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(as of Aug 11, 2024 19:59:12 UTC – Details)
America has always been a nation of laws. But today our laws have grown so vast and reach so deeply into our lives that it’s worth asking: In our reverence for law, have we gone too far?
Over just the last few decades, laws in this nation have exploded in number; they are increasingly complex; and the punishments they carry are increasingly severe. Some of these laws come from our elected representatives, but many now come from agency officials largely insulated from democratic accountability.?
In Over Ruled, Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze explore these developments and the human toll so much law can carry for ordinary Americans. At its heart, this is a book of stories—about fishermen in Florida, families in Montana, monks in Louisiana, a young Internet entrepreneur in Massachusetts, and many others who have found themselves trapped unexpectedly in a legal maze.
Some law is essential to our lives and our freedoms. But too much law can place those very same freedoms at risk and even undermine respect for law itself. And often those who feel the cost most acutely are those without wealth, power, and status.
Deeply researched and superbly written, Over Ruled is one of the most significant books of the year. It is a must-read for every citizen concerned about the erosion of our constitutional system, and its insights will be key to the preservation of our liberties for generations to come.
From the Publisher
Others have written about the economic costs that come with so much law. But my thoughts ran in a different direction. Those who can afford sophisticated lawyers may be able to muddle through. Those armed with influential lobbyists may even find ways to make a profusion of laws work to their advantage. But what about everyday Americans and the rights promised to them in our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights? What happens to those people and their foundational freedoms—like the right to speak, pray, and gather freely—when our laws increasingly restrict what we may say, monitor what we do, and tell us how we may live? What does it mean for our nation’s promise of equal treatment when our laws become so numerous and so complex that only an affluent or connected few can navigate their way? And what happens to our respect for law itself when the law no longer just reflects commonsense norms but includes unpredictable traps for the unwary?
Those are the questions I wanted to explore and invite you to consider as this book unfolds.
This isn’t an academic work or a legal brief. It is a book of stories—stories about real people, their struggles to make their way in a world awash with law, and the toll on their lives and families. You will not meet lawyers in these pages but fishermen and foster parents, an Amish community, hair braiders and monks, even a magician and the polydactyl descendants of Ernest Hemingway’s cat.
ASIN : B0CQRD81H6
Publisher : Harper (August 6, 2024)
Publication date : August 6, 2024
Language : English
File size : 9463 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
Print length : 290 pages
Page numbers source ISBN : 0063238470
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