Governing from the Bench

The Supreme Court of Canada and the Judicial Role

By: Emmett Macfarlane

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Hardcover | 5 December 2012

At a Glance

Hardcover
264 Pages

Age
22+

Dimensions(cm)
23.5 x 16.51 x 2.54

Hardcover

$216.75

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As Canada's final court of appeal, the Supreme Court is a
crucial component of the country's legal system. Yet, for much of
its almost 140-year history, the highest court in the land dwelled in
relative obscurity. More than thirty years since the advent of the
"Charter of Rights and Freedoms, " which transformed the
court's function and thrust its work into the national spotlight,
many of us are still in the dark about the Supreme Court's role
-- in part because there has been relatively little empirical
investigation into how the institution works.
In "Governing from the Bench, " Emmett Macfarlane draws on
interviews with current and former justices, law clerks, and other
staff members of the court to shed light on the institution's
internal environment and decision-making processes. He explores the
complex role of the Supreme Court as an institution; exposes the rules,
conventions, and norms that shape and constrain its justices'
behaviour; and situates the court in its broader governmental and
societal context, as it relates to the elected branches of government,
the media, and the public. At once enlightening and engaging,
"Governing from the Bench" is a much-needed and comprehensive
exploration of an institution that touches the lives of all
Canadians.Emmett Macfarlane is an assistant professor in the
Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.

Industry Reviews

Macfarlane describes the aim of his book as being to "open the black box"; suffice it to say that he has done so masterfully by synthesizing earlier research and supplementing it with his own extensive work. He has produced not a meditation on how Supreme Court judging should work, but an empirical examination of how it does work, with important contributions from the point of view of the participants themselves ... Governing from the Bench is a gem of a book for anyone seeking to understand how power is exercised by the judiciary - an audience that should include everyone. -- Bob Tarantino * Literary Review of Canada, January-February 2014 *

Macfarlane has made an original foray into the intricacies of Supreme Court decision making. Governing from the Bench has gone to considerable lengths towards opening the Supreme Court's "black box," and in doing so has brought historical institutionalism into the mainstream of the study of Canadian law and politics. I highly recommend it.

-- Dave Snow, University of Calgary * Canadian Journal of Political Science *

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