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Supreme Court Chief Justice A Supreme Court Memoir [Kindle Edition]
![Supreme Court Chief Justice A Supreme Court Memoir [Kindle Edition]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sqyY7ZNXrDz9L_vxX2NZC_3sprUMzj3j2YGFN0i2wqT6filETloL3EiTZiDAXrbmdK_FyrmRXAvyIN-M_-qJyUXV0lLEDHPvTvhvi10lGYsyYQBAznKko5OnQC6kGALWBwiGo12z3Kg/s1600/Supreme+Court+Chief+Justice+A+Supreme+Court+Memoir+%5BKindle+Edition%5D.jpg "Supreme Court Chief Justice A Supreme Court Memoir [Kindle Edition]")
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
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
