Beacon Press: I Dissent
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I Dissent

Great Opposing Opinions in Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Editor: Mark Tushnet

From Dred Scott to Lawrence v. Texas and more, the most famous Supreme Court dissents, collected in one volume for the first time

If American history can truly be traced through the majority decisions in landmark Supreme Court cases, then what about the dissenting opinions? In issues of race, gender, privacy, workers’ rights, and more, would advances have been impeded or failures rectified if the dissenting opinions were in fact the majority opinions?

In offering thirteen famous dissents—from Marbury v. Madison and Brown v. Board of Education to Griswold v. Connecticut and Lawrence v. Texas, each edited with the judges’ eloquence preserved—renowned Supreme Court scholar Mark Tushnet reminds us that court decisions are not pronouncements issued by the utterly objective, they are in fact political statements from highly intelligent but partisan people. Tushnet introduces readers to the very concept of dissent in the courts and then provides useful context for each case, filling in gaps in the Court’s history and providing an overview of the issues at stake. After each case, he considers the impact the dissenting opinion would have had, if it had been the majority decision.

Lively and accessible, I Dissent offers a radically fresh view of the judiciary in a collection that is essential reading for anyone interested in American history.
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“An important reminder that strong challenges have been made to the best and worst in American constitutional development and that responsibility for the best lies as much in the citizenry as Supreme Court justices.” —Mark A. Graber, author of Dred Scott and the Problem of Constitutional Evil

Reviews

Review: Library Journal - July 15, 2008
“The value of this book is in Tushnet's excellent commentary—worth a book of its own. Thus, it should be considered by larger public libraries.”

Review: Publisher's Weekly - April 28, 2008
"Harvard law professor Tushnet is a rigorous scholar, able to explain creative and often provocative constitutional theory in accessible language...In looking at dissents dealing with civil rights, school desegregation and the reach of government into consensual private conduct, Tushnet examines this process and the pitfalls that face justices trying to predict the future. Tushnet offers no small thing: a different way to think about the role of the Supreme Court in American life. " Read Full Review
Review by: Dahlia Lithwick, Slate - April 15, 2008
"Several readers call for more reporting about the atmospherics at court during oral argument. Harvard Law School's Mark Tushnet, whose book, I Dissent . . . includes among his great suggestions 'giving readers a take on the tone of argument without over predicting outcomes from that tone.'" Read the article "Court Orders: Slate readers weigh in on how to fix Supreme Court reporting" in which I Dissent is mentioned

I Dissent

ISBN: 978-080700036-6
 Publication Date: 6/1/2008
 Pages: 256
 Size:5.5 x 8.5 Inches (US)
Price:  $20.00
Format: Paperback
Availability: In stock.
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