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Some Thoughts On Judicial Authority To Repair Unconstitutional Legislation, Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Cleveland State Law Review

Among governing institutions, the judiciary has been described as "the least dangerous branch."' Courts in our system have the awesome power to declare laws unconstitutional, but judges command no troops, and are said to lack the power of the purse. My remarks address a facet of the purse power supposition: When a legislative product is constitutionally infirm because it is under inclusive, what remedies lie within the judicial province? Discussion will focus on the question whether a court may order inclusion of a category of persons left out by the legislature, a question particularly pointed when the court's inclusion order …