Out of Order: Arrogance, Corruption, and Incompetence on the Bench - Hardcover

Boot, Max

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465054323 ISBN 13: 9780465054329

Publisher: Basic Books, 1998

Synopsis

Hear about the judge who got busted for selling crack? What about the judge who released from jail a felon who then promptly killed a rookie cop? Or the one who ordered a prison to supply its inmates with hot pots?In Out of Order: Arrogance, Corruption, and Incompetence on the Bench, investigative reporter Max Boot documents dozens of stories like these as he blows the whistle on the least publicized, the most destructive, branch of the government—the compelling statistics to support his belief that judges have greatly damaged both the criminal and civil justice systems.Boot criticizes well-known judges like Lance Ito, who presided over the O.J. Simpson follies, and Harold Baer, the New York judge who initially decided to exclude from evidence eighty pounds of drugs because he found nothing “unusual” about a courier fleeing from the cops. He reveals judges who have taken advantage of their office not only for personal gain, but also to gain greater political power.The “juristocracy,” as Boot calls it, has taken over the running of schools, prisons, and other institutions, with disastrous results: forced busing, which has led to white flight from inner-city schools; higher taxes, as judges have ordered more government spending, regardless of results; and greater social divisions, because judges have taken controversial issues like abortion out of the political arena. Rundowns of case after case reveal judges who have routinely overturned popular initiatives without legal right to do so, implemented controversial policies with no basis in law, and put millions of dollars into the pockets of undeserving plaintiffs.Following in the footsteps of the bestselling Death of Common Sense and Slouching Towards Gomorrah, Out of Order is a tightly reported, highly opinionated expose that should set off a national debate about the woeful state of our legal system. It also offers hope, by providing ways to improve the performance of the judiciary and reclaim its original role as servant of the people.

About this title

From the Author

Starred review from Publishers Weekly, April 20, 1998
OUT OF ORDER:
Arrogance, Corruption and Incompetence on the Bench
Max Boot, Foreword by Robert H. Bork
Basic, $25 (288p) ISBN O-465-05432-3

"Judges have assumed unprecedented authority over our lives, usurping powers
once delegated to elected lawmakers, based on no solid grounding in the text of
either a statute or the Constitution itself," contends Wall Street Journal
deputy editorial features editor Boot. Though his somewhat right-leaning biases
are occasionally visible beneath his research-based approach, Boot's strong
writing and even-handed journalism make for a powerful case. (Former Supreme
Court nominee Robert Bork's turgid introduction, full of references to "radical
egalitarianism," is one example of the less-than-transparent politics that
inform this book.) With humor and wit, Boot describes a society caught up in a
lottery mentality, whereby juries routinely make outrageous punitive damage
awards on the flimsiest of cases, and judges--often politically savvy lawyers
rather than judicious legal experts--fail to throw out frivolous cases and
awards. Only a revision of the system by which we select and promote judges,
Boot contends, is likely to change the situation. Boot's impressive grasp of the
law and his wry, crystal-clear argumentation makes this book one that will be
indispensable to anyone curious to know how we managed to turn our society into
a gridlock of litigiousness. (May)

Synopsis

This hardhitting book reminds us of an obvious but often overlooked reason for the failure of our judicial system: judges. Max Boot talks about the problem of judges who are too lenient; discusses the failure of judges to protect children and battered spouses; and explores the abuse of the civil justice system, especially in liability cases that ruin businesses and deprive the public of valuable goods and services. Hear about the judge who got busted for selling crack? What about the judge who released from jail a felon who then promptly killed a rookie cop? Or the one who ordered a prison to supply its inmates with hot pots?In Out of Order: Arrogance, Corruption, and Incompetence on the Bench , investigative reporter Max Boot documents dozens of stories like these as he blows the whistle on the least publicized, the most destructive, branch of the governmentthe compelling statistics to support his belief that judges have greatly damaged both the criminal and civil justice systems. Boot criticizes well-known judges like Lance Ito, who presided over the O. J.

Simpson follies, and Harold Baer, the New York judge who initially decided to exclude from evidence eighty pounds of drugs because he found nothing unusual about a courier fleeing from the cops. He reveals judges who have taken advantage of their office not only for personal gain, but also to gain greater political power. The juristocracy, as Boot calls it, has taken over the running of schools, prisons, and other institutions, with disastrous results: forced busing, which has led to white flight from inner-city schools; higher taxes, as judges have ordered more government spending, regardless of results; and greater social divisions, because judges have taken controversial issues like abortion out of the political arena. Rundowns of case after case reveal judges who have routinely overturned popular initiatives without legal right to do so, implemented controversial policies with no basis in law, and put millions of dollars into the pockets of undeserving plaintiffs.

Following in the footsteps of the bestselling Death of Common Sense and Slouching Towards Gomorrah, Out of Order is a tightly reported, highly opinionated expose that should set off a national debate about the woeful state of our legal system. It also offers hope, by providing ways to improve the performance of the judiciary and reclaim its original role as servant of the people.

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465054323
• ISBN 13: 9780465054329
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272