Democracy by Decree | Review--Weekly Standard

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Listen to Ross Sandler & David Schoenbrod discuss Democracy by Decree with Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Recorded on 1-15-03.

REVIEWS & COMMENTARY

The Weekly Standard

The Standard Reader
Books in Brief
Democracy by Decree: What Happens When Courts Run Government by Ross Sandler and David Schoenbrod (Yale University Press, 256 pp., $30).
March 3, 2003
Vol. 8, issue 24

By Katherine Mangu-Ward

"Believers in democracy by decree argue that political progress is not fast enough, or cannot be trusted. We thought the same when we were public-interest attorneys, but we were wrong." With these words, Sandler and Schoenbrod open their informative book about how courts and lawyers have come to control many of the most important functions of state and local governments.

Carefully and clearly, they demonstrate how federal courts have weakened the political system by taking control of schools, prisons, and mental hospitals for decades at a time, in the name of high-sounding goals for social reform. The courts are no longer in the business of enforcing rights--they are creating them, and they aren't doing a very good job.

Sandler and Schoenbrod present themselves as sympathetic to those seeking reforms through the courts, but cite examples of "rigid and unrealistic" decrees from "institutional reform litigation." Judges who legislate have no better track record than elected politicians--and have done dramatically worse with special education, environmental protection, medical care, and foster care. Costing millions, these court-supervised programs often end up harming the constituency they were intended to help.

Blurbed by a wide variety of people, "Democracy by Decree" comes highly recommended. But the most striking blurb is from Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City: "A fascinating book for someone like me who regretted agreeing to a court-approved consent decree limiting the city's authority in programs involving prisons, welfare, education, homeless shelters, etc." We regret it too, Mr. Koch.

CRITIAL ACCLAIM FOR DEMOCRACY BY DECREE

“This is a fascinating book for someone like me who regretted agreeing to a court-approved consent decree limiting the city's authority in programs involving prisons, welfare, education, homeless shelters, etc. The authors discuss the topic in an interesting and clear manner making it a read well worth your time.”
—Ed Koch, former mayor,
New York City

“A compelling story with a powerful argument backed by lots of fascinating stories about judicial shipwrecks.”
—James B. Jacobs,
New York University School of Law

“Democracy by Decree shows how courts can protect rights and still let mayors and governors do their job.”
—John Sexton,
president of New York University, and dean of NYU Law School

“An easy to read, insightful and scholarly explanation of how our country's government of the people became a government of the courts. Sandler and Schoenbrod offer a measured and practical prescription for restoring democracy while still honoring rights. This book will appeal to liberals and conservatives alike.”
—Lamar Alexander,
former governor of Tennessee

“Democracy by Decree is an impressive and thoughtful analysis of the current court-centered rights culture in which it is too easy for elected officials to ‘pass the buck’ to courts while taking actions that are blatantly unconstitutional.”
—Nadine Strossen,
President, American Civil Liberties Union and professor, New York Law School

“A brilliant, well-written and brave account of how federal courts have distorted our political system by taking control of complex institutions like schools and prisons-sometimes for decades-instead of enforcing rights, which is their proper domain.”
—Diane Ravitch,
New York University

“Democracy by Decree is a devastating indictment of how high-sounding legal mandates undermine the social goals they purport to guarantee. With fascinating blow-by-blow accounts, Sandler and Schoenbrod expose how advocates for one interest group inevitably undermine the interests of others and thwart the ability of those in responsibility to balance interests for the common good.”
—Philip K. Howard,
Author of The Death of Common Sense

“Sandler and Schoenbrod's account-really a discovery-of the existence of a second government in our midst is meticulous, nuanced, and alarming. By showing how unilateral judicial government undermines both democracy and individual rights, they have done a significant service to both.”
—Christopher DeMuth,
president, American
Enterprise Institute