Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution

by John Paul Stevens

Overview

For the first time ever, a retired Supreme Court Justice offers a manifesto on how the Constitution needs to change.

By the time of his retirement in June 2010, John Paul Stevens had become the second longest serving Justice in the history of the Supreme Court. Now he draws upon his more than three decades on the Court, during which he was involved with many of the defining decisions of the modern era, to offer a book like none other. Six Amendments is an absolutely unprecedented call to arms, detailing six specific ways in which the Constitution should be amended in order to protect our democracy and the safety and wellbeing of American citizens.

Written with the same precision and elegance that made Stevens's own Court opinions legendary for their clarity as well as logic, Six Amendments is a remarkable work, both because of its unprecedented nature and, in an age of partisan ferocity, its inarguable common sense.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316373722
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	04/22/2014
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	411,813
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Justice John Paul Stevens served on U.S. Supreme Court from 1975 until his retirement in 2010. He is the third-longest serving Justice in American history. Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1920, Stevens served in the United States Navy during World War II and graduated from Northwestern University School of Law. He was appointed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 1970 by President Richard Nixon and to the Supreme Court in 1975 by Gerald Ford. He was the author of two other books, Five Chiefs and The Making of a Justice. Justice Stevens passed away in 2019.

Table of Contents

Prologue 3

Chapter I The "Anti-Commandeering" Rule 19

Chapter II Political Gerrymandering 43

Chapter III Campaign Finance 77

Chapter IV Sovereign Immunity 111

Chapter V The Death Penalty 149

Chapter VI The Second Amendment (Gun Control) 173

Appendix: Constitution of the United States 187

Acknowledgments 239

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE FIVE CHIEFS:

"Informative and very appealing....It's classic justice Stevens: understated and generous to those he differs with, but absolutely clear on where he believes justice lies."
— Adam Cohen, Time

"Laced with observations on the court's architecture, traditions and even its seating arrangements, it is the collected ruminations of a man who has served his country in war and peace, across the decades... His memoir is as gracious as its author and a reminder that Stevens is more than a longtime member of the nation's highest court. He is a national treasure."
— Jim Newton, Los Angeles Times

"An important addition to American history....At its core, the book is not just another memoir from yet another judge. It marks instead the end of an era on the Supreme Court and in the broader swath of American law and politics."
— Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic

"Coming from the last of a dying breed of jurists who genuinely believe you can learn something from everyone if you just listen hard enough, it is a lesson in how, at the Supreme Court, civility and cordiality matter more, even, than doctrine."
— Dahlia Lithwick, Washington Post

From the Publisher

2014-03-18
The former Supreme Court justice proposes constitutional changes to restore the old republic. Provocative only begins to describe Stevens' (Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir, 2011, etc.) program. Perhaps the most controversial is the constitutional amendment that, after surveying the history of amendments generally, he saves for last—namely, to rewrite the Second Amendment so that it indisputably speaks to the intention of the Founders: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms when serving in the Militia shall not be infringed." The italics are Stevens'—the strongest reaction to this proposed change is sure to come from devoted NRA members. In fact, that change would likely spell political suicide if forwarded by a sitting elected legislator, but Stevens, retired from the bench for several years, is above the fray. He can therefore safely advance another likely nonstarter, given the prevailing circumstances: another amendment, this one prohibiting partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts, which allowed the Democrats to win the plurality of votes but the Republicans to control the House in the last election. Though clearly of blue-state leanings, Stevens is evenhanded: He no more approves of Democratic gerrymandering than Republican. The author's prose is sometimes lawyerly, but more often, it is plain and to the point: "[T]here is no reason why partisans should be permitted to draw lines that have no justification other than enhancing their own power." That plain talk extends to his arguments for limiting money given to those in power—overturning Citizens United in the bargain—and controlling states-rightist impulses to nullify federal authority and declare sovereign immunity. A refreshing set of opinions. One wishes that other retired justices would speak their minds so clearly, providing well-crafted arguments for others to take up.

Kirkus Reviews