New Frontiers of State Constitutional Law
Dual Enforcement of Norms
James A Gardner editor Jim Rossi editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:24th Oct '11
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
New Frontiers of State Constitutional Law: Dual Enforcement of Norms, edited by James A. Gardner and Jim Rossi, projects a new vision for state constitutional law through a collection of essays that reflect a shift in legal thinking about the relationship between national and subnational systems of constitutional law. This work charts a new course that gives voice to a recent, rising chorus of dissent among scholars and judges, namely that national and subnational systems of constitutional law cannot be adequately understood in isolation from one another. To the contrary, they are linked in a web of jurisprudential, social, and pragmatic connections structured by the American system of federalism. Here, multiple layers of constitutional law function together in a complex, interdependent process in which constitutional norms are developed, articulated, and enforced. The essays illuminate the role that state constitutions must play in any theory of federalism, and exemplify a fresh approach to state constitutionalism by discussing a range of issues, including recent debates regarding state constitutional protections for same-sex marriage. The entire work embraces the struggle between state and national power for dominance in American law and places both on equal ground. It contends that constitutional meaning in a federal system is never static and that it evolves over time. In addition to covering methods of judicial review, it discusses the handling of constitutional claims by courts at the state and national level and closely examines the way that courts and constitutions protect individual rights in a federal system.
"This is an outstanding collection of essays on the problems posed by the fact that too often constitutional theorists and teachers focus exclusively on the United States Constitution while ignoring the constitutions of the fifty states. In reality, American constitutional law embraces both the national constitution and the state constitutions. The essays are all truly illuminating, deserving wide readership and, more importantly, discussion of their often challenging arguments." --Sanford Levinson University of Texas Law School and Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin "This work breaks important new ground in constitutional law. Although the federal Constitution provided exclusive focus for most of our history, more recently state constitutions have drawn attention, but were distinguished from the federal document and analyzed separately. These essays, written by leading figures in state constitutional law and federalism, refocus the analysis and reveal the more complex, interrelated and evolving nature of American constitutional federalism. They will be essential to future discussions of state and federal constitutional law." --Robert F. Williams Distinguished Professor of Law, Rutgers University School of Law, Camden "This work is an essential resource for anyone interested in the study of state constitutional law. Essays authored by some of the most distinguished scholars in the field set forth the innovative thesis that state and federal constitutional law must be viewed together as partners in a complex, collective enterprise of constitutional self-government, rather than as distinct areas of jurisprudence. The work both fundamentally rewrites our theoretical understanding of state constitutional law while providing fresh new and important insights into such topical issues as the constitutionality of prohibitions on same-sex marriage and the role of the states in enforcing federal regulatory mandates." --William P. Marshall Kenan Professor of Law, University of North Carolina
ISBN: 9780195368321
Dimensions: 163mm x 236mm x 20mm
Weight: 454g
192 pages