Supreme Damages: Rescuing Representative Government from Judicial Overreach

 Supreme Damages: Rescuing Representative Government from Judicial Overreach, Thurman Leonard Smith, Independently Published, 2021

For many years, there have been complaints about the US Supreme Court. Under conservative and liberal majorities, it has been accused of judicial overreach, or simply going too far. It's job is supposed to be to interpret existing law and the US Constitution. It is not supposed to make new laws. That's what this book is all about.

Roe v. Wade is here, along with Bush v. Gore. National Federation of Independent Business et al. v. Sebelius (the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act) is also here.

Have you ever wondered how children born on American soil, even if their parents are undocumented, can automatically become US citizens? That comes from a case called Plyler v. Doe.

If a state wants to change the law about public morality, for instance, the right way to do it is to go through the state legislature, or by holding a state-wide referendum. Using the courts is not the way to do it. Lawrence v. Texas, in 2003, legalized same-sex sexual activity. That led to 2015's Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage, nationwide.

The Comprehensive Crime Control Act allows law enforcement agencies to divide seized cash and other assets. The threshold for suspicion is extremely low, and encourages law enforcement to abuse the power. It's called civil asset forfeiture. In Bennis v. Michigan, a man had sex with a prostitute in the back of his car. The car was "guilty," so it, and not the owner, was punished (the car was forfeited).

This is a very interesting book. The author sticks to the facts as much as possible, chronicling the travels of a case through the legal system. For those whose only exposure to Supreme Court cases is through TV news reports. this book is well worth checking out.