Rule of Law Policy Studies and Research | Leadership for America

Rule of Law

The Rule of Law is the foundation for constitutional government and a flourishing civil society. Learn More... Statement of Purpose The American justice system suffers from a prevailing judicial philosophy that treats judging as politics by another name; a dangerous trend to “over-criminalize”—that is, to criminalize conduct that is socially and economically beneficial or is better regulated by the civil justice system or administrative means; and a civil litigation system run amok by frivolous lawsuits and outrageous damage rewards.

To address these three major issues, we seek to reform the “imperial judiciary,” which usurps power that belongs to the political branches of government and wrongly interferes with Heritage’s vision for America. To do this, we must restore the courts to their constitutional role, which is to protect individual liberty, property rights, and free enterprise, and to enforce the constitutional limits on government. We also seek to reverse the dangerous trend to criminalize almost everything. To do this, we must remind legislators of the proper lines between federal and state control, and we must restore the traditional protections afforded the accused by the criminal justice system. Finally we seek to reform America’s civil justice system by restoring it to its traditional role, which is to fairly enforce contracts and property rights, justly mediate disputes involving claims of injury or damage, and follow the rules involving private disputes established by the legislature.

Featured Research

Featured research chosen by Heritage Foundation experts in the rule of law:

Absentee Ballot Fraud: A Stolen Election in Greene County, Alabama

The 1994 Greene County, Alabama, election fraud case shows how easily crooked politicians can abuse absentee ballots to disenfranchise voters. Because the risk of fraud is so high, absentee ballots should be available only to those who truly need them. Additional common-sense steps like signature matching and ID requirements also reduce the risk of stolen elections.

By Hans A. von Spakovsky

Making It a Federal Case: An Inside View of the Pressures to Federalize Crime

A lack of public understanding of the problem of over-federalization results in political pressures that make it difficult for the executive branch to combat the problem. Reform must be pursued incrementally for now, and reform advocates should focus on making the practical benefits of federalism part of the public discourse while eliminating the most egregious examples of over-federalization.

By Rachel Brand

The Senate's ADA Amendments Act: Only Half Bad

Now is not the right time to expand ADA coverage, but if legislation is inevitable, Congress should still reject approaches that muddy the meaning of the law and would inflict unnecessary pain across the economy.

By Andrew M. Grossman

Latest Research

This is the freshest research on the rule of law written by Heritage Foundation experts:

The State Secret Protection Act: Unnecessary, Unconstitutional, and Undemocratic

June 4, 2009

The misnamed State Secret Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 984) is dangerous, in terms of both its effect on national security and the violence it would do to the constitutional separation of powers.

By Andrew M. Grossman

Bailouts, Abusive Bankruptcies, And the Rule of Law

May 22, 2009

The Obama Administration is abusing bankruptcy law to benefit a favored constituency, the United Auto Workers union. This threatens serious consequences.

By Andrew M. Grossman

Byrne JAG and COPS Grant Funding Will Not Stimulate the Economy

May 12, 2009

Instead of passing economic stimulus legislation designed to stimulate the economy, Congress treated the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) as a political Christmas tree to be filled with goodies for special interest groups.

By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.

More Research...

Court Leaves Intrusive Voting Rights Rule at Risk

June 30, 2009

Just as the Allied invasion of North Africa was a preliminary battle to the main fight in Europe, so the Supreme Court's decision last week in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District v. Holder was just a skirmish in the coming war over the Voting Rights Act (VRA).

By Hans A. von Spakovsky

Sotomayor and racial identity politics

June 30, 2009

Sonia Sotomayor has broken quite a few barriers in her life. If she is confirmed as a Supreme Court justice--as seems likely--she will become the first Puerto Rican to sit on the high court. She may even become the first justice to come from one of the Bronx's notorious government housing projects. She will not, however, be the first Hispanic, nor the first Latin.

By Michael Gonzalez

What Is Obama Trying to Cover Up?

June 23, 2009

Saying one thing on the campaign trail and doing another after taking office is nothing new. President Obama has done it repeatedly.

By Hans A. von Spakovsky

Holder Winks at Voter Intimidation

June 9, 2009

When Eric Holder became U.S. attorney general, he promised to administer the law in an objective, nonpolitical manner. So it's disappointing that the Justice Department had spent the last several months misinterpreting key voting rights laws for nakedly political reasons.

By Hans A. von Spakovsky

The Constitution must trump racial politics

June 9, 2009

Standing atop of the U.S. Supreme Court sits Lady Justice dressed in a Greco-Roman garment. She wears a blindfold, signifying an essential element of our country's judicial system: Justice requires that all are treated fairly under the law, regardless of whether the person appearing before the court is rich or poor, white or black, man or woman.

By Israel Ortega

More Research...

Morning Bell: The Sotomayor Pattern

06/30/2009

Yesterday’s Supreme Court opinion in Ricci, the New Haven firefighters case, provides a window to what will inevitably be a significant line of questioning in Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings. After all, Judge Sotomayor not only reached the wrong decision in this case, allowing overt racial discrimination in protection of what were essentially soft racial quotas, Read More...

Supreme Court to Rehear Citizens United

06/29/2009

The Ricci decision will get everyone’s attention today and deservedly so, but there is another important case still to be decided by the Supreme Court. In a very rare move, the Court did not issue a decision on the last day of its term in Citizens United v. FEC, a case filed by a conservative Read More...

The Supreme Court vs. Sotomayor

06/29/2009

The chief complaint with Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s handling of Ricci, the New Haven firefighters case, is not that her court reached the wrong result but that it shirked its duty to give the case its full consideration, in an obvious attempt to bury it. That effort, of course, did not work, and the Supreme Court released Read More...

Activism in Action: The Middle School Strip Search Case

06/25/2009

Sometimes judicial activism isn’t about who wins the case. It may be that the Supreme Court got it right today when it ruled that school officials violated the constitutional rights of 13-year-old Savana Redding when they ordered her to shake out her underwear to see if she was hiding more of the prescription pain pills found Read More...

Understanding Osborne and Access to DNA Evidence

06/18/2009

The immediate reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Osborne case has been both ill-informed and negative. And liberals are already spinning it as the Roberts Court’s latest affront to justice. This is no surprise. It’s easy for political hacks to attack decisions when the public doesn’t understand the facts of the case. Understand Read More...

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