Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 408
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-7425-4311-9 • Paperback • May 2006 • $67.00 • (£52.00)
978-1-4617-1493-4 • eBook • May 2006 • $63.50 • (£49.00)
James B. Staab is a professor of political science at the University of Central Missouri.
Chapter 0 Introduction: Scalia's Distinctive Brand of Conservatism
Chapter 1. Nothing Is Easy: The Road to the Supreme Court
Chapter 2. Separation of Powers and Access to Justice
Chapter 3. Interbranch Conflicts Between Congress and the President
Chapter 4. Executive Power
Chapter 5. The "Politics" of Administration
Chapter 6. The Conservative Role of Judges in a Democratic System of Government
Chapter 7. The "Science" of Interpreting Texts
Chapter 8. Early Hamiltonian Leanings in the Area of Federalism
Chapter 9. The Transformation from a Hamiltonian to a Madisonian in Federalism Disputes
Chapter 10 Conclusion: Scalia's Personality and Statesmanship
Professor Staab has produced a carefully crafted, nuanced portrait of Antonin Scalia—the U.S. Supreme Court's most colorful and influential conservative justice. Comparing Scalia to an equally intriguing American character—Alexander Hamilton— is as original as it is brilliant!
— Barbara A. Perry, Sweet Briar College
James Staab's comprehensive review of Justice Scalia's approach to judging argues that Scalia is a Hamiltonian and forthrightly grapples with Scalia's departures from Hamilton's nationalism. The first major work to move beyond the simplicities of calling Scalia a conservative or a textualist, instead locating Scalia's jurisprudence in American political thought, Staab's book is an invaluable contribution to understanding one of the most important justices on today's Supreme Court.
— Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
In an increasingly crowded field of judicial biographies of Justice Scalia, Professor Staab's book stands out. His factual, intellectual, and sophisticated analysis of the Justice's Hamiltonian Weltanschauung deserves close attention by all seriously desirous of understanding Scalia's uniquely challenging jurisprudence.
— Henry J. Abraham, the James Hart Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia and author of Justices, Presidents, and Senators
This highly sophisticated attempt to link the jurisprudence of Justice Antonin Scalia to the thought of Alexander Hamilton shows the inadequacy of traditional conservative labels. . . . Of definite value for upper-division undergraduates and above . . . [and] essential for law collections.
— Choice Reviews
In the 200-year-history of the Supreme Court, no sitting justice has been the subject of such an extensive scholarly literature, as has Scalia. Through countless articles and numerous book-length treatments a contentious sub-literature has formed that attempts to explain his jurisprudence and effect on the law. … one can only be intrigued by a book that describes Scalia as a Hamiltonian.
— Journal of Law & Politics
... an insightful and very readable analysis of Justice Scalia's jurisprudence, particularly with respect to federalism and separation of powers. Students and specialists alike will find the work useful and illuminating.
— David M. O'Brien, University of Virginia; author of Constitutional Law and Politics
This is a first-rate work of scholarship, analysis, and clear writing.
— Appellate Practice Journal