Mark Tushnet
A Court Divided
The Rehnquist Court and the Future of Constitutional Law
"An incisive consideration of the
Supremes, offering erudite yet
accessible clues to legal thinking on
the most important level."
—Kirkus Reviews
IN THIS AUTHORITATIVE reckoning with the
eighteen-year record of the Rehnquist Court, Georgetown
law professor Mark Tushnet reveals how the
decisions of nine deeply divided justices have left the
future of the Court—and the nation—hanging in
the balance.
Many have assumed that the chasm on the Court
has been between its liberals and its conservatives. In
reality, the division was between those in tune with
the modern post-Reagan Republican Party and those
who, though considered to be in the Court's center,
represent an older Republican tradition. As a result,
the Court has modestly promoted the agenda of
today's economic conservatives, but has regularly
defeated the agenda of social issues conservatives—
while paving the way for more radically conservative
path in the future.
"A balanced, insightful assessment of the dynamics
of [the] Supreme court . . . In this calm, unbiased
study, Tushnet explains clearly how and why the
Supreme Court reflects the nation's uneasy political
consensus."—Publishers Weekly
MARK TUSHNET is the Carmack Waterhouse
Professor of Constitutional Law at
Georgetown University Law Center. He lives
in Washington, DC.
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