Equity and the Constitution: The Supreme Court, Equitable Relief, and Public Policy

Gary L. McDowell, University of Richmond

Abstract

In the process of this transformation of the idea of juridical equity, there has been a substantial loss of judicial appreciation for the great tradition of equity jurisprudence. The Court, in using its "historic equitable remedial powers'' to impose its politics on society, is often forced to ignore or deny the great tradition of equitable principles and precedents, which had always been viewed as the inherent source of restraint in equitable dispensations.