查尔斯•弗里德，他先后作过辩护律师、法官以及宪法学者。现在，他为我们提供了一本关于宪法的优秀著作，一本充满智慧闪光点与道德成熟水准的著作。弗里德相信宪法原则的可能性，相信随时间流逝而形成的审慎且合理的宪法原则。对那些认为最高法院的工作仅仅是伪装的政治行为的人来说，弗里德对于原则发展中推理规则的护卫是一种令人信服的回击。从未放弃对推理的激情，同时清醒地认识到它的局限，对那些希望将最高法院的工作理解为坚韧不拔地试图说明何谓法律的人，弗里德提供了导引与模式。 ——安东尼•T．克隆曼，耶鲁大学法学院院长 对于那些想理解最高法院判决的非专业人士来说，查尔斯•弗里德是一个理想的指导者。本书才华横溢的阐述，涵盖了从宪法的基本原则到法院最近的标志性案例的一系列内容。作为教授、法官以及经常作为最高法院庭前的诉讼者，弗里德的经历使他像个人字典一样富有权威性。任何想要深入理解最高法院如何影响宪法以及日常生活的人，都应深入阅读此书。 ——马丁•费尔德斯坦，哈佛大学经济学教授，美国国家经济研究局局长 阅读本书，就如同在与一位具有非凡智慧和独特经历以及最不寻常的对于真实世界沉浸的法律思想者进行有关最重要的宪法争议的迷人交谈。本书中，弗里德出色并雅致地提供了无人能比的混合视角。正是因为他在法律中的特殊经历使这成为可能。这种混合视角为他理解法律规则与原则——经由这些规则与原则，我们宪法的一般性承载了具体的含义——的基本构造及其奇异之处提供了丰富的素材和慷慨说明的力量。我发现，弗里德那些追寻我并不赞同的思想的描述对我的启发，不亚于他对我的观点作出积极回应时的描述。同时，以一种被证明对那些聪明的专业人士来说既可行也能激起他们兴趣的方式，弗里德描述并阐述了宪法的延绵图景。任何关注美国宪法的人都不能不阅读该书。 ——劳伦斯•H．却伯，哈佛大学法学院宪法学泰勒讲座教授

2005年，布什提名约翰·罗伯茨和萨缪尔·阿里托出任最高法院大法官，人们普遍预测这将导致最高法院急剧右转。但是，没有人想到，这一过程如此迅疾，如此具有革命性。在本书中，德沃金考察了罗伯茨、阿里托的提名听证会，认为听证程序现如今已经形同虚设；他并考察了罗伯茨上任以来最高法院作出的“5比4”判决，指出，两位新任的大法官与安东宁·斯卡利亚、克拉伦斯·托马斯形成了一个牢不可破的集团，志在重新改写美国宪法。他们不受政治意识形态或者保守主义司法原则的指引，而是受党派的、文化的或许是宗教的忠诚所驱使，蔑视传统，蔑视先例，甚至蔑视法律推理，以偷偷摸摸的方式开始推翻几代大法官建构起来的宪法核心原则。 德沃金警告说，美国宪法历史上最黑暗的时代可能正在到来。

《最高法院与媒体》考察了美国联邦最高法院的大法官是否越来越注重公众形象，以及现象背后的原因。本书讨论了大法官“走向公众”的动机，并且揭示出他们在21世纪更加受到媒体关注。 本书描述了大法官与记者之间的互动，这是他们通常不会公开讨论的。作者理查德•戴维斯解释了大法官为何关心媒体和公共关系，如何采取外部策略去影响记者对他们本人及法院的报道，以及记者参与这种互动关系的方式和原因。基于有关19、20世纪的大法官们的资料，本书探讨了历史上的大法官与媒体的互动关系，并对1968至2007年这四十年间纸质和广播媒体有关大法官的报道作以内容分析。 联邦最高法院的大法官希望塑造自己远离政治和媒体的形象。但理查德•戴维斯的《最高法院与媒体》让人大开眼界，他用充足的证据表明：大法官始终在与记者和政治家接触，虽然程度不一。本书为我们揭开了最高法院的神秘面纱。 ——托尼•莫罗（Tony Mauro），1979年至今任《国家法律杂志》（National Law Journal）联邦最高法院通讯记者 大法官们现在经常著书立说、公开辩论宪法问题、接受媒体采访，因此，《最高法院与媒体》来得十分及时。这是一项开创性的研究，将会激发人们对大法官们如何、怎样“走向公众”，以及这样做是否恰当等相关问题的讨论、争议和调查。 ——李•爱泼斯坦（Lee Epstein），西北大学法学院亨利•韦德•罗杰斯讲席讲授 “走向公众”很少被视为大法官展示自我的策略性选择，但理查德•戴维斯解释了当代的大法官们为何越来越愿意这样做。戴维斯结合历史研究与经验分析，揭示出背后的个人、政治和制度动机，及其如何在21世纪显著地改变了司法规范。 ——艾略特•斯洛特尼克（Elliot Slotnick），俄亥俄州立大学政治科学系教授

