Conservative talk radio host, lawyer, and frequent National Review contributor Mark R. Levin comes out firing against the United States Supreme Court in Men in Black, accusing the institution of corrupting the ideals of America's founding fathers. The court, in Levin's estimation, pursues an ideology-based activist agenda that oversteps its authority within the government. Levin examines several decisions in the court's history to illustrate his point, beginning with the landmark Marbury v. Madison case, wherein the court granted itself the power to declare acts of the other branches of government unconstitutional. He devotes later chapters to other key cases culminating in modern issues such as same-sex marriage and the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. Like effective attorneys do, Levin packs in copious research material and delivers his points with tremendous vigor, excoriating the justices for instances where he feels strict const! itutional constructivism gave way to biased interpretation. But Levin's definition of "activism" seems inconsistent. In the case of McCain-Feingold, the court declined to rule on a bill already passed by congress and signed by the president, but Levin, who thinks the bill violates the First Amendment, still accuses them of activism even when they were actually passive. To his talk-radio listeners, Levin's hard-charging style and dire warnings of the court's direction will strike a resonant tone of alarm, though the hyperbole may be a bit off-putting to the uninitiated. As an attack on the vagaries of decisions rendered by the Supreme Court and on some current justices, Men in Black scores points and will likely lead sympathetic juries to conviction. --John Moe

From Publishers Weekly
The Supreme Court is speeding the country on the road to tyranny, according to this jeremiad from Levin, a conservative constitutional lawyer and radio talk show host. Levin argues that the Constitution is under siege by "judicial activists" obsessed with remaking America to reflect their personal political and moral philosophies. Liberal judges who view the Constitution as a document whose meaning evolves over time are at odds with the founding fathers' "clear and profound vision for what they wanted our federal government to be." "Activist judges," he says, "make, rather than interpret, the law." The author champions originalism, the conservative legal philosophy hinging on a narrow interpretation of the Constitution's text, and he contends that moving the judiciary back into the originalist fold could thwart the power grab by "radicals in robes." Levin traces trends in judicial activism through some of the Supreme Court's most famous cases, from Marbury v. Madison (1803), which enshrined the high court's power to weigh the constitutionality of presidential and congressional acts, to Roe v. Wade (1973). He also blasts affirmative action decisions, contending that the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause should be sufficient to combat racial discrimination. Levin is an ardent advocate, but at times his strident tone gets in the way of objective analyses of the system's flaws. Would the founders be as "appalled" by the present-day Supreme Court as Levin is? That's impossible to say, but many likeminded critics are certain to be galvanized by this spirited "clarion call," which is bookended by raves from conservative radio broadcaster Rush Limbaugh and former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
Mark Levin throws the book at our own judicial system--in particular, American judges who ignore the Constitution and dismantle the rights of American citizens in everyday court proceedings. He shares jaw-dropping examples of judicial power grabs and liberal power plays by judges.

From the Inside Flap
The Supreme Court Endorses Terrorists’ Rights, Flag Burning, and Importing Foreign Law. Is that in the Constitution? You’re right: It’s not. But these days the Constitution is no restraint on our out-of-control Supreme Court. The Court imperiously strikes down laws and imposes new ones purely on its own arbitrary whims. Even though liberals like John Kerry are repeatedly defeated at the polls, the majority on the allegedly "conservative" Supreme Court reflects their views and wields absolute power. There’s a word for this: tyranny. In Men in Black, radio talk show host and legal scholar Mark R. Levin dissects the judicial tyranny that is robbing us of our freedoms and stuffing the ballot box in favor of liberal policies. If you’ve ever wondered why—no matter who holds political power—American society always seems to drift to the left, Mark Levin has the answer: the black-robed justices of the Supreme Court, subverting democracy in favor of their own liberal agenda. In Men in Black, you’ll learn: · How judicial activism upheld slavery and segregation · Why Roe v. Wade not only mandated abortion-on-demand but gutted the Constitution · How the Court imports laws from other countries to help win the culture war for extremists · Why the justices are granting illegal immigrants rights equal with citizens · How helping terrorists file suit against the United States is another innovation of our Supreme Court · Surprise: the liberal Supreme Court Justice who erected the "separation of church and state" was a member of the Ku Klux Klan Decades of judicial activism have made the Supreme Court the most potent threat to American freedom. Men in Black, as Rush Limbaugh notes in his introduction, "couldn’t be more timely or important, as liberals continue shamelessly to thwart the people, Congress, the president, and state governments by using the courts to dictate national policy.…Men in Black is a tremendously important and compelling book." It could very well be the most important book you read this year.

About the Author
Mark Levin is one of America’s preeminent conservative commentators and constitutional lawyers. He is the president of Landmark Legal Foundation, host of a number-one rated talk radio program on WABC in New York, and a contributing editor for National Review Online. Levin has authored numerous articles that have been widely published and has appeared on scores of television and radio programs. Levin also served as a top advisor to several members of President Ronald Reagan’s Cabinet, including the chief of staff to the attorney general of the United States, deputy solicitor at the Department of the Interior, deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Education, and associate director of Presidential Personnel. In 2001, the American Conservative Union honored Levin with the prestigious Ronald Reagan Award. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Temple University in 1977 at the age of nineteen, the same year he was elected to the Cheltenham Township School Board in Pennsylvania. In 1980 he graduated from Temple University School of Law.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Supreme Court Endorses Terrorists￯﾿ﾽ Rights, Flag Burning, and Importing Foreign Law.

Is that in the Constitution?

You￯﾿ﾽre right: It￯﾿ﾽs not. But these days the Constitution is no restraint on our out-of-control Supreme Court. The Court imperiously strikes down laws and imposes new ones purely on its own arbitrary whims. Even though liberals like John Kerry are repeatedly defeated at the polls, the majority on the allegedly "conservative" Supreme Court reflects their views and wields absolute power. There￯﾿ﾽs a word for this: tyranny. In Men in Black, radio talk show host and legal scholar Mark R. Levin dissects the judicial tyranny that is robbing us of our freedoms and stuffing the ballot box in favor of liberal policies. If you￯﾿ﾽve ever wondered why￯﾿ﾽno matter who holds political power￯﾿ﾽAmerican society always seems to drift to the left, Mark Levin has the answer: the black-robed justices of the Supreme Court, subverting democracy in favor of their own liberal agenda. In Men in Black, you￯﾿ﾽll learn: How judicial activism upheld slavery and segregation Why Roe v. Wade not only mandated abortion-on-demand but gutted the Constitution How the Court imports laws from other countries to help win the culture war for extremists Why the justices are granting illegal immigrants rights equal with citizens How helping terrorists file suit against the United States is another innovation of our Supreme Court Surprise: the liberal Supreme Court Justice who erected the "separation of church and state" was a member of the Ku Klux Klan Decades of judicial activism have made the Supreme Court the most potent threat to American freedom. Men in Black, as Rush Limbaugh notes in his introduction, "couldn￯﾿ﾽt be more timely or important, as liberals continue shamelessly to thwart the people, Congress, the president, and state governments by using the courts to dictate national policy.￯﾿ﾽMen in Black is a tremendously important and compelling book." It could very well be the most important book you read this year.

SYNOPSIS