Judging democracy
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Judging democracy
Broadview Press, c2008
Available at 2 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In Judging Democracy, Christopher Manfredi and Mark Rush challenge assertions that the Canadian and American Supreme Courts have taken radically different approaches to constitutional interpretation regarding general and democratic rights. Three case studies compare Canadian and American law concerning prisoners' voting rights, the scope and definition of voting rights, and campaign spending. These examples demonstrate that the two Supreme Courts have engaged in essentially the same debates concerning the franchise, access to the ballot, and the concept of a "meaningful" vote. They reveal that the American Supreme Court has never been entirely individualistic in its interpretation and protection of constitutional rights and that there are important similarities in the two Supreme Courts' approaches to constitutional interpretation. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that an astonishing convergence has occurred in the two courts' thinking concerning the integrity of the democratic process and the need for the judiciary to monitor legislative attempts to regulate the political process in order to promote or ensure political equality.
Growing numbers of justices in both courts are now wary of legislative attempts to cloak laws designed to protect incumbents through electoral reform. Judging Democracy thus points to a new direction not only in judicial review and constitutional interpretation but also in democratic theory.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Differences That Matter? Canadian Misreading of American Constitutionalism 2. Of Real and "Self-Proclaimed" Democracies: Differing Approaches to Criminal Disenfranchisement 3. The Scope and Definition of the Franchise 4. A Tale of Two Campaign Spending Decisions 5. Judicial Struggles with Democracy and the Unbearable Lightness of Process Bibliography Index
by "Nielsen BookData"