AEI is rereleasing some of its most prescient and groundbreaking works from its earliest thinkers and innovators. These books, part of a series called AEI Classics, are available for download as Adobe Acrobat PDFs.
Among the purposes for which "we the people . . . [did] ordain and establish this Constitution," according to the Preamble, was the intention "to establish Justice." Although the Constitution nonwhere explains just how this is to be done, American political tradition associates the establishment of justice with a strong, independent judiciary.
According to one view, justice is done when the courts observe and enforce the civil and political rights and procedures spelled out in the Constitution--nothing more, nothing less. another contemporary school of thought suggests that the courts must incorporate new notions of right and morality into their rulings, particularly in new circumstances never contemplated by the founders.
What begins as an inquiry into the role of the courts becomes an inquiry into the fundamental principles of the regime. Seven prominent scholars reflect on how the courts should understand and promote justice.
Robert A. Goldwin is a resident scholar of constitutional studies at AEI.
Table of Contents
The Editors and Authors Preface
The Politics of Original Intention How the Constitution Establishes Justice Justing as the Securing of Rights Reconciling Different Views about Constitutional Interpretation "Interpeting" the Constitution Difficulties of Equal Dignity: The Court and the Family Constitutional Interpretation and Regime Principles
In Making a Killing: The Deadly Implications of the Counterfeit Drug Trade, AEI resident fellow Roger Bate analyzes the burgeoning international trade in counterfeit drugs and recommends steps that governments and law enforcement agencies could take to stop it.
The promise of "healthy aging" offers significant opportunities for economic growth and development for Europe in the decades ahead--if governments and citizens are willing to grasp them.