Supreme Court Chief Justice

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Supreme Court Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

Over the years any number of best selling books have been written about the U.S. Supreme Court. If you are an avid reader like myself then you have probably read a few of them. Of all of the books I have read on this subject I found Jeffrey Toobin's new offering "The Nine: Inside The Secret World of the Supreme Court" to be among the very best. As senior legal analyst for CNN and a staff writer for "The New Yorker" Jeffrey Toobin is uniquely qualified to tackle a topic that most Americans know precious little about and frankly find a bit mysterious. Like peeling the skin from an onion Toobin succeeds in revealing just who these justices are and how they have evolved over time. It is a fascinating study.

One notion that "The Nine" certainly reinforces is the conventional wisdom that says there really is no way of predicting how a judge is going to vote on controversial issues after receiving a lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court. While it seems that majority of justices remain true to their philosophies after being appointed to the Court, a fairly significant percentage of appointees veer off in totally unexpected directions. Throughout "The Nine" Jeffrey Toobin introduces us to the men and women who have served on the Court over the past two decades. Depending on your point of view you will find some of the justices extremely likeable and others enigmatic. You will also learn who the reliable liberal and conservative votes are and who tends to occupy the center. And Jeffrey Toobin spotlights a number of controversial 5-4 cases where those 1 or 2 "swing" votes would make all the difference.

It is quite apparent that Jeffrey Toobin is a huge fan of the recently retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Supreme Court Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Supreme Court The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted

Few American institutions have inflicted greater suffering on ordinary people than the Supreme Court of the United States. Since its inception, the justices of the Supreme Court have shaped a nation where children toiled in coal mines, where Americans could be forced into camps because of their race, and where a woman could be sterilized against her will by state law. The Court was the midwife of Jim Crow, the right hand of union busters, and the dead hand of the Confederacy. Nor is the modern Court a vast improvement, with its incursions on voting rights and its willingness to place elections for sale.

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Supreme Court The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted

Friday, March 6, 2015

Supreme Court Chief Justice A Supreme Court Memoir [Kindle Edition]

I think this interesting book by retired Justice John Paul Stevens will appeal to two groups. First, the general reader without much particular knowledge of the Court will find it a pleasant introduction to how the Court functions, the role of the Chief Justice, and some important decisions. Since Stevens served between 1975 and his retirement in 2010, almost the longest term of service in Court history, he has a remarkable perspective for painting a rich and full picture of the Court as an institution. The second group consists of folks like myself who are serious students of the Court and yearn for an insider's candid views of his former colleagues, how the Court operated, and how some important decisions were hammered out.

Stevens is full of some spicy opinions on various topics and not shy about articulating them. His initial chapter is a very quick run through the first 12 chief justices. This affords the reader with a context in which to put Stevens' views of his own period of service. But at 26 pages, it is pretty sketchy, but still helpful for the general reader. Next, he addresses the role of the Chief Justice, not just hearing arguments and writing opinions, but also the important administrative responsibilities he has, such as those involving the Judicial Conference and the temporary transfer of judges. Then he gets into the meat of the book--five chiefs with whom he interacted and/or served.

First up is Fred Vinson who was chief while Stevens was a clerk to Justice Rutledge in the 1947 term. Because his interaction was not great, his personal insights are limited, but he clearly was not impressed with Vinson as Chief. Next he discusses Earl Warren, but since he only interacted with Warren during one oral argument, his personal insights are limited. Read more

Supreme Court Chief Justice A Supreme Court Memoir [Kindle Edition]