Constitutional Process: A Social Choice Analysis of Supreme Court Decision Making. By Maxwell L. Stearns. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2000. 420p. $65.00.

Extract

A not uncommon complaint concerning social choice models is that they tend to assume away everything of interest, leaving a model with little relation to the real world. The usual response is that one must start with the basic elements of a problem before moving to more complex and inclusive models. Unfortunately, few social choice models applied to legal studies have achieved sufficient complexity to be of significant value. Maxwell Stearns recognizes this problem and, in Constitutional Process, systematically presents a comprehensive social choice model and applies it to a complex legal doctrine.