So Extraordinary, So Unprecedented an Authority : A Conceptual Reconsideration of the Singular Doctrine of Judicial Review

Because the Constitution is the foundation of American government, the political body that interprets and applies that venerable document possesses an extremely potent tool for shaping the American landscape. This tool, known as judicial review, allows the United States Supreme Court to pass judgment not only upon the actions of individual citizens but also upon the actions of the other branches of federal and state government. This authority inevitably leads to criticism of the way the Court implements this power. The author, after delivering a trenchant analysis of the way in which a judicial reviewing power was viewed in America both before and shortly after the framing of the Constitution, provides a new method for reviewing incidents of judicial review. In addition, the author demonstrates the utility of this new method by applying it to two of the most controversial cases in American legal history - Dred Scott v. John F.A. Sandford and Roe v. Wade