Monday, February 15, 2010

Curtis reviews Tsai, Eloquence and Reason

Eloquence and Reason: Creating a First Amendment Culture by Robert Tsai is reviewed by Michael Kent Curtis in the Northwestern Law Review. Curtis writes that Eloquence and Reason
is a very fine and thought-provoking book about the role of the judge and the ordinary citizen in interpreting the Constitution. In it, Professor Robert Tsai shows how, over time, rhetorical dialogue among judges, political elites, and ordinary citizens creates, legitimizes, and transforms our understanding of the Constitution and the rights it embodies. Tsai uses the "First Amendment"—or more accurately the liberties of speech, press, petition, assembly, and association—as a case study. He also suggests how judges should perform constitutional analysis.
Curtis's extended review is here.