Includes bibliographical references (p. 295-313) and index.

1: Montesquieu's jurisprudence and new judicial power -- Moderating liberalism and common law: spirit and juridical liberty -- Moderate and juridical government: the spirit of constitutional liberty -- Projects for reform: due process, national spirit, and liberal toleration -- The new aristocracy of the robe: history, reason, and judicial prudence -- 2: Blackstone and the Montesquieuan constitution -- Blackstone's liberal education for law and politics -- A gothic and liberal Constitution: Blackstone's tempering of sovereignty -- Blackstone, Lord Mansfield, and common-law liberalism -- 3: Montesquieu's judicial legacy in America -- Hamilton's common-law constitutionalism and judicial prudence -- Tocqueville's judicial statesmanship and common-law spirit -- Holmes and judicialized liberalism -- Conclusion: the cloaking of power and the perpetuation of constitutionalism.

How did the U.S. judiciary become so powerful-powerful enough that state and federal judges vied to decide a presidential election? What does this prominence mean for the law, constitutionalism, and liberal democracy both in America and internationally?In The Cloaking of Power, Paul O. Carrese provides a provocative and original analysis of the intellectual sources of today's powerful judiciary, arguing that Montesquieu, in his Spirit of the Laws, first articulated a new conception of the separation of powers and of strong but subtle courts. Montesquieu instructed statesmen and judges to & quot.

Description based on print version record.