Damon M. Cann - Böcker

In These Estimable Courts Damon Cann and Jeff Yates explore how citizens feel about the government institutions at the front lines of jurisprudential policy-making in America -- our nation's state and local courts. The book's central focus concerns a primary question of governance - why do people support and find legitimate the institutions that govern their lives? Cann and Yates evaluate the factors that drive citizens' support for their state and local courts and that influence peoples' perceptions of the proper role of these courts in our society, as well as how judicial policy-making should be made.A viable democracy depends upon citizen belief in the legitimacy of government institutions. Nowhere is this more evident than in judicial institutions. Courts depend heavily on a reservoir of public good will and institutional legitimacy to get their decrees obeyed by the public and implemented by other policy actors. It enables courts to weather the storm of counter-majoritarian decisions and remain effective governing bodies whose edicts are respected and followed. These Estimable Courts takes advantage of new original survey data to evaluate citizens' beliefs about the legitimacy of state courts as well as a number of important related concerns. These include peoples' views concerning how judges decide cases, the role of judges and courts in policy-making, the manner in which we select judges, and finally, the dynamics of citizens' views regarding compliance with the law and legal institutions.

Documents the ever-larger sums donated by incumbent members of Congress to their parties and other candidates, and discusses the consequences.Winner of the 2009 Richard F. Fenno Jr. Prize of the Legislative Studies Section of the American Political Science Association While students of American politics are accustomed to thinking of members of Congress as recipients of campaign contributions, Sharing the Wealth shows that incumbents are increasingly active as contributors to their parties and other political candidates. As this provocative study shows, member contributions have grown exponentially in recent years to finance the fierce biannual battle for majority control of Congress. Utilizing both quantitative methods and case studies, Damon M. Cann examines arrangements designed to advance ambitions of individuals while ultimately strengthening parties, and also explores several important consequences of this growing phenomenon. More than a campaign finance study, Sharing the Wealth offers a comprehensive examination of member-to-member and member-to-party contributions, and makes the connection between member contributions and the growing strength of political parties in Congress.