The Federalist, by Hamilton, Madison, and & Jay, edited by Jacob E. Cooke
"Cooke studied the text of the complete Federalist, and happily for scholars, he determined to print this separate edition embodying his discoveries. He ends at last our previous ignorance in two important areas: first, in recording the printing history of the individual essays in the four New York papers where they originally appeared; second, in reporting all the changes the Publius (Hamilton and Madison) made (or sanctioned) in the primary newspaper text when it was reissued in book form in 1788, 1802 and 1817. Cooke's edition, thus, is the first definitive, variorum edition of the text of this much reprinted classic."? The William and Mary Quarterly.”
The Birth Of The Bill Of Rights, 1776-1791, by Robert Allen Rutland
“While there are many books about the origins of the U.S. Constitution, there are very few about the origins of the Bill of Rights which was established by the new federal government as the first 10 amendments to the Constitution between 1789 and 1791. This excellent book by historian Robert Allen Rutland (editor of the papers of James Madison) is currently out of print. That is unfortunate since his book (first published in 1955) might still be the best book aimed at ordinary readers who just want to understand how the Bill of Rights evolved and why it was not actually included in the original Constitution. There are other more recent books on the subject by Akhil Reed Amar (2000) and Leonard W. Levy (2001), but these books tackle the amendments individually and appear to be aimed at law students and constitutional lawyers; they also seemed focused on trying to divine the original meanings of the Bill of Rights in light of current arguments about their interpretations. Rutland, in contrast, focuses primarily on the origins of the bill of rights and the process by which they were created without trying to evaluate the amendments in connection with current affairs.”
Framed for Posterity: The Enduring Philosophy of the Constitution, by Ralph Ketcham
“In Marbury v. Madison Chief Justice John Marshall defined the Constitution as "a superior, paramount law," one that superseded the laws passed by Congress and state legislatures. What makes it paramount? This book sets out to recover the enduring principles, purposes, and meanings that inform the founders' charter and continue to offer us political guidance more than 200 years later. In so doing it steers a middle course between "originalists" who constrict interpretation to constitutional specifics and "relativists" who adapt the Constitution to the moment by ignoring original meaning. "Original intent," Ralph Ketcham argues, is best discerned by a study of the political climate that nourished the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and, more particularly, by understanding the broader meanings, intentions, and purposes of the framers. To recover this full context of political thinking, Ketcham delves not only into the meaning of the documents but also into the connotations of the framers' vocabulary, the reasoning behind both accepted and rejected propositions, arguments for and against, and unstated assumptions. In his analysis the fundamental or enduring principles are republicanism, liberty, public good, and federalism (as part of the broader doctrine of balance of powers). Ketcham answers convincingly those who question the relevance to modern constitutional interpretation of the finding that the founders were both republican and liberal. He asserts that the rights-protecting character of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights derived from the founders' belief that private rights depended upon active government and public virtue. In other words, private liberties rested on the citizenry's right to self-governance. James Madison sought to ensure a system of government that would serve as guardian "both of public Good and of private rights." In providing an interpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that incorporates both republican and liberal perspectives, Ketcham should find a wide readership among politically active citizens, lawyers, judges, and those who teach and study constitutional law and political theory.”
A History of the Supreme Court, by Bernard Schwartz
“When the first Supreme Court convened in 1790, it was so ill-esteemed that its justices frequently resigned in favor of other pursuits. John Rutledge stepped down as Associate Justice to become a state judge in South Carolina; John Jay resigned as Chief Justice to run for Governor of New York; and Alexander Hamilton declined to replace Jay, pursuing a private law practice instead. As Bernard Schwartz shows in this landmark history, the Supreme Court has indeed travelled a long and interesting journey to its current preeminent place in American life. In A History of the Supreme Court, Schwartz provides the finest, most comprehensive one-volume narrative ever published of our highest court. With impeccable scholarship and a clear, engaging style, he tells the story of the justices and their jurisprudence--and the influence the Court has had on American politics and society.”
