cover image With Liberty & Justice for SOM

With Liberty & Justice for SOM

David Kairys. New Press, $12.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-1-56584-059-1

In this detailed but accessible analysis of several recent major civil rights and civil liberties cases, lawyer and editor Kairys ( The Politics of Law: A Progressive Critique ) criticizes not only conservative justices but also liberals who ignore ``the decay of democracy in our society and culture.'' Despite what he calls some ``narrowly'' pro-free speech decisions, Kairys emphasizes how the Court has restricted speech by allowing bans on leafleting and soliciting funds in places like malls and airports. In a sharp critique of Court decisions weakening affirmative action, he observes that there is no absolute freedom: ``All racial progress has meant imposing limits on the freedom and interests of the majority.'' In an interesting defense of the legal reasoning behind Roe v. Wade , he skewers conservative Justice Antonin Scalia for the tone of his invective against Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. But Kairys considers liberal justices just as selective and inconsistent as conservatives. He suggests that representative democracy be invigorated by reforms such as publicly funded campaigns; however, it is not clear how his sketchy proposals will necessarily achieve his liberal goals. (May)