NYU Law Democracy Project
@democracyproject.bsky.social
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New Project at NYU School of Law exploring the challenges facing democracy today. democracyproject.org
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democracyproject.bsky.social
"...pronouncements with universal binding effect...Those who believe in democracy should support a role for democratic institutions in interpreting our fundamental charter of government, rather than relegating them to passive receptacles of the Supreme Court’s diktats."
democracyproject.bsky.social
Mitchell: "supporters of democratic governance should also be willing to challenge the imperious attitudes of the Supreme Court. For too long, the political branches have responded with passivity and acquiescence in response to the Court’s self-proclaimed authority to render constitutional..."
democracyproject.bsky.social
🟣 Idea #26 — Jonathan F. Mitchell, former Texas Solicitor General — “Judicial Supremacy and American Democracy”

Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project "100 Ideas in 100 Days" series

👉 Read here:
democracyproject.org/posts/judici...
Judicial Supremacy and American Democracy
A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.
democracyproject.org
democracyproject.bsky.social
"...partisan and ideological symmetry: they should favor constitutional understandings that equally protect interests on opposite sides of key divides." - Zachary Price
democracyproject.bsky.social
"Americans’ political divisions have infected constitutional law, threatening to produce entirely partisan understandings of the Constitution...courts need to resist this tendency. Rather than constitutionalizing one set of political preferences, courts should strive, when possible, for..."
democracyproject.bsky.social
"...in adopting a constitutional amendment that would enshrine the number of Supreme Court justices at nine."
democracyproject.bsky.social
"...it would empower transient majorities in Congress to whipsaw the country between sweeping conservative and liberal agendas. Now is the time to eliminate the temptation. Progressives should join with conservatives..."
democracyproject.bsky.social
"[Packing the Court] would undermine the legitimacy of an institution essential to the rule of law. It would initiate a series of expansions that would destroy the capacity of the Court to operate as a deliberative judicial body. And, because it couldn’t happen without eviscerating the Senate’s..."
democracyproject.bsky.social
"...virtues so central to the Founders’ vision of what would make democracy work in America—and they require practice...[O]ur democracy would be strengthened if we could extend the benefits of this kind of participatory structure to other areas of our legal and regulatory systems." -David F. Levi
democracyproject.bsky.social
"The citizen participants were not just making suggestions; they were assuming many of the attributes of decision makers...all participants were advocating, compromising, and collaborating on behalf of what they saw as the public interest. These are the essential skills of democracy—the civic..."
democracyproject.bsky.social
"...The fact that they cannot be jailed, deported, or tortured vests organizations with greater responsibility to take risks on behalf of everyone who has a stake in preserving the liberal order. When these institutions bowl over, democracy loses."
democracyproject.bsky.social
Isiksel: "Authoritarianism succeeds by making dissent costly. When the authoritarian gale sends citizens running for cover, civil society organizations must anchor democratic principles..."
Reposted by NYU Law Democracy Project
ruleoflawlab.bsky.social
Autocrats have joined forces and are deploying common tactics to consolidate power. Why shouldn't democracy advocates learn across borders too?

Read the Lab's latest @democracyproject.bsky.social on why transnational learning is essential to restoring democracy democracyproject.org/posts/transn...
democracyproject.bsky.social
"Cross-sectoral civil society coalitions in Brazil and Poland, for example, proved crucial in resisting authoritarian advances...[C]ivil societies...would do well to reach across national boundaries to learn from each other & develop practical tools for defending democracy & the rule of law." -Singh
democracyproject.bsky.social
"As autocrats join forces & embolden one another, they are depriving millions of people around the world of their freedoms. At the same time, the common experience of people across national boundaries presents opportunities for learning how to restore democracy including through collective action."
democracyproject.bsky.social
"...increasingly draw the more vulnerable sectors of the society and Democrats the wealthier and more educated. The formal parties themselves have yielded power to charismatic individuals and well-heeled outside political players. As a result, how democracy works is being fundamentally altered."
democracyproject.bsky.social
"...That period of party-driven politics now seems to be over. Trade unions have dried up, church attendance is down, & local business associations are a weak countermeasure to the dominant power of a few large corporations. In the US, the parties are swapping their historic bases as Republicans..."
democracyproject.bsky.social
Issacharoff: "Democracy requires a long-time horizon. The winners of today must internalize that they might be voted out tomorrow, & the losers must believe the future might be rosier...The steadying institutions turned out to be political parties and the civic institutions that backed them..."