Ideas with Consequences

Ideas have consequences because they develop in social networks of power and influence. In this impressive work, Amanda Hollis-Brusky shows how the Federalist Society network of lawyers, judges, scholars, and activists successfully pushed American constitutional law to the right. This book is an important contribution to the study of constitutional change." * Jack M. Balkin, Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment, Yale Law School *
A valuable, well-researched addition to the growing literature on the conservative legal network. Rich in detail, thoughtful in execution." * Michael Greve, George Mason University School of Law *
Ideas with Consequences is a major achievement. Hollis-Brusky makes skillful use of a large body of evidence within her theoretical framework to illuminate the role of the Federalist Society in shaping legal doctrine in the Supreme Court. In the process, she provides a richer understanding of how political and intellectual networks help to bring about constitutional change." * Lawrence Baum, The Ohio State University *
The Federalist Society takes no positions, files no lawsuits, lobbies no legislators, and gives no political contributions. It is a debating society-though perhaps the most important one in American constitutional history since Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison had dinner by themselves. In Ideas with Consequences, Amanda Hollis-Brusky shows how a loosely-organized group of lawyers, students, and professors with little of the conventional signs of political power have had such a profound influence on constitutional law. Students and scholars of the Constitution in both law and politics will want to read this book." * John Yoo, Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law, University of California at Berkeley School of Law *
A fascinating, convincing, and highly readable account of how the Federalist Society has contributed significantly to the Supreme Court's conservative turn and to fundamental changes in constitutional doctrine." * Ann Southworth, Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine *
...this is an excellent account of how an ambitious, and intellectually fearless, organ-iza-tion has proved to be remarkably talented at facilitating constitutional change." * Weekly Standard Magazine *
Using rich archival research and interviews with legal elites, Amanda Hollis-Brusky sheds needed light on the Federalist Society. Her analysis shows how it not only helped organize the conservative legal movement but also affected the language and direction of key judicial decisions. The result is a convincing argument that hte ideas formed in the Federalist Society have had, and continue to have, serious consequences. * Political Science Quarterly *