The Presidency and the Constitution: Cases and Controversies

by M. Genovese, R. Spitzer

Overview

This comprehensive case law book examines the evolution of judicial interpretation of the scope and limitations of presidential power. From interbranch struggles for power, to presidential selection, to campaign financing, to war powers, hardly an issue arises for the modern presidency that does not eventually find itself framed as a legal problem to be addressed by the courts. Each section provides an introduction providing background and framework for students. Throughout, the analysis is informed by the view that court decisions are framed by legal arguments and constitute legal issuances and are also framed by politics, and have profound political consequences. Coinciding with a broader intellectual and disciplinary return to institutions and law as key to understanding the presidency and modern politics, this book will find special favour among scholars who teach courses on the presidency and related areas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403966735
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	09/06/2005
Edition description:	2005
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	7.52(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.04(d)

About the Author

MICHAEL A. GENOVESE holds the Loyola Chair of Leadership and is Professor of Political Science at Loyola Marymount University, USA.

ROBERT J. SPITZER is Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Creation of the Presidency in the Constitutional System Presidential-Court Clashes: The Cases of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton Congress Separation of Powers The War Power and Commander-in-Chief Executive Privilege Domestic Policy Administrative Powers Selection/Election Budgeting/Economy Foreign Policy Powers Conclusion: The Political Law of the Presidency

Editorial Reviews

"The Presidency and the Constitution fills a real need. It should be welcomed into many political science courses on the presidency, constitutional law, and the separation of powers. The constitutional dimension of the modern presidency is too important to ignore, and this volume provides essential materials for understanding it."

- Keith E. Whittington, Princeton Univesity

"Genovese and Spitzer do a fine job of placing key judicial rulings in a rich political setting, emphasizing throughout that the courts share with other branches (and the public) the complex task of shaping constitutional values and boundaries."

- Louis Fisher, author of American Constitutional Law

"The Presidency and the Constitution explores presidential power and leadership from an underutilized platform: Supreme Court Cases. From Marbury v. Madison through Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, the expansive appeal of this book results from Genovese and Spitzer's discussions of separation of powers, checks and balances and the intersection of politics and the courts. This book will be a wonderful supplement to presidency courses, politics and law courses as well as constitutional law classes as the authors effectively demonstrate how the Court is "aiding and abetting an expansive view of presidential power."

- Diane J. Heith, Department of Government and Politics, St. John's University

"The Presidency and the Constitution: Cases and Controversies makes a unique and important contribution to presidency studies. Its extensive excerpts from court cases about the American presidency permit readers to draw their own conclusions about judicial limitations on presidential power. Students and faculty alike will find this text richly informative."

- Meena Bose, Associate Professor of Political Science, United States Military Academy

"Genovese and Spitzer, two eminent scholars of public law and the presidency, have judiciously selected, carefully edited, and insightfully illuminated the crucial constitutional cases concerning the presidency. Their book is a guide to both expansive and constraining interpretations of the essential Supreme Court cases. If you want the most important cases on the presidency, carefully organized and clearly presented in one place, this book is for you." - - James P. Pfiffner, George Mason University

"Michael Genovese and Bob Spitzer's Presidency and the Constitution is a brilliant reminder of the indispensable role of checks, balances and political accountability in a constitutional democracy. Theirs is a splendid, accessible, readable volume of landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings and keen interpretation - all focused on the increasingly presidency-centered American political system."

- Thomas E. Cronin, McHugh Professor of American Institutions, Colorado College

From the Publisher