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There's a Book for That: The Supreme Court

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Given Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s decision to retire, President Trump announced this week his nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh currently serves on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He will now make “courtesy calls” with senators though his confirmation hearings are yet to be announced.

The Supreme Court has also entered popular culture this summer with the hit documentary, RBG, about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At 85 years-old, Justice Ginsburg is the eldest on the court. As testament to her popularity, FCTRY, a Brooklyn-based product design company, has raised more than $600,000 for a Ruth Bader Ginsburg life-like action figure, exceeding its funding goal of $15,000 by over 4,000%.

With public interest percolating, we’re highlighting books about the highest court in the land – its history, landmark cases, personalities and its crucial role in American democracy.

 

Without Precedent by Joel Richard PaulWITHOUT PRECEDENT: CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN MARSHALL AND HIS TIMES by Joel Richard Paul

This is the astonishing true story of how a rough-cut frontiersman – born in Virginia in 1755 and with little formal education – invented himself as one of the nation’s preeminent lawyers and politicians who then reinvented the Constitution to forge a stronger nation. Without Precedent is the engrossing account of the life and times of this exceptional man, who with cunning, imagination, and grace shaped America’s future as he held together the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and the country itself.

 

Dissent and the Supreme Court by Melvin I. UrofskyDISSENT AND THE SUPREME COURT: ITS ROLE IN THE COURT’S HISTORY AND THE NATION’S CONSTITUTIONAL DIALOGUE by Melvin I. Urofsky

In Dissent and the Supreme Court, acclaimed historian Melvin Urofsky examines the great dissents throughout the Court’s history. Urofsky looks at the many aspects of American constitutional life that were affected by the Earl Warren Court, the rise of conservatism, and the present age of incivility. Yet within the Marble Palace, the members of the Supreme Court continue to hear arguments, vote, and draft majority opinions, while the minority continues to “respectfully dissent.” The Framers understood that if a constitution doesn’t grow and adapt, it atrophies and dies, and if it does, so does the democratic society it has supported.

 

The Court and the World by Stephen BreyerTHE COURT AND THE WORLD: AMERICAN LAW AND THE NEW GLOBAL REALITIES by Stephen Breyer

A fascinating account of how an increasingly globalized and interdependent world influences the deliberations of America’s highest court, by the sitting justice and author of Making Our Democracy Work and Active Liberty.

 

 

Showdown by Wil HaygoodSHOWDOWN: THURGOOD MARSHALL AND THE SUPREME COURT NOMINATION THAT CHANGED AMERICA by Wil Haygood

An authoritative biography of the first African American Supreme Court justice—one of the giants of the civil rights movement, and one of the most transforming Supreme Court justices of the twentieth century.

 

 

The U.S. Supreme Court Decision on Marriage Equality, Gift Edition by Anthony M. KennedyTHE U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY, as delivered by Justice Anthony Kennedy

A beautifully packaged gift edition of Obergefell et al. v. Hodges, Justice Anthony Kennedy’s landmark Supreme Court decision on marriage equality

 

 

Supreme Court Decisions by SUPREME COURT DECISIONS by Richard Beeman, Jay M. Feinman

The Supreme Court is one of America’s leading expositors of and participants in debates about American values. Legal expert Jay M. Feinman introduces and selects some of the most important Supreme Court Decisions of all time, which touch on the very foundations of American society. These cases cover a vast array of issues, from the powers of government and freedom of speech to freedom of religion and civil liberties. Feinman offers commentary on each case and excerpts from the opinions of the Justices that show the range of debate in the Supreme Court and its importance to civil society.

 

The Nine by Jeffrey ToobinTHE NINE: INSIDE THE SECRET WORLD OF THE SUPREME COURT by Jeffrey Toobin

In this gripping and definitive account of the modern Supreme Court, acclaimed journalist Jeffrey Toobin pulls back the curtain on one of the least well-known – and most important – forces shaping contemporary America.

 

Coming in September…

The Most Dangerous Branch by David A. KaplanTHE MOST DANGEROUS BRANCH: INSIDE THE SUPREME COURT’S ASSAULT ON THE CONSTITUTION by David A. Kaplan

In the bestsellling tradition of The Nine and The Brethren, David A. Kaplan, the former legal affairs editor of Newsweek, takes us into the secret world of the Supreme Court. Never before has the Court been more central in American life. It is the nine justices who too often now decide the controversial issues of our time—from abortion and same-sex marriage, to gun control, campaign finance and voting rights. Kaplan shows how too often the nine justices subvert the role of other branches of government—and how we’ve come to accept that at our peril.

 

For more on these and related titles, visit the collection: Supreme Court


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Posted: July 11, 2018