Contemporary Questions Surrounding the Constitutional Amending Process - by John R Vile (Hardcover)

About the Book

This study examines contemporary questions surrounding the process by which the U.S. Constitution can be amended. Beginning with a description of the mechanism and history of the constitutional amending process in America, the work considers five major questions surrounding the amending process. The question of justiciability: whether the courts should have authority to settle amending issues or whether they are political questions beyond the court's purview. The question of standards: what standards of review should be used. The question of safety: the safety of invoking the constitutional convention mechanism. The question of exclusivity: whether there are legal means of changing the Constitution short of Article V. And the question of limitations: whether there are any unstated constitutional limits on the amending process.

Book Synopsis

This study examines contemporary questions surrounding the process by which the U.S. Constitution can be amended. Beginning with a description of the mechanism and history of the constitutional amending process in America, the work considers five major questions surrounding the amending process. The question of justiciability: whether the courts should have authority to settle amending issues or whether they are political questions beyond the court's purview. The question of standards: what standards of review should be used. The question of safety: the safety of invoking the constitutional convention mechanism. The question of exclusivity: whether there are legal means of changing the Constitution short of Article V. And the question of limitations: whether there are any unstated constitutional limits on the amending process.

Review Quotes

?This work is also useful for its synthesis and critical review of the writings and theories of various other scholars and their works. Because of its comprehensive bibliography and wide-range synthesis of related writing, this book will be of particular interest to researchers on the amending process, but it can also be enjoyed by anyone interested in the myriad issues surrounding Article V and its provisions. All levels.?-Choice, December 1993

"This work is also useful for its synthesis and critical review of the writings and theories of various other scholars and their works. Because of its comprehensive bibliography and wide-range synthesis of related writing, this book will be of particular interest to researchers on the amending process, but it can also be enjoyed by anyone interested in the myriad issues surrounding Article V and its provisions. All levels."-Choice, December 1993

About the Author

JOHN R. VILE is Professor and Chair in the Department of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. His many articles have appeared in journals such as The Journal of Law & Politics, The American Journal of Legal History, and The National Law Journal. In addition, he is the author of three books on the U.S. Constitution: Rewriting the United States Constitution (Praeger, 1991), The Constitutional Amending Process in American Political Thought (Praeger, 1992), and A Companion to the United States Constitution and Its Amendments (Praeger, 1993).