My second book, Courthouse Democracy and
Minority Rights: Same-Sex Marriage in the States, is under contract at Oxford University Press. It is due for release in the summer of 2013.
Here is a brief
description:
In Courthouse Democracy and Minority Rights:
Same-Sex Marriage in the States, Robert J. Hume examines how the
democratization of state courts and state constitutional systems has influenced
the capacity of state judges to protect minority rights. Through an intensive
examination of same-sex marriage policy, Hume shows that democratic innovations
like judicial elections and initiative amendment procedures have conditioned the
impact of judges on state marriage laws. Using a combination of original and
publicly available data, Hume demonstrates that “courthouse democracy” has
influenced the behavior of state judges, the reactions of the public to state
court decisions, and the long-term policy consequences of these decisions,
including the passage of state constitutional amendments. Hume concludes that
judges will be capable of producing meaningful social change—and protecting
minority rights—only when they have the institutional resources they need to
stand against popular opinion.
