Inside the Mason Court Revolution

This book examines the Australian High Court's enormously controversial and politically explosive transformation during the 1990s. Led by Chief Justice Anthony Mason, the Court embarked on a concerted effort to recast its role within Australia's legal and political systems. The Court moved to the storm center of Australian politics as it became a catalyst for reforms that appeared unobtainable through parliamentary means, including rights for Australia's indigenous population and free speech protections. Securing unprecedented access to Australia's High Court and senior appellate judges, Pierce describes how the transformation unfolded, identifies the conditions that encouraged it, and explores how the Mason Court reforms have attenuated in recent years in the face of a hostile conservative government and in the absence of formal support structures, such as a bill of rights. The book situates the High Court's transformation in the wider context of similar changes that occurred in other common law judicial systems during recent decades, including the United States, Great Britain, and Canada.

Jason L. Pierce is a professor of political science at the University of Dayton. He completed the research for this book while a Fulbright Fellow at the Australian National University's Faculty of Law. His doctorate is from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was affiliated with the Clark Center for Australian Studies.