Nine Scorpions in a Bottle: Great Judges & Cases of the Supreme Court - Softcover

Lerner, Max

3.67

24 ratings by Goodreads

9781559702911: Nine Scorpions in a Bottle: Great Judges & Cases of the Supreme Court

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559702915 ISBN 13: 9781559702911

Publisher: Arcade Publishing, 1995

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A collection of essays about the Supreme Court and its judges discusses such topics as its role in the government, how the role has changed and its symbolism, and examines specific cases

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Review:

To paraphrase the great humorist Finley Peter Dunne, the Constitution follows the flag and the Supreme Court follows the election returns. Journalist and scholar Max Lerner, on the other hand, followed the Supreme Court for more than 60 years. Lerner analyzes the great minds and judicial decisions that have, