The Most Dangerous Branch

The Most Dangerous Branch takes us inside the secret world of the Supreme Court. David A. Kaplan, the former legal affairs editor of Newsweek, shows how the justices subvert the role of the other branches of government–and how we’ve come to accept it at our peril. It is the nine justices who too often now decide the controversial issues of our time–from abortion and same-sex marriage, to gun control, campaign finance and voting rights. The Court is so crucial that many voters in 2016 made their choice based on whom they thought their presidential candidate would name to the Court. Donald Trump picked Neil Gorsuch–the key decision of his new administration. Brett Kavanaugh–replacing Kennedy–will be even more important, holding the swing vote over so much social policy. Is that really how democracy is supposed to work?