Professor Robert Nagel Publishes Book Describing the Driving Force Behind Judicial Activism

Professor Nagel’s fourth and latest book, Unrestrained: Judicial Excess and the Mind of the American Lawyer, explores the driving force behind judicial activism. This book examines judicial appointments over the past 40 years and how despite the fact that they have been largely by republican presidents, activism continues to appear in majority of Supreme Court decisions. Professor Nagel observes that every justice put on the court during that period of time has commented that the court needs to be restrained by applying law, not making it. However, this has not happened in practice. The book explains that the basic reason for this begins with the way we train modern American lawyers. The way that they are trained to think in school removes the restraints and impediments that should bind judges. Judges tend to be very capable, well-educated and successful lawyers. Professor Nagel argues that once they have been socialized by those experiences, it’s hard not to be extremely aggressive in the use of power. The background ideas and assumptions that are at play today are influenced by legal realism movement and critical legal studies. The book notes that these types of judicial decisions often stifle disagreement and censor important beliefs and important traditions. In this way, it is a pertinent issue for all citizens. The book has been hailed by critics as a unique, well-executed, and insightful.