Constitutional Law - Common Law and Liberalism Theory: Coke, Hobbes, and the Sources of American Constitutionalism

Author: [US] Stoner
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Eloquent and wise, Stoner argues that American constitutionalism is a strange product of a mixture of two entirely opposite schools of thought: the English common law tradition as demonstrated in the works of Edward Coke and the early liberal political philosophy as shown in the works of Thomas Hobbes. His argument is persuasive and convincing. — Journal of American History
Stoner effectively reminds us of a problem we have severely overlooked: in a political system, the judges we expect depend on popular sovereignty and legal procedures that are terminated by the concept of fundamental law. This is an unexpected surprise in this work that provides a fresh perspective, where we can see some origins of judicial review within the common law tradition.