John Jay: Founding Father, by Walter Stahr
“John Jay was a central figure in the early history of the American Republic. A New York lawyer, born in 1745, Jay served his country with the greatest distinction and was one of the most influential of its Founding Fathers. In the first full-length biography in almost seventy years, Walter Stahr brings Jay vividly to life, setting his astonishing career against the background of the American Revolution. Drawing on substantial new material, Walter Stahr has written a full and highly readable portrait of both the public and private man. It is the story not only of John Jay himself, the most prominent native-born New Yorker of the eighteenth century, but also of his engaging and intelligent wife, Sarah, who accompanied her husband on his wartime diplomatic missions. This lively and compelling biography presents Jay in the light he deserves: as a major Founding Father, a true national hero, and a leading architect of America's future.”
The Great Chief Justice: John Marshall and the Rule of Law, by Charles F. Hobson
“Clarifies the thrust of Marshall's jurisprudence while keeping in sight the man as well as the jurist. Argues that Marshall was not an ideologue intent in appropriating the lawmaking powers of Congress, but rather was deeply committed to a principled jurisprudence based on a science of law steeped in the common law tradition.”
Supreme Injustice: Slavery in the Nation’s Highest Court, by Paul Finkelman
“The three most important Supreme Court Justices before the Civil War?Chief Justices John Marshall and Roger B. Taney and Associate Justice Joseph Story?upheld the institution of slavery in ruling after ruling. These opinions cast a shadow over the Court and the legacies of these men, but historians have rarely delved deeply into the personal and political ideas and motivations they held. In Supreme Injustice, the distinguished legal historian Paul Finkelman establishes an authoritative account of each justice’s proslavery position, the reasoning behind his opposition to black freedom, and the incentives created by circumstances in his private life.”
Marbury v. Madison and Judicial Review, by Robert Lowry Clinton
“Few Supreme Court decisions are as well-known or loom as large in our nation's history as Marbury v. Madison. The 1803 decision is widely viewed as having established the doctrine of judicial review, which permits the Court to overturn acts of Congress that violate the Constitution; moreover, such judicial decisions are final, not subject to further appeal. Robert Clinton contends that few decisions have been more misunderstood, or misused, in the debates over judicial review. He argues that the accepted view of Marbury is ahistorical and emerges from nearly a century of misinterpretation both by historians and by legal scholars.”
Justice William Johnson, the First Dissenter: The Career and Constitutional Philosophy of a Jeffersonian Judge, by Donald G. Morgan
“When, in 1804, President Jefferson made his first appointment to the Supreme Court, his choice fell upon a young judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals. The appointee, William Johnson, who was then thirty-two, was the son of a prosperous Charleston blacksmith… On the Federal Supreme Court Johnson served for thirty years, to 1834, a term entirely encompassed by the chief justiceship of John Marshall, but longer than that of any other of Marshall's Republican colleagues. On the Marshall court, Johnson was distinguished by his independence; of the seventy-two dissenting opinions given on the court during his service there, Johnson wrote thirty-two, and of thirty-seven separate, concurring opinions, he was responsible for twenty-three…The biography by Donald G. Morgan which details the story of this interesting life is a thoroughly admirable work—careful, clear, and reasonably complete.”
John Marshall: Writings (Library of America Founders Collection), by John Marshall (Author) and Charles Hobson (Editor)
“A marvelous and much-needed single-volume collection of the writings of America’s greatest Chief Justice, selected by the scholar who knows him best.”—Gordon Wood, author of Empire of Liberty”
The Great Yazoo Lands Sale: The Case of Fletcher v. Peck (Landmark Law Cases & American Society), by Charles F. Hobson
“In 1795, the Georgia legislature sold the state’s western lands (present-day Alabama and Mississippi) to four private land companies. A year later, amid revelations of bribery, a newly elected legislature revoked the sale. This book tells the story of how the great Yazoo lands sale gave rise to the 1810 case in which the Supreme Court, under Chief Justice John Marshall, for the first time ruled the action of a state to be in violation of the Constitution, specifically the contract clause.”
M’Culloch v. Maryland: Securing a Nation (Landmark Law Cases & American Society), by Mark R. Killenbeck
“Federalism—including its meanings and limits—remains one of the most contested principles in constitutional law. To fully understand its importance, we must turn to a landmark decision nearly two centuries old. M'Culloch v. Maryland (1819) is widely regarded as the Supreme Court's most important and influential decision-one that essentially defined the nature and scope of federal authority and its relationship to the states. Mark Killenbeck's sharply insightful study helps us understand why.”
Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story: Statesman of the Old Republic, by R. Kent Newmyer
“The primary founder and guiding spirit of the Harvard Law School and the most prolific publicist of the nineteenth century, Story served as a member of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1811 to 1845. His attitudes and goals as lawyer, politician, judge, and legal educator were founded on the republican values generated by the American Revolution. Story's greatest objective was to fashion a national jurisprudence that would carry the American people into the modern age without losing those values.”
The First Liberty: America’s Foundation in Religious Freedom, by William Lee Miller
“At a time when the concept of religion-based politics has taken on new and sometimes ominous tones?even within the United States?it is not only right, but also urgently necessary that William Lee Miller revisit his profound exploration of the place of religious liberty and church and state in America. For this revised edition of The First Liberty, Miller has written a pointed new introduction, discussing how religious liberty has taken on deeper dimensions in a post-9/11 world. With new material on recent Supreme Court cases involving church-state relations and a new concluding chapter on America's religious and political landscape, this volume is an eloquent and thorough interpretation of how religious faith and political freedom have blended and fused to form part of our collective history-and most importantly, how each concept must respect the boundaries of the other.”
John Marshall and the Heroic Age of the Supreme Court, by R. Kent Newmyer
“John Marshall (1755-1835) was arguably the most important judicial figure in American history. As the fourth chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from 1801 to 1835, he helped move the court from the fringes of power to the epicenter of constitutional government. His great opinions in cases like Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland are still part of the working discourse of constitutional law in America. Drawing on a new and definitive edition of Marshall's papers, R. Kent Newmyer combines engaging narrative with new historiographical insights in a fresh interpretation of John Marshall's life in the law.”
The Establishment Clause: Religion and the First Amendment, by Leonard W. Levy
“Leonard Levy's classic work examines the circumstances that led to the writing of the establishment clause of the First Amendment: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. . . .' He argues that, contrary to popular belief, the framers of the Constitution intended to prohibit government aid to religion even on an impartial basis. He thus refutes the view of 'non-preferentialists,' who interpret the clause as allowing such aid provided that the assistance is not restricted to a preferred church.”
The Supreme Court Under Marshall And Taney, by R. Kent Newmyer
“In preparing the long-awaited second edition of his well-liked text, Kent Newmyer consulted the best and most relevant of the recent scholarship on the antebellum Court, prompting him to revise important points in the story of the Court’s evolution. Nevertheless, the revised edition of the text retains the basic format and the conceptual premise of the original: the unique contributions of the Marshall and Taney courts taken together laid the foundation for the modern institution. Understanding the Supreme Court during its formative period provides useful insights into its continued (and hotly debated) involvement in shaping American society. Seminal cases that came before the Court, such as Marbury v. Madison and Dred Scott v. Sanford are examined in detail. Besides touting a thoroughly revised bibliographical essay, the second edition of The Supreme Court under Marshall and Taney includes an entirely new bank of illustrations and an index of important cases, making it perfect as supplementary reading for the U.S. history survey as well as courses in U.S. legal history and the history of the Early Republic.”
The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics, by Don E. Fehrenbacher
“Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1979, The Dred Scott Case is a masterful examination of the most famous example of judicial failure--the case referred to as "the most frequently overturned decision in history." On March 6, 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the Supreme Court's decision against Dred Scott, a slave who maintained he had been emancipated as a result of having lived with his master in the free state of Illinois and in federal territory where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise. The decision did much more than resolve the fate of an elderly black man and his family: Dred Scott v. Sanford was the first instance in which the Supreme Court invalidated a major piece of federal legislation. The decision declared that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the federal territories, thereby striking a severe blow at the legitimacy of the emerging Republican Party and intensifying the sectional conflict over slavery. This book represents a skillful review of the issues before America on the eve of the Civil War. The first third of the book deals directly with the case itself and the Court's decision, while the remainder puts the legal and judicial question of slavery into the broadest possible American context. Fehrenbacher discusses the legal bases of slavery, the debate over the Constitution, and the dispute over slavery and continental expansion. He also considers the immediate and long-range consequences of the decision.”
Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession, and the President’s War Powers, by James F. Simon
“The clashes between President Abraham Lincoln and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney over slavery, secession, and the president's constitutional war powers went to the heart of Lincoln's presidency. James Simon, author of the acclaimed What Kind of Nation, brings to vivid life the passionate struggle during the worst crisis in the nation's history, the Civil War. The issues that underlaid that crisis -- race, states' rights, and the president's wartime authority -- resonate today in the nation's political debate.”
The Pullman Case: The Clash of Labor and Capital in Industrial America (Landmark Law Cases & American Society), by David Ray Papke
“When the American Railway Union went on strike against the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1894, it set into motion a chain of events whose repercussions are still felt today. The strike pitted America's largest industrial union against twenty-four railroads, paralyzed rail traffic in half the country, and in the end was broken up by federal troops and suppressed by the courts, with union leader Eugene Debs incarcerated. But behind the Pullman case lay a conflict of ideologies at a watershed time in our nation's history. David Ray Papke reexamines the events and personalities surrounding the 1894 strike, related proceedings in the Chicago trial courts, and the 1895 Supreme Court decision.”
Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation, by Steve Luxenberg
“Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court case synonymous with “separate but equal,” created remarkably little stir when the justices announced their near-unanimous decision on May 18, 1896. Yet it is one of the most compelling and dramatic stories of the nineteenth century, whose outcome embraced and protected segregation, and whose reverberations are still felt into the twenty-first. Separate spans a striking range of characters and landscapes, bound together by the defining issue of their time and ours?race and equality. Wending its way through a half-century of American history, the narrative begins at the dawn of the railroad age, in the North, home to the nation’s first separate railroad car, then moves briskly through slavery and the Civil War to Reconstruction and its aftermath, as separation took root in nearly every aspect of American life.”
The Essential Holmes: Selections from the Letters, Speeches, Judicial Opinions, and Other Writings of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., by Oliver Wendell Holmes (Author), Richard A. Posner (Editor)
“Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., has been called the greatest jurist and legal scholar in the history of the English-speaking world. In this collection of his speeches, opinions, and letters, Richard Posner reveals the fullness of Holmes' achievements as judge, historian, philosopher, and master of English style. Thematically arranged, the volume covers a rich variety of subjects from aging and death to themes in politics, personalities, and law. Posner's substantial introduction firmly places this wealth of material in its proper biographical and historical context.”
Louis D. Brandeis: A Life, by Melvin I. Urofsky
“As a young lawyer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Louis Brandeis, born into a family of reformers who came to the United States to escape European anti-Semitism, established the way modern law is practiced. He was an early champion of the right to privacy and pioneer the idea of pro bono work by attorneys. Brandeis invented savings bank life insurance in Massachusetts and was a driving force in the development of the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Reserve Act, and the law establishing the Federal Trade Commission. Brandeis witnessed and suffered from the anti-Semitism rampant in the United States in the early twentieth century, and with the outbreak of World War I, became at age fifty-eight the head of the American Zionist movement. During the brutal six-month congressional confirmation battle that ensued when Woodrow Wilson nominated him to the Supreme Court in 1916, Brandeis was described as “a disturbing element in any gentlemen’s club.” But once on the Court, he became one of its most influential members, developing the modern jurisprudence of free speech and the doctrine of a constitutionally protected right to privacy and suggesting what became known as the doctrine of incorporation, by which the Bill of Rights came to apply to the states. In this award-winning biography, Melvin Urofsky gives us a panoramic view of Brandeis’s unprecedented impact on American society and law.”
Dissent and the Supreme Court: Its Role in the Court’s History and the Nation’s Constitutional Dialogue, by Melvin I. Urofsky
“Urofsky writes of the necessity of constitutional dialogue as one of the ways in which we as a people reinvent and reinvigorate our democratic society. In Dissent and the Supreme Court, he explores the great dissents throughout the Court’s 225-year history. He discusses in detail the role the Supreme Court has played in helping to define what the Constitution means, how the Court’s majority opinions have not always been right, and how the dissenters, by positing alternative interpretations, have initiated a critical dialogue about what a particular decision should mean. This dialogue is sometimes resolved quickly; other times it may take decades before the Court adjusts its position. Louis Brandeis’s dissenting opinion about wiretapping became the position of the Court four decades after it was written. The Court took six decades to adopt the dissenting opinion of the first Justice John Harlan in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)—that segregation on the basis of race violated the Constitution—in Brown v. Board of Education (1954).”
The Chief Justiceship of William Howard Taft, 1921-1930 (Chief Justiceships of the United States Supreme Court), by Jonathan Lurie
“In The Chief Justiceship of William Howard Taft, 1921–1930, Jonathan Lurie offers a comprehensive examination of the Supreme Court tenure of the only person to have held the offices of president of the United States and chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. Taft joined the Court during the Jazz Age and the era of prohibition, a period of disillusion and retreat from the idealism reflected during Woodrow Wilson's presidency. Lurie considers how conservative trends at this time were reflected in key decisions of Taft's court. Although Taft was considered an undistinguished chief executive, such a characterization cannot be applied to his tenure as chief justice. Lurie demonstrates that Taft's leadership on this tribunal, matched by his productive relations with Congress, in effect created the modern Supreme Court. Furthermore he draws on the unpublished letters Taft wrote to his three children, Robert, Helen, and Charles, generally once a week. His missives contain an intriguing mixture of family news, insights concerning contemporaneous political issues, and occasional commentary on his fellow justices and cases under consideration.”
The Supreme Court of the United States: Its Foundation, Methods and Achievements, by Charles Evans Hughes
“This captivating book originally published in 1928 comprises a series of six lectures given by Justice Charles Evans Hughes at Columbia University. He has endeavored in a capsulized form to interpret the work of the court-its origins, methods, the general principles that govern it, and the way in which the Justices approach and perform their tasks. In depicting the highest levels of judicial work, Justice Hughes shares with us the points of view of our most illustrious jurists, albeit by brief excerpts. The overarching aim of this compact book is to help ordinary people better understand an institution that, despite its constant and unique service, is still a mystery to most.”
The Chief Justiceship of Charles Evans Hughes, 1930-1941 (Chief Justiceships of the United States Supreme Court), by William G. Ross
“During the 1930s the U.S. Supreme Court abandoned its longtime function as an arbiter of economic regulation and assumed its modern role as a guardian of personal liberties. William G. Ross analyzes this turbulent period of constitutional transition and the leadership of one of its central participants in The Chief Justiceship of Charles Evans Hughes, 1930–1941. Tapping into a broad array of primary and secondary sources, Ross explores the complex interaction between the court and the political, economic, and cultural forces that transformed the nation during the Great Depression. Written with an appreciation for both the legal and historical contexts, this comprehensive volume explores how the Hughes Court removed constitutional impediments to the development of the administrative state by relaxing restrictions previously invoked to nullify federal and state economic regulatory legislation. Ross maps the expansion of safeguards for freedoms of speech, press, and religion and the extension of rights of criminal defendants and racial minorities. Ross holds that the Hughes Court's germinal decisions championing the rights of African Americans helped to lay the legal foundations for the civil rights movement.”
FDR and Chief Justice Hughes: The President, the Supreme Court, and the Epic Battle Over the New Deal, by James F. Simon
“The confrontation threatened the New Deal in the middle of the nation’s worst depression. The activist president bombarded the Democratic Congress with a fusillade of legislative remedies that shut down insolvent banks, regulated stocks, imposed industrial codes, rationed agricultural production, and employed a quarter million young men in the Civilian Conservation Corps. But the legislation faced constitutional challenges by a conservative bloc on the Court determined to undercut the president. Chief Justice Hughes often joined the Court’s conservatives to strike down major New Deal legislation. Frustrated, FDR proposed a Court-packing plan. His true purpose was to undermine the ability of the life-tenured Justices to thwart his popular mandate. Hughes proved more than a match for Roosevelt in the ensuing battle. In grudging admiration for Hughes, FDR said that the Chief Justice was the best politician in the country.”
Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court, by Jeff Shesol
"A stunning work of history."?Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of No Ordinary Time and Team of Rivals. Beginning in 1935, the Supreme Court's conservative majority left much of FDR's agenda in ruins. The pillars of the New Deal fell in short succession. It was not just the New Deal but democracy itself that stood on trial. In February 1937, Roosevelt struck back with an audacious plan to expand the Court to fifteen justices?and to "pack" the new seats with liberals who shared his belief in a "living" Constitution.”
Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, by Juan Williams
“From the bestselling author of Eyes on the Prize, here is the definitive biography of the great lawyer and Supreme Court justice. Thurgood Marshall stands today as the great architect of American race relations, having expanded the foundation of individual rights for all Americans. His victory in the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the landmark Supreme Court case outlawing school segregation, would have made him a historic figure even if he had not gone on to become the first African-American appointed to the Supreme Court.”
Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made, by Jim Newton
“This captivating book originally published in 1928 comprises a series of six lectures given by Justice Charles Evans Hughes at Columbia University. He has endeavored in a capsulized form to interpret the work of the court-its origins, methods, the general principles that govern it, and the way in which the Justices approach and perform their tasks. In depicting the highest levels of judicial work, Justice Hughes shares with us the points of view of our most illustrious jurists, albeit by brief excerpts. The overarching aim of this compact book is to help ordinary people better understand an institution that, despite its constant and unique service, is still a mystery to most.”
Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for Equality, by Richard Kluger
“Simple Justice is generally regarded as the classic account of the U.S. Supreme Court's epochal decision outlawing racial segregation and the centerpiece of African-Americans' ongoing crusade for equal justice under law. The 1954 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education brought centuries of legal segregation in this country to an end. It was and remains, beyond question, one of the truly significant events in American history, "probably the most important American government act of any kind since the Emancipation Proclamation," in the view of constitutional scholar Louis H. Pollak. The Brown decision climaxed along, torturous battle for black equality in education, making hard law out of vague principles and opening the way for the broad civil rights upheavals of the 1960s and beyond. Simple Justice is the story of that battle. Richard Kluger traces the background of the epochal decision, from its remote legal and cultural roots to the complex personalities of those who brought about its realization. The result is a landmark work of popular history, graceful and fascinatingly detailed, the panoramic account of a struggle for human dignity in process since the birth of the nation.”
The Chief Justiceship of Warren Burger, 1969-1986 (Chief Justiceships of the United States Supreme Court), by Earl M. Maltz
“In The Chief Justiceship of Warren Burger, 1969–1986, Earl M. Maltz offers a comprehensive summary and analysis of the Supreme Court's impact on American law and government during Burger's tenure. Undoubtedly one of the most interesting periods in Supreme Court history, the Burger Court generally holds a place in America's judicial memory as a centrist or mildly conservative institution that followed the liberal constitutionalism of the Warren Court and preceded the conservative ideology of the Rehnquist Court. Maltz demonstrates, however, that under Burger the Court's ideological transition was far from immediate and certainly not regular or universal in process. Maltz contends that in many areas of constitutional law the Burger Court produced the most liberal jurisprudence in history?even more liberal than that of its predecessor.”
Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun’s Supreme Court Journey, by Linda Greenhouse
“From 1970 to 1994, Justice Harry A. Blackmun (1908-1999) wrote numerous landmark Supreme Court decisions, including Roe v. Wade, and participated in the most contentious debates of his era-all behind closed doors. In Becoming Justice Blackmun, Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times draws back the curtain on America's most private branch of government and reveals the backstage story of the Supreme Court through the eyes and writings of this extraordinary justice.”
The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court, by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong
“The Brethren is the first detailed behind-the-scenes account of the Supreme Court in action. Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong have pierced its secrecy to give us an unprecedented view of the Chief and Associate Justices—maneuvering, arguing, politicking, compromising, and making decisions that affect every major area of American life.”
The Supreme Court, A New Edition of the Chief Justice’s Classic History, by William H. Rehnquist
“Chief Justice Rehnquist’s engaging writing illuminates both the high and low points in the Court's history, from Chief Justice Marshall’s dominance of the Court during the early nineteenth century through the landmark decisions of the Warren Court. Citing cases such as the Dred Scott decision and Roosevelt's Court-packing plan, Rehnquist makes clear that the Court does not operate in a vacuum, that the justices are unavoidably influenced by their surroundings, and that their decisions have real and lasting impacts on our society. The public often hears little about the Supreme Court until decisions are handed down. Here, Rehnquist reveals its inner workings--the process by which cases are chosen, the nature of the conferences where decisions are made, and the type of debates that take place. With grace and wit, this incisive history gives a dynamic and informative account of the most powerful court in the nation and how it has shaped the direction America has taken.”
