however, is a tad misleading. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this book is much more than just twelve bad cases. Sure, you get twelve cases and the facts and issues involved but there's a lot more. Liberties aren't destroyed overnight. Levy and Mellor recognize this by breaking the book up into chapters focusing on specific freedoms or clauses in the constitution rather than solely one case. They masterfully focus on one case in each area while also recognizing (through "dishonorable mentions") the precedent that lead to each of the Dirty Dozen. They also detail the repercussions and cases that followed. The effect is that they manage to take a premise, twelve distinct and often unrelated cases, and construct a comprehensive argument for the Court's responsibility in the expansion of our government and erosion of our liberties. This book is an easy read for lawyers who are likely already aware of many of the cases. One of the many successes of this book, however, is its clear enunciation of the issues for those without a legal background. The authors spare no one, regardless of political affiliation, in their analysis of the cases. This is a perfect explanation of the damage the Supreme Court has done to our constitutional form of government in the last century.