William J. Watkins – författare

Who has the final say on the meaning of the Constitution? From high school to law school, students learn that the framers designed the Supreme Court to be the ultimate arbiter of constitutional issues, a function Chief Justice John Marshall recognized in deciding Marbury v. Madison in 1803.This provocative work challenges American dogma about the Supreme Court's role, showing instead that the founding generation understood judicial power not as a counterweight against popular government, but as a consequence, and indeed a support, of popular sovereignty. Contending that court power must be restrained so that policy decisions are left to the people's elected representatives, this study offers several remedies--including term limits and popular selection of the Supreme Court--to return the American people to their proper place in the constitutional order.

The Independent Guide to the Constitution: Original Intentions, Modern Inventions cuts through the partisan noise and helps readers reclaim the original, time-tested principles of liberty that America’s Framers worked so hard to protect.The Constitution is one of the most studied—and most willfully misunderstood—documents in American life. Now more than ever, Americans need an objective, thorough, and clear-headed analysis of what our Founders meant when they wrote it … and perhaps even more importantly, what they didn’t mean. How should we confront the distortions layered onto the Constitution over generations—distortions that continue to shape, and misshape, American life today? Enter William J. Watkins, Jr. Drawing on a lifetime of experience in the law—as prosecutor, defense attorney, and constitutional scholar—Watkins offers a bold, independent examination of the most important legal document in modern history. His book provides a meticulous, clause-by-clause analysis of America’s founding charter, revealing both the Framers’ original intentions and the modern interpretations that have reshaped constitutional governance—not always for the better. Clear and rigorous, he explores how the Constitution was designed to secure liberty and limit power—and how its meaning continues to spark debate today. Expertly researched, fascinating, and urgent as ever, this book is indispensable for laymen and scholars alike to understand the Constitution.