Is the Supreme Court’s Role Overstated?

In Engines of Liberty, David Cole trains a light on civil society as a more reliable agent of constitutional change.

Michael O’Donnell

What’s the Point of a Supreme Court Dissent?

A recent book shows that, before Antonin Scalia, dissents were valuable to the Court. Now they may be endangering the institution.

Michael O’Donnell

Fortune’s Son

Why the line from Barry Goldwater to Ted Cruz runs over Nelson Rockefeller.

Michael O’Donnell

Letters

Our Readers and Michael O’Donnell

Roberts’s Rules of Order

Marcia Coyle’s damning study of the Roberts Court’s conservative agenda.

Michael O’Donnell

Off-Key: On Paul Elie

Can recordings of classical music ever be in concert with concert hall performances?

Michael O’Donnell

Raw Judicial Power: On William Rehnquist

The Partisan is a weak account of the career and legal thinking of a conservative and obstreperous chief justice.

Michael O’Donnell

From ‘Brown’ to ‘Lawrence’: On the Struggle for Gay Civil Rights

Dale Carpenter’s exceptional account of the history of Lawrence v. Texas.

Michael O’Donnell

Crime and Punishment: On William Stuntz

A lack of local democracy and equal protection has led to the collapse of the American criminal justice system.

Michael O’Donnell

Shostakovich’s Ambivalence

The musical and political strands of Dmitri Shostakovich’s life were intertwined like the braids of a noose.

Michael O’Donnell