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Community Rights
Counsel |
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If federalism is about protecting the states, why not listen to them? In
the last decade, the Supreme Court has reworked significant areas of constitutional
law with the professed purpose of protecting the dignity and authority of
the states, while frequently disregarding the states' views as to what federalism
is all about. The Court, according to the states, is protecting federalism
too much and too little. Too much, in striking down federal law where even
the states recognize that a federal role is necessary to address a national
problem. Too little, in inappropriately limiting state experimentation.
Community Rights Counsel, a Washington DC-based public interest law firm that helps state and local officials defend health, welfare, and environmental protections against constitutional challenges, has written a ground-breaking book that redefines federalism and reaffirms Justice Louis Brandeis's vision of states and localities as the laboratories of democracy. Redefining Federalism: Listening to the States in Shaping "Our Federalism," argues that reinvigorating and empowering state and local governments is a constitutionally appropriate and promising avenue for advancing causes such as environmental protection. The book also provides a road map for a Supreme Court jurisprudence that enhances federalism and the role of states and local governments as sites of democratic experimentation. By listening more carefully to the states in crafting its federalism jurisprudence, the Court could transform its most important jurisprudential legacy from a source of criticism and polarization to a doctrine that should win broad support from across the political spectrum. The Harvard Law Review called Redefining Federalism "a refreshing and welcome contribution to a debate that is sure to continue." A brief overview of the themes of Redefining Federalism was published in the July 2005 issue of Environmental Law Reporter, and is available here. You can purchase the book, read excerpts from the chapters, or read about the contributing authors.
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