Chadha : The Story of an Epic Constitutional Struggle Book

When Jagdish Chadha, a Kenyan of Indian extraction, decided in 1974 to fight his impending deportation, he unwittingly stumbled into one of the most far-reaching separation-of-powers battles of this century. In 1983, when the United States Supreme Court ruled in his favor, it effectively threw out hundreds of laws—more laws than it had overturned in its entire previous history—including acts that dealt with war powers, arms sales, and a host of consumer and environmental matters. "The encompassing nature of the ruling," Justice Powell observed in his concurrence, "gives one pause."
In recounting the Chadha case, legal scholar Barbara Craig takes the reader inside this epic constitutional battle, offering a first-hand glimpse at how constitutional issues are raised and resolved in our society. The Chadha case covers a broad canvas, involving high-level figures in the Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations, influential congressmen, powerful interest groups such as the American Bar Association and Ralph Nader's Public Citizen, federal judges, and many others. Craig has interviewed nearly all the major participants—including Antonin Scalia, William French Smith, and Congressman Elliott Levitas—and has thoroughly combed the available legislative, administrative, and judicial records. The result is a well-documented, eye-opening narrative that tells not only of Chadha's battle to remain in America, but of a wide-spread struggle between Congress and the executive branch that will have ramifications far into the future.
Every concerned citizen will want to read Chadha for its glimpse into the inner workings of politics American-style, and for the insights it provides into the health of the Constitution on the eve of its bicentennial.
About the Author:
Barbara Craig is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at Wesleyan University.