Law And Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law And Society - Essay Example His programs were collectively called the New Deal. The New Deal projects by President Roosevelt suffered massive drawbacks at the courts. Most of them were frustrated by the supreme courts issuing verdicts that they were unconstitutional (Himmelberg, p19). The statues and provisions in the new deal programs that were struck down by the courts include the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which supported financially staple farmers, the National Industrial Recovery Act, which approved the cartelization of industries, and the Railroad Retirement Act. According to Leuchtenburg, these sudden changes precipitated a constitutional crisis. They posed a difficult challenge to the conventional dogma of the Supreme Court leading to a constitutional revolution (Leuchtenburg p213). Frustrated by the courts actions, President Roosevelt reacted by announcing his reorganization of the judiciary. This was infamously known as the â€Å"court packing† plan (Mannino, p293). Several writers argue that the courts struck down numerous important laws in the twentieth century. The two pertinent reasons fronted for this precedence were; the laws were hastily and poorly drafted during the emotional hundred days of Roosevelt in office and that they were badly defended in the courts. It must be noted that these two arguments were found with flaws. One law in New York drafted by the best law practitioners in United States was a casualty in this period. This reason amongst others weakened the reasoning held at that time (Leuchtenburg p234). The court packing plan, for instance, according to Leuchtenburg had frightened the courts and posed a danger to them. This to him might have had some effect relative to jurisprudence. However, the interpretation of the constitutional revolution in the 1930s is diverse. Several law scholars have cited different Court cases of the twentieth century to support their stand on which case actually represented a constitutional revolution. In this term paper, the cases West Coast Hotel vs. Parrish, argued for by Leuchtenburg and Wickard vs. Filburn argued for by Cushman will be analyzed. As a result, determine which authors interpretations of the cases amount to a revolutionary case. In the case West Coast Hotel vs. Parrish (1937), the Supreme Court judgment upheld the constitutionality of legislation on minimum wage passed by Washington State. It overturned the trials court decision that was based on the precedent of Adkins vs. Children’s Hospital (Leuchtenburg, p164). This decision is believed to have ended the era in which the Supreme Court had a penchant for quashing legislation intended at regulating enterprise. Leuchtenburg argues that, this case marked a notable divide in the history of the courts. It also had a significant consequence on the destiny of President Roosevelt Court packing plan. In addition, Elsie Parrish case prompted a constitutional revolution in the United States Supreme Court (Leuchtenburg p163). Her case appeared to be heading for defeat since for a decade; the Supreme Court had ruled that a minimum wage act for women was unlawful since it violated the liberty of contract that the Court assumptions were guaranteed by the Constitution. Against all odds, Elsie Parrish was resolute in her quest for justice. Following the precedent of Adkins, her case was never watertight in the eyes of legal practitioners. Even at the time, the finest law practition