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It is the thesis of this book that the recent “liberal” decisions of the Supreme Court have been handed down by politicians rather than jurists; that the members of the present Court are almost wholly without judicial background and experience; that many of their decisions, made with an eye to “minority” votes, have in fact usurped the legislative function and menaced our fundamental liberties.
Starting with 1937, Miss Gordon shows how the makeup of the Court has gradually but noticeably been changing. She shows how and why the Court has been “packed,” and the shocking results that have followed. She discusses the further decline of the Court during the Eisenhower administration. The present Court, she says, is usurping the function of Congress by passing laws rather than interpreting them. Hopefully, however, Miss Gordon discusses the various methods which have been proposed to turn the tide, and she points a way to restricting the Court to its original purpose.
“When I first started to write this book,” she says, “a friend said to me: ‘How do you dare tackle the Supreme Court? You’re not a lawyer—you haven’t even any legal training,’ I replied that I wasn’t interested in the strictly legal nuances of the actions of the nine men on the Court. If I could make clear to myself the magnitude of their assault on our American system and the shocking aid they have given to its greatest enemy—the communist conspiracy—then perhaps the whole sorry story could also be made so clear to my fellow Americans that they would take counsel and act before it is too late to save their liberties.”
From the inside front cover jacket, first edition.
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