Judging Democracy / / Christopher Manfredi, Mark Rush.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Toronto Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Manfredi, Christopher,; Rush, Mark,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2019]; ©2013
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (160 p.)

In Judging Democracy, Christopher Manfredi and Mark Rush challenge assertions that the Canadian and American Supreme Courts have taken radically different approaches to constitutional interpretation regarding general and democratic rights. Three case studies compare Canadian and American law concerning prisoners' voting rights, the scope and definition of voting rights, and campaign spending. These examples demonstrate that the two Supreme Courts have engaged in essentially the same debates concerning the franchise, access to the ballot, and the concept of a "meaningful" vote. They reveal that the American Supreme Court has never been entirely individualistic in its interpretation and protection of constitutional rights and that there are important similarities in the two Supreme Courts' approaches to constitutional interpretation. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that an astonishing convergence has occurred in the two courts' thinking concerning the integrity of the democratic process and the need for the judiciary to monitor legislative attempts to regulate the political process in order to promote or ensure political equality. Growing numbers of justices in both courts are now wary of legislative attempts to cloak laws designed to protect incumbents through electoral reform. Judging Democracy thus points to a new direction not only in judicial review and constitutional interpretation but also in democratic theory.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Chapter One. Differences That Matter? -- Chapter Two. Of Real and "Self-Proclaimed" Democracies -- Chapter Three. The Scope and Definition of the Franchise -- Chapter Four. A Tale of Two Campaign Spending Decisions -- Chapter Five. Judicial Struggles with Democracy and the Unbearable Lightness of Process -- Bibliography -- Index