《正义背后的意识形态:最高法院与态度模型(修订版)》的作者是两位研究美国联邦最高法院及其决策方式的顶尖学者。在《正义背后的意识形态:最高法院与态度模型(修订版)》中，他们系统地描述和论证了“态度模型”，并用其来解释和预测最高法院的决策。在这一过程中，他们还批评了另外两种解释最高法院决策的模型：法律模型和理性选择模型。 《正义背后的意识形态:最高法院与态度模型(修订版)》通过美国最高法院的统计数据、法官们的私人著作以及其他资料信息，分析了最高法院大法官的任命程序、调卷令流程、实质判决、大法官意见撰写的分配、大法官意见的合并等制度……在充分展现态度模型的同时，作者也对法律模型和理性选择模型提出了令人信服的批评。《正义背后的意识形态:最高法院与态度模型(修订版)》作为修订版，充分体现了自1993年前著出版以来学术界的研究成果，同时也吸收了联邦最高法院在这一时期的判决内容和发展情况，包括“布什诉戈尔案”（Bush v Gore）中划时代的判决。

A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever. Just Mercy is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer’s coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice. Praise for Just Mercy “A searing, moving and infuriating memoir . . . Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be America’s Mandela. For decades he has fought judges, prosecutors and police on behalf of those who are impoverished, black or both. . . . Injustice is easy not to notice when it affects people different from ourselves; that helps explain the obliviousness of our own generation to inequity today. We need to wake up. And that is why we need a Mandela in this country.”—Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times “Unfairness in the justice system is a major theme of our age. . . . This book brings new life to the story by placing it in two affecting contexts: [Bryan] Stevenson’s life work and the deep strain of racial injustice in American life. . . . The book extols not his nobility but that of the cause, and reads like a call to action for all that remains to be done. . . . The message of the book, hammered home by dramatic examples of one man’s refusal to sit quietly and countenance horror, is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. Just Mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful.”—Ted Conover, The New York Times Book Review “Emotionally profound, necessary reading.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review, Kirkus Prize Finalist) “A passionate account of the ways our nation thwarts justice and inhumanely punishes the poor and disadvantaged.”—Booklist (starred review) “Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, Atticus exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God’s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. Just Mercy is his inspiring and powerful story.”—John Grisham “From the frontlines of social justice comes one of the most urgent voices of our era. Bryan Stevenson is a real-life, modern-day Atticus Finch who, through his work in redeeming innocent people condemned to death, has sought to redeem the country itself. This is a book of great power and courage. It is inspiring and suspenseful—a revelation.”—Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns “Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, and Just Mercy is extraordinary.”—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow Editorial Reviews Review “A searing, moving and infuriating memoir . . . Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be America’s Mandela. For decades he has fought judges, prosecutors and police on behalf of those who are impoverished, black or both. . . . Injustice is easy not to notice when it affects people different from ourselves; that helps explain the obliviousness of our own generation to inequity today. We need to wake up. And that is why we need a Mandela in this country.”—Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times “Unfairness in the justice system is a major theme of our age. . . . This book brings new life to the story by placing it in two affecting contexts: [Bryan] Stevenson’s life work and the deep strain of racial injustice in American life. . . . You don’t have to read too long to start cheering for this man. Against tremendous odds, Stevenson has worked to free scores of people from wrongful or excessive punishment, arguing five times before the Supreme Court. . . . The book extols not his nobility but that of the cause, and reads like a call to action for all that remains to be done. . . . The message of the book, hammered home by dramatic examples of one man’s refusal to sit quietly and countenance horror, is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. Just Mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful. . . . Stevenson has been angry about [the criminal justice system] for years, and we are all the better for it.”—Ted Conover, The New York Times Book Review “A distinguished NYU law professor and MacArthur grant recipient offers the compelling story of the legal practice he founded to protect the rights of people on the margins of American society. . . . Emotionally profound, necessary reading.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review, Kirkus Prize Finalist) “A passionate account of the ways our nation thwarts justice and inhumanely punishes the poor and disadvantaged.”—Booklist (starred review) “Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, Atticus exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God’s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. Just Mercy is his inspiring and powerful story.”—John Grisham “From the frontlines of social justice comes one of the most urgent voices of our era. Bryan Stevenson is a real-life, modern-day Atticus Finch who, through his work in redeeming innocent people condemned to death, has sought to redeem the country itself. This is a book of great power and courage. It is inspiring and suspenseful—a revelation.”—Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns “Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, and Just Mercy is extraordinary. The stories told within these pages hold the potential to transform what we think we mean when we talk about justice.”—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow “Words such as important and compelling may have lost their force through overuse, but reading this book will restore their meaning, along with one’s hopes for humanity.”—Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains “Bryan Stevenson is America’s young Nelson Mandela, a brilliant lawyer fighting with courage and conviction to guarantee justice for all. Just Mercy should be read by people of conscience in every civilized country in the world to discover what happens when revenge and retribution replace justice and mercy. It is as gripping to read as any legal thriller, and what hangs in the balance is nothing less than the soul of a great nation.”—Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

书集合了蔡定剑教授二十多年来公开发表的精华文章，全面展示了他在我国宪法和政制研究领域的卓越成果，读者从中不仅能够清晰地把握这位杰出学者的宪政思想和学术发展脉络，而且可以进一步加深对我国民主宪政发展历程及其所存在问题的认识和理解，这无疑会为我们进一步探求中国未来的宪政发展之路指明前进的方向。