Books by Leonard W. Levy

Leonard Levy's classic work examines the circumstances that led to the writing of the establishment clause of the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...." He argues that, contrary to popular belief, the framers of the Constitution intended to prohibit government aid to religion even on an impartial basis

The Pulitzer Prize-winning constitutional historian Leonard Levy here collects eight of his most important essays of recent years. Written with his characterstic erudition, clarity, directness, and verve, these explorations into the history of the law are at once an entertainment and an education. One of the clearest and most eloquent liberal interpreters of law. New York Times Book Review.

What did "freedom of the press" really mean to the framers of the First Amendment and their contemporaries? This masterful book by a Pulitzer Prize-winning constitutional historian answers that question. In Emergence of a Free Press (a greatly revised and enlarged edition of his landmark Legacy of Suppression), Leonard W. Levy argues that the First Amendment was not designed to be the bulwark of a free press that many thought, nor had the amendment's framers intended to overturn the common law of seditious libel that was the principal means of stifling political dissent. Yet he notes how robust and rambunctious the early press was, and he takes that paradox into account in tracing the succession of cases and reforms that figured in the genesis of a free press. Mr. Levy's brilliant account offers a new generation of readers a penetrating look into the origins of one of America's most cherished freedoms.

Here, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author traces the development of trial by jury - "the palladium of justice". He summarises the issue, and offers explanations of the full implications of one of the most basic social rights.

Rejecting the views of both left and right, Mr. Levy evaluates the doctrine of "original intent" by examining the sources of constitutional law and landmark cases. "Merciless and brilliant. In fascinating detail...Mr. Levy demonstrates that there can be no such animal [as original intent]."-Anthony Lewis, New York Times Book Review.