Contributions by ‘Eric J. Segall’

Constitutional law is in disarray. Courts are tearing away at the fabric of abortion doctrine, affirmative action precedents have driven the use of race in university admissions underground, and the conflicts between people of faith and the rights of LGBTQ folks are colliding nationwide, among many other examples. Court reform to address these problems is in the air, if not on the ground.

In his new book, How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights Is Tearing America Apart, Professor Jamal Greene documents these battles with precision, and demonstrates that our legal system’s failure to generate compromise and find common ground between people who hold conflicting rights is, indeed, tearing us apart. Most of this beautifully written book accurately captures how our Supreme Court’s largely all-or-nothing approach to rights is making America a less hospitable and more polarized country. Greene’s descriptive accounts are poignant.