First: Sandra Day O’Connor, by Evan Thomas
“She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O’Connor’s story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings—doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and cowgirl toughness. She became the first ever female majority leader of a state senate. As a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals, she stood up to corrupt lawyers and humanized the law. When she arrived at the United States Supreme Court, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, she began a quarter-century tenure on the Court, hearing cases that ultimately shaped American law. Diagnosed with cancer at fifty-eight, and caring for a husband with Alzheimer’s, O’Connor endured every difficulty with grit and poise. Women and men who want to be leaders and be first in their own lives—who want to learn when to walk away and when to stand their ground—will be inspired by O’Connor’s example. This is a remarkably vivid and personal portrait of a woman who loved her family, who believed in serving her country, and who, when she became the most powerful woman in America, built a bridge forward for all women.”
The Essential Scalia: On the Constitution, the Courts, and the Rule of Law, by Antonin Scalia (Author), Jeffrey S. Sutton (Editor)
“Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his own words: the definitive collection of his opinions, speeches, and articles on the most essential and vexing legal questions, with an intimate foreword by Justice Elena Kagan. A justice on the United States Supreme Court for three decades, Antonin Scalia transformed the way that judges, lawyers, and citizens think about the law. The Essential Scalia presents Justice Scalia on his own terms, allowing readers to understand the reasoning and insights that made him one of the most consequential jurists in American history. Known for his forceful intellect and remarkable wit, Scalia mastered the art of writing in a way that both educated and entertained. This comprehensive collection draws from the best of Scalia’s opinions, essays, speeches, and testimony to paint a complete and nuanced portrait of his jurisprudence. This compendium addresses the hot-button issues of the times, from abortion and the right to bear arms to marriage, free speech, religious liberty, and so much more. It also presents the justice’s wise insights on perennial debates over the structure of government created by our Constitution and the proper methods for interpreting our laws.”
Bush v. Gore: The Court Cases and the Commentary, by E.J. Dionne (Editor), William Kristol (Editor)
“On December 12, 2000, a controversial decision by the Supreme Court of the United States effectively ended the disputed presidential contest between George W. Bush and Albert Gore Jr. with a 5-4 ruling that revealed the court to be as bitterly divided as the electorate. Four days earlier, the Florida Supreme Court had abruptly changed the dynamics of the election by reversing a lower court and ordering hand recounts of "undervotes" statewide. The U.S. Supreme Court quickly stepped in to halt the recounts and agreed to hear Bush v. Gore. After brief oral arguments and a short period of deliberation, the high court reversed the state court decision. The justices in both cases were bitterly divided, and passionate language emerged in both the majority rulings and the dissents. The drama and divisiveness of this extraordinary saga come to life in the rulings, opinions, and dissents from these two cases: U.S. Supreme Court case 00-949 (Bush v. Gore) and Florida Supreme Court case 00-2431 (Gore v. Harris). The first section of this volume gathers the complete text of both rulings, along with selections from oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court case. The second section of the book gathers the most significant opinion pieces from journalists and scholars on both sides of the political fence. Selected and organized by political analysts E.J. Dionne and William Kristol, these articles illuminate the perspectives of both sides about the various twists and turns in the post-election campaign, and the landmark judicial intervention. A companion website will provide links to documents from additional legal proceedings and other related documents and writings. The legal and historical significance of the 2000 election will be studied and debated for years to come. This volume combines the most important source documents with the most intelligent opinion and analysis about the conflict and its controversial resolution.”
The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts, by Joan Biskupic
“John Roberts was named to the Supreme Court in 2005 claiming he would act as a neutral umpire in deciding cases. His critics argue he has been anything but, pointing to his conservative victories on voting rights and campaign finance. Yet he broke from orthodoxy in his decision to preserve Obamacare. How are we to understand the motives of the most powerful judge in the land? In The Chief, award-winning journalist Joan Biskupic contends that Roberts is torn between two, often divergent, priorities: to carry out a conservative agenda, and to protect the Court's image and his place in history. Biskupic shows how Roberts's dual commitments have fostered distrust among his colleagues, with major consequences for the law. Trenchant and authoritative, The Chief reveals the making of a justice and the drama on this nation's highest court.”
