The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom

Robert Levy talks about his book, The Dirty Dozen, which pointedly asks: “If America is truly the land of the free, should we have to ask the government permission to participate in an election? Or pursue an honest occupation? And should our government be empowered to take someone’s home only to turn the property over to others for their private use?”

He emphatically answers no, and as one might expect, P.J. O’Rourke agrees, sizing up the book (coauthored by William Mellor) this way: “We have created a system in which nine people are presumed to be smarter than three hundred million. The Dirty Dozen shows us the results of this foolish assumption – the twelve worst Supreme Court rulings. Or, that is to say, the twelve worst Supreme Court rulings so far.” Robert A. Levy is chairman of the Cato Institute’s Board of Directors.