American Exception: US Court Is Now Guiding Fewer Nations

American legal influence is waning as foreign courts pay less attention to US court decisions, suggests Adam Liptak in an article for the New York Times. One reason is that Supreme Court justices are wary about citing decisions from foreign courts. As a result, the US loses one of its great bully pulpits, notes one scholar. Intense debate is underway among legal scholars about whether the US system should consider legal arguments developed in India, New Zealand, Sweden and elsewhere in the world or whether international dialogue simply does not apply to the US Constitution. Canada, by regarding international consensus in its legal opinions, has become more influential than the US. “The nation’s initial geographic isolation and pioneer spirit, which emphasized freedom, private property and individual responsibility” has “led, for instance, to a near-absolute commitment to free speech and a particularly tough approach to crime,” Liptak writes. By standing apart from the crowd, the US legal and democratic system could develop in ways that are separate and different from its many offspring around the globe. – YaleGlobal