The Fourth Branch: Some Civics Lessons

Americans know their government has three branches. What they have forgotten is that there is a fourth.It is the oldest. It is the most powerful. And it is the one that gave the other three whatever authority they possess.The Fourth Branch is the body of voting citizens. It fights wars, sits on juries, passes laws through initiative and referendum, and-when necessary-overthrows tyrants. From the Anglo-Saxon tithings of King Æthelred II to the grand juries of Henry II to the citizen assemblies of modern Ireland, the Fourth Branch has always been the foundation of self-government.Today that branch is under siege: From a Supreme Court that has manufactured presidential immunity out of whole constitutional cloth. From billionaire megadonors who dominate the electoral deliberations that belong only to citizens. From a House of Representatives frozen at 435 members since 1929-apportioned to a population one-third our own.Written by a trial lawyer with over fifty years in federal and state courtrooms, The Fourth Branch traces this argument from ancient Athens through Magna Carta, the American founding, and the constitutional crises of today. It is written for the general reader, but built on the kind of sourcing a lawyer or historian can stand on.The argument throughout is constitutional, not partisan. The founders left the tools. This book shows citizens how to pick them back up.About the author: Edward D. Campbell is a retired attorney with over fifty years of federal and state trial and appellate practice, including jury and bench trials. He is the author of six books, including The Cornerstone Brief and Secrets of the Forgotten American Revolution (2015).