A vile polemic. American social (and economic) conservatives used to bash the US Supreme Court and federal Court, until Republican presidents appointed enough congenial judges. Court bashing survives in Canadian think-tanks. The book appears to prove its point by citing previous writings by the authors and like minded writers. Recycled and distilled vitriol.

The Charter of Rights has transformed Canadian politics. The Supreme Court has used the Charter to change government policy on an ever-expanding list of controversial issues—abortion, aboriginal rights, gay rights, bilingualism, criminal law enforcement and prisoner-voting. The Court has made itself the second most powerful institution in Canadian politics after the Federal Cabinet. Morton and Knopff demonstrate that the Court is not so much the cause as the means by which the Charter Revolution has been achieved. Behind the judges is a well orchestrated network of state-funded interest groups that use litigation and the media to achieve what they can't win through democratic elections.

http://www.broadviewpress.com/bvbooks.asp?BookID=148 ( )