About this item
Highlights
- From a leading constitutional lawyer who has sued every president since LBJ, a masterful explication of the true "pillars of our democracy" On November 9, 2016--and again on January 6, 2021--many Americans feared that our democracy was on the verge of collapse.
- About the Author: Burt Neuborne is the Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties and founding legal director of NYU School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice and has participated in more than two hundred cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.
- 192 Pages
- Freedom + Security / Law Enforcement, Constitutional
Description
About the Book
A visionary legal scholar's clear-eyed but reassuring defense of the Constitution's power to withstand an authoritarian president.Book Synopsis
From a leading constitutional lawyer who has sued every president since LBJ, a masterful explication of the true "pillars of our democracy"On November 9, 2016--and again on January 6, 2021--many Americans feared that our democracy was on the verge of collapse. But is it? In an erudite and brilliant evaluation of the current state of our government, noted constitutional scholar Burt Neuborne administers a stress test to democracy and concludes that our unprecedented sets of constitutional protections, all endorsed by both major parties, stand between us and an authoritarian federal regime: namely the division of powers between the three branches, the rights reserved to the states, and the Bill of Rights.
Neuborne parses the genius of our constitutional system and the ways its built-in resilience will ultimately survive current attempts to dismantle it. While many important issue areas--women's right to choose, LGBTQ rights, separation of church and state--risk erosion, Neuborne argues that the Constitution's inherent defense mechanisms can buy us time. But only an active citizenry will enable us to defend our cherished rights and protections, fulfilling Ben Franklin's charge to keep our republic.
Review Quotes
Praise for When at Times the Mob Is Swayed:
His pragmatic tone and realistic approach to what needs to change, and why, makes for a nuanced discussion of civic minutiae, current affairs and historical context that is approachable.
--Shelf Awareness (Starred Review)
Praise for Burt Neuborne's Madison's Music:
A veteran civil liberties lawyer delivers the sobering message.... Neuborne sees how different readings and interpretations of the Constitution will always cause problems. The Constitution is not above politics; it is often shaped by it.... [T]imely, frightening, and, hopefully, galvanizing reading.
--Kirkus Reviews
Neuborne's elegant book... provides an important guide, grounded in the First Amendment itself, for those working toward an electoral system more deserving of the label of democracy.
--David Cole, The New York Review of Books
[A] detailed history of the transformation of First Amendment law.
--Adam Liptak, The New York Times
A bold new approach to Interpreting the Constitution.
--The Huffington Post
An urgent message that deserves a wide readership.
--Kirkus Reviews
[E]legantly examines James Madison's intent when he initially drafted the First Amendment
--Erwin Chemerinsky, The Chronicle of Higher Education
About the Author
Burt Neuborne is the Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties and founding legal director of NYU School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice and has participated in more than two hundred cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. Neuborne is the author of Madison's Music and When at Times the Mob Is Swayed: A Citizen's Guide to Defending Our Republic (both from The New Press) and lives in New York.