Theory and Fall of Schizophrenic Justice. Review of: “Over Ruled. The Human Toll of Too Much Law" (by Neil Gorsuch, & Janie Nitze)

It seems to be a question of timing. This intervention comes at the wrong time, prematurely, in a time that does not yet belong to the author. Its difficulties, moreover, are to be found in a syntax comparable to that of Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 of the Constitution of the United States of America: just as “No Bill of Attainder[legislative acts of conviction or ad personam criminal laws] or ex post factolaw [that makes a crime out of an act that was not a crime when it was done] shall be passed”, so no one “[...] shall try a system before it has fallen” (Davigo, 2021, p. 184).But is it really necessary to put the current system of justice in America to the test at all costs? The volume “Over Ruled:The Human Toll of Too Much Law” by Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, and Janie Nitze, published in 2024 byHarperCollins Publishers, seems to be able to answer this question effectively (though not exhaustively). The contribution, which builds on a well-known statement by Gorsuch from 20191, shows how the proliferation of criminal sanctions has dangerously increased the powers of US prosecutors, leading to an almost complete replacement of jury trials by sentencing at the request of the parties (so-called “plea bargaining”).