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Doing the Right Thing examines the use of extraordinary legislative procedures in four cases in the U.S. Congress to accomplish policy objectives that many political scientists would argue are impossible to achieve. It not only shows that Congress is capable of imposing parochial costs in favor of general benefits but it argues that Congress is able to do so in a variety of policy areas through the use of very different kinds of procedural mechanisms that are underappreciated.

The book opens by developing a theory of procedural choice to explain why Congress chooses to delegate in differing degrees in dealing with similar kinds of policy problems. The theory is then applied to four narrative case studies—military base closures, the Yucca Mountain Project, NAFTA, and the Tax Reform Act of 1986—that both show the variety of factors that impact procedural choice and highlight how our national legislature was able to “do the right thing.”

The book concludes by pointing to the variety of ways in which Congress will be confronted with similar policy problems in the coming years and offering some lessons from these cases about what kinds of procedures and policy outcomes we might expect. In short, Congress is remarkably adept at “doing the right thing,” even under difficult circumstances, but only when legislators are willing to manipulate procedures in all the necessary ways.

The making of a Supreme Court justice in the crucible of Alabama politics.

Hugo Black: The Alabama Years by Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton is a richly researched political biography that explores the formative experiences of Hugo L. Black, one of the most influential justices in the history of the United States Supreme Court. Focusing on his early life and career in Alabama, Hamilton traces Black's journey from his rural upbringing and legal training to his emergence as a prominent attorney, politician, and United States senator. Through careful analysis of Alabama's social, economic, and political landscape, the book reveals the forces that shaped Black's ideas about government, democracy, and constitutional rights.

Hamilton examines Black's rise during a period of profound change in the South, highlighting the alliances, controversies, and challenges that defined his political career. The study places Black within the broader context of Progressive Era reform, the transformation of Southern politics, and the expanding role of the federal government in American life. At the same time, it provides a nuanced portrait of a complex public figure whose beliefs and actions continue to inspire debate among historians and legal scholars.

Essential reading for students of legal history, political science, Southern studies, and American government, this volume offers valuable insight into the Alabama roots of a justice who would profoundly influence modern constitutional interpretation and civil liberties jurisprudence.
 
 

Congress and the president are not the only branches that deal with fiscal issues in times of war. In this innovative book, Nancy Staudt focuses on the role of federal courts in fiscal matters during warfare and high-cost national defense emergencies. There is, she argues, a judicial power of the purse that becomes evident upon examining the budgetary effects of judicial decision making. The book provides substantial evidence that judges are willing—maybe even eager—to redirect private monies into government hands when the country is in peril, but when the judges receive convincing cues that ongoing wartime activities undermine the nation’s interests, they are more likely to withhold funds from the government by deciding cases in favor of private individuals and entities who show up in court.

In stark contrast with conventional legal, political, and institutional thought that privileges factors associated with individual preferences, The Judicial Power of the Purse sheds light on environmental factors in judicial decision making and will be an excellent read for students of judicial behavior in political science and law.