Reversing: Undoing Bad Laws and Bad Judicial Decisions

Abstract:     
The growth of laws and judicial decisions of questionable economic benefit, and the current debt crisis, pose the question of how bad choices can be reversed. That problem is prominently on display in southern Europe, and indeed throughout much of the first world. Parliamentary systems seem better able to undo bad laws than the U.S. presidential system, with its separation of powers, which does not augur well for America. Bad judicial decisions might be even harder to reverse, because of the conservatism of judges who follow precedent. However, judicial elections in the states appear to offer a solution to the problem. The objections which have been raised against such elections seem less than compelling.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 29

Keywords: American Revolution, Canada, comparative, confederation, constitutional, Disraeli, framers, Gladstone, governance, Great Britain, legislative reform, Loyalists, merit selection, monarchical, populist, pre-enactment screening, presidential, Reform Act, Republican, reversibility, Walter Bagehot

JEL Classification: D72, H11, H77

Accepted Paper Series