How to Read the Constitution—and Why

June 14, 2019

The oft-cited U.S. Constitution is a misunderstood document. In this engaging and informative analysis, CNN pundit Wehle (law, Univ. of Baltimore Sch. of Law) offers a detailed explanation for general readers. The author's approach is twofold: she describes the document's structure with the aid of useful analogies to business models ("The constitution does not put a single person in charge") and examines the list of rights we often take for granted. Wehle's succinct chapter on the Second Amendment is especially timely, as she asserts that a "strict reading" of the Constitution is a myth and that many words in its text are ambiguous. Phrases such as "separation of powers" and "checks and balances" do not appear in the Constitution, yet those principles are implied in the delineation of the powers granted to the three branches of government. Additionally, "American values" are not spelled out in the Constitution. The last section presents a discussion of why the Constitution matters and how it's basic concept of government is endangered. Sprinkled throughout are many examples from current politics, with President Donald Trump mentioned frequently. VERDICT People of all political persuasions will benefit from this book, especially with a battle looming between Congress and the president in the coming months. [See Prepub Alert, 11/5/18.]--Thomas Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 19, 2019
In this accessible treatise, Wehle, a law professor and commentator for CNN and MSNBC, deplores the state of relationships among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. government. She argues that the “ingenious” checks and balances the Constitution establishes between the three branches are no longer working, and the executive branch is accumulating too much power. As evidence she cites Congress’s tolerance of the executive branch’s incursions into Congress’s power to declare war, the proliferation of executive orders that bypass congressional legislative priorities, and Congress’s reluctance to employ the Constitution’s emolument and impeachment clauses to check executive overreach. As causes, she identifies the flow of corporate money to political campaigns, state efforts to suppress voter participation, and polarized politics that hampers constructive policy making. She also opines that President Trump lacks respect for constitutional norms and that his behavior presents a realistic threat to democracy. Wehle elegantly translates the Constitution into layperson-friendly terms, using everyday analogies; she compares the American government to an ice cream parlor and an employee manual, and she uses Wallace Stevens’s poem “The Mind of Winter” to explain the plain-language approach to legal interpretation. Her analysis of the consolidation of power in the executive branch, though cogent, will probably only reach readers already concerned about President Trump.