{"product_id":"the-will-of-the-people-9780374532376","title":"The Will of the People","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn recent years, the justices of the Supreme Court have ruled definitively on such issues as abortion, school prayer, and military tribunals in the war on terror. They decided one of American history's most contested presidential elections. Yet for all their power, the justices never face election, and hold their offices for life. This combination of influence and apparent unaccountability has led many to complain that there is something illegitimate--even undemocratic--about judicial authority.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Will of the People\u003c\/i\u003e, Barry Friedman challenges that claim by showing that the Court has always been subject to a higher power: the American public. Judicial positions have been abolished, the justices' jurisdiction has been stripped, the Court has been packed, and unpopular decisions have been defied. For at least the past sixty years, the justices have made sure that their decisions do not stray too far from public opinion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFriedman's pathbreaking account of the relationship between popular opinion and the Supreme Court--from the Declaration of Independence to the end of the Rehnquist Court in 2005--details how the American people came to accept their most controversial institution and, in so doing, shaped the meaning of the Constitution.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Farrar Strauss \u0026amp; Giroux-3pl\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/17\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780374532376\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 614\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.50w x 1.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/03\/2010 pg. 32\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Barry Friedman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36636661317788,"sku":"9780374532376","price":34.84,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_6700c91d-2cf8-431e-80f4-20e6d1f89a96.jpg?v=1603842572","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-will-of-the-people-9780374532376","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}