The Next 25 Years: The New Supreme Court and What It Means for Americans [Hardcover]

Martin Garbus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2007

In The Next 25 Years, renowned First Amendment lawyer Martin Garbus examines what will be the impact of the new Supreme Court on the future of our republic. Drawing on extensive knowledge of Constitutional law and legal precedents, Garbus, one of our most astute legal historians, defrocks the executive branch’s grip over the judiciary as an extension of its own executive powers. He warns of the threat of an incoming "textualist" bench that wishes to roll back more than a century’s worth of hard-won reforms. And he offers the first clear-eyed account of how the coming bench may imperil our way of life and endanger the liberties you may have thought were our inalienable rights.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Perhaps more than even his War on Terror, President George W. Bush's Supreme Court appointments will have a tremendous impact on the country over the next 25 years and beyond, argues noted First Amendment trial lawyer and author Garbus in his latest work, an update of sorts to 2002's Courting Disaster. Taking on conservative critics of "activist courts," Garbus methodically lays out the arguments behind some of the most recent and controversial Supreme Court rulings (many decided by a single vote), showing Supreme Court conservatives turning precedent on its head in case after case. He also analyzes positions taken by newly-appointed Samuel Alito and John Roberts in their pre-Supreme careers, producing laws dating back to the early 1800s that the judges have been willing to change. Garbus cuts right to the heart of what's at stake, including rights to abortion, privacy and religion; states' sovereignty issues; tax reform and others. With crystal-clear reasoning, Garbus sounds a wake-up call for those suspicious of the current administration's long-term plans for the U.S. judiciary.
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About the Author

MARTIN GARBUS has appeared before the United States Supreme Court and the highest courts throughout the nation. He is the subject of the HBO documentary Shouting Fire: Stories From the Edge of Free Speech. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press; First edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583227326
• ISBN-13: 978-1583227329
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,265,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Supreme Court Book Yet, February 20, 2007

By 

Gabriel Motola (new york, ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Next 25 Years: The New Supreme Court and What It Means for Americans (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book. Like his previous book, "Courting Disaster," Martin Garbus tells what really happens in the Supreme Court. He also describes the Court from a political viewpoint and goes through each of the court subjects and shows how each judge comes out. It's detailed, knowledgable and a pleasure to read. I'm not a lawyer, and I loved it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Chilling Analysis of the Future of the Supreme court, February 23, 2007

By 

Babashan "Reader" (Highland Lakes, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Next 25 Years: The New Supreme Court and What It Means for Americans (Hardcover)

In 2000, when the Supreme Court crowned George W. Bush President of the United States, friends of mine argued that Bush would be a one term President and would create little damage to our foreign policy, or to any of our institutions. They were wrong on all counts. In his book, The Next 25 Years: The New Supreme Court and What It Means for Americans, Martin Garbus outlines just how deep and long term the effect of Bush' s Supreme Court appointments will be for our country. With the appointments of Samuel Alito and John Roberts, the court has moved seriously to the right rejecting precedent and chipping away at some of the court's most important rulings regarding privacy, religion and states' rights. Garbus outlines recent court decisions taking the reader through the conservative arguments. He demonstrates how these decisions are part of a conservative plan implemented by the Bush administration's court appointees which will undo major liberal decisions since the Warren court. His analysis is alarming and should be read by everyone who is concerned about the future of our democracy.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant, hard-hitting attack on today's right-wing court, February 7, 2007

By 

Political Fanatic (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Next 25 Years: The New Supreme Court and What It Means for Americans (Hardcover)

It is hard not to be frightened by Martin Garbus' new book. I've been a fan of the legendary Garbuis since his early books (TOUGH TALK and TRAITORS AND HEROES), which covered his swashbuckling career as one of the nation's pre-eminent first amendment lawyers. His clients -- from Lenny Bruce to Vaclac Havel to Spike Lee -- are a list of the powerful and important, and Garbus' work defending them is fascinating. But this book is something different.

Instead of revisiting past cases, Garbus looks to the future -- specifically, what the next quarter century holds for America given the makeup of the incredibly conversative Roberts court. Given the ages of the most conservative members -- Scalia, Roberts, Alito and Thomas -- these guys will be around and voting as a bloc for a long time to come. If you think the Rehnquist years were bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet. What Garbus sees happening as a result is very upsetting -- nothing less than a conservative revolution to undo every progressive decision on the Supreme Court since the New Deal. No more reguolatory laws controlling Wall Street, no more environmental regulation, no more protection for workers and minorities, no more protection for abortion (though this will not be attacked directly), no govrenment agencies regulating American business, nothing whatsoever to balance the private sector run amok and the evils of prejudice and discrimination.

It's a nightmare vision, but it's no nightmare -- it's all to real. And Garbus elucidates the developments, and the history bhind them, in a clear, simple and dramatic way. If you want to know what's going to happen on the Supreme Court -- and therefore in all of our lives -- in the next 25 years, this book will show you the very scary truth. Take it as a call to action. and make sure we don't let any more conservatives on the court for a long time to come!