'Democracy by Decree shows how courts can protect rights and still let mayors and governors do their job.”
--John Sexton, President of New York University

'An easy to read, insightful and scholarly explanation of how our country's government of the people became a government of the courts. Sandler and Schoenbrod offer a measured and practical prescription for restoring democracy while still honoring rights. This book will appeal to liberals and conservatives alike.”
--Lamar Alexander, former governor of Tennessee

'Democracy by Decree is an impressive and thoughtful analysis of the current court-centered rights culture in which it is too easy for elected officials to ‘pass the buck' to courts while taking actions that are blatantly unconstitutional.”
--Nadine Strossen, President, American Civil Liberties Union and professor, New York Law School

'A brilliant, well-written and brave account of how federal courts have distorted our political system by taking control of complex institutions like schools and prisons-sometimes for decades-instead of enforcing rights, which is their proper domain.”
--Diane Ravitch, New York University

'Democracy by Decree is a devastating indictment of how high-sounding legal mandates undermine the social goals they purport to guarantee. With fascinating blow-by-blow accounts, Sandler and Schoenbrod expose how advocates for one interest group inevitably undermine the interests of others and thwart the ability of those in responsibility to balance interests for the common good.”
--Philip K. Howard, Author of The Death of Common Sense

'Sandler and Schoenbrod's account-really a discovery-of the existence of a second government in our midst is meticulous, nuanced, and alarming. By showing how unilateral judicial government undermines both democracy and individual rights, they have done a significant service to both.”
--Christopher DeMuth, president, American Enterprise Institute