We Dissent: Talking Back to the Rehnquist Court, Eight Cases That Subverted Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

The lawyers and legal commentators who contribute to We Dissent unanimously agree that during Chief Justice William Rehnquist's nineteen-year tenure, the Supreme Court failed to adequately protect civil liberties and civil rights. This is evident in majority opinions written for numerous cases heard by the Rehnquist Court, and eight of those cases are re-examined here, with contributors offering dissents to the Court's decisions. The Supreme Court opinions criticized in We Dissent suggest that the Rehnquist Court placed the interests of government above the people, and as the dissents in this book demonstrate, the Court strayed far from our constitutional ideals when it abandoned its commitment to the protection of the individual rights of Americans. Each chapter focuses on a different case—ranging from torture to search and seizure, and from racial profiling to the freedom of political expression—with contributors summarizing the case and the decision, and then offering their own dissent to the majority opinion. For some cases featured in the book, the Court's majority decisions were unanimous, so readers can see here for the first time what a dissent might have looked like. In other cases, contributors offer alternative dissents to the minority opinion, thereby widening the scope of opposition to key civil liberties decision made by the Rehnquist Court. Taken together, the dissents in this unique book address the pressing issue of Constitutional protection of individual freedom, and present a vision of constitutional law in the United States that differs considerably from the recent jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court. Contributors: Michael Avery, Erwin Chemerinsky,Marjorie Cohn, Tracey Maclin, Eva Paterson, Jamin Raskin, David Rudovsky, Susan Kiyomi Serrano, and Abbe Smith.

About the Author :
Michael Avery is Professor at Suffolk University Law School in Boston and a past president of the National Lawyers Guild. He was a civil rights and criminal defense lawyer for nearly thirty years before joining the Suffolk faculty in 1998. He is co-author of Police Misconduct: Law and Litigation and Handbook of Massachusetts Evidence.

Review :
We Dissent boldly takes the Constitution back from the Rehnquist Court that has reneged on its promises, and eloquently shows us what the Constitution can be at its best — a progressive guardian of liberty, equality, and justice for the most vulnerable. - David Cole,author of Enemy Aliens: Double Standards and Constitutional Freedoms in the War on Terrorism We have long been plagued with an ultra-conservative Supreme Court, and it is refreshing to find this collection of dissenting views, astute and bold, from constitutional scholars. They have been judiciously edited by Michael Avery, a veteran of courtroom battles for civil liberties, and they bring us back to basic principles of equality and justice. This book is a veritable course in constitutional law and an important contribution to the national debate on the rights of citizens. - Howard Zinn,author of A People's History of the United States: 1492-present The volume is a fine meditation on the values at stake in, and the impact of, modern Supreme Court decision making. Each dissent is preceded by a summary of the case and majority opinion. (Choice) We Dissent reminds lawyers that we have a responsibility to think independently and dissent vigorously, and it reminds nonlawyers that good citizenship requires engagement, independence, and, sometimes, dissent. . . . [A]n important contribution to our democratic dialogue. (Trial) Whether you agree with the courts opinions or the & dissents, you will find the book provocative. (Sunday Star Ledger)