[Mb-civic] Role Reversal and the High Court - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Role Reversal and the High Court

By Cass R. Sunstein
Sunday, July 10, 2005; Page B07

Debates about the Supreme Court have become eerily reminiscent of those 
a half-century ago. Having acquired power, conservatives are showing the 
same high ambitions as liberals did in the court's most pivotal period.

In the 1930s liberals despised the exercise of judicial power. For over 
two decades, an activist Supreme Court had proved an obstacle to 
progressive legislation, including laws covering minimum wages, maximum 
hours and child labor. Much of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal was in 
constitutional jeopardy.

<>Led by professor Felix Frankfurter and Attorney General Robert 
Jackson, liberals argued for judicial restraint. They contended the 
Supreme Court should not seize on ambiguous constitutional provisions to 
strike down legislation. They objected that the federal judiciary was 
engaged in politics, not law. They argued that the Constitution should 
not be interpreted to entrench political commitments.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/08/AR2005070801688.html 

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