Mixed legislative motives block courts from cleanly screening laws for entrenchment.
Evidence
A further difficulty is that laws that may have the purpose and effect of entrenching a party or policy may also have other purposes and effects worthy of democratic respect. Here again, election law is illustrative. Campaign finance regulations might well benefit incumbents at the expense of challengers or one party at the expense of another, but they may also aim to mitigate the influence of wealth on elections and equalize the political influence of constituents across income groups. — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 413
Categorization
- XREF: Directly relevant to why rationalizing ideologies (e.g., campaign finance as ‘clean government’) resist legal dismantling — the legitimate purpose gives the entrenching law durable cover. — connects to: Courts suppress entrenchment indirectly by enforcing individual rights, not systemic values — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 108; Judicial power over policy is more limited than it appears — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 191; Entrenchment is intentional creation of legal impediments to change — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 39
Broader Connections
- Courts suppress entrenchment indirectly by enforcing individual rights, not systemic values
#expands(0.85) — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 108 - Judicial power over policy is more limited than it appears
#exemplifies(0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 191 - Entrenchment is intentional creation of legal impediments to change
#qualifies(0.75) — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 39