Who Decides?

States as Laboratories of Constitutional Experimentation

De: Jeffrey S. Sutton

Narrado por: Jonathan Yen

Everything in law and politics, including individual rights, comes back to divisions of power and the evergreen question: Who decides? Who wins the disputes of the day often turns on who decides them. And our acceptance of the resolution of those disputes often turns on who the decision maker is—because it reveals who governs us.

In Who Decides, the influential US Appellate Court Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton focuses on the constitutional structure of the American states to answer the question of who should decide the key questions of public policy today. By concentrating on the role of governmental structure in shaping power across the fifty American states, Sutton develops a powerful explanation of American constitutional law, in all of its variety, as opposed to just federal constitutional law. Sutton compares state-level governments with the federal government and draws numerous insights from the comparisons. Instead of focusing on individual rights, however, he focuses on structure.

Who Decides makes the case that American Constitutional Law should account for the role of the state courts and state constitutions, together with the federal courts and the federal constitution, in assessing the right balance of power among all branches of government.

©2022 Oxford University Press (P)2022 Tantor

Okay, yet, compared to what?

Hear ye, hear ye. Mr. Judge Sutton is a scholar and a gentleman. To be sure, he is a national treasure [emphasis nonchalant]. Indeed, as the title of this review may suggest, my dear reader, please do not throw me into the briar patch as I am just wrapping up chapter 7 and beginning chapter 8.

Anyway, the literature listing here felt akin to, I am alone, with no review to boot; for, me thinks, I too have begun to gray in my twenty something’s with a certain Newport speech’s legacy indelible.

Ay, the states are the experimental incubation chambers of the republic, and yet litera scripta manet. Maybe, more of a rhetorical question, indulge a refresh, so what’s the comparator again?

Mr. Yen has accomplished a great feat in narrating with, well to do, panache. Okay, I’ll show myself the door now.

With humble gratitude & G-d bless!

BF

Insightful and Pioneering

I have not found many books on the topic of how the Federal and State governments actually relate to each other in practice.

If you find this topic interesting, you will find that this book has insights to share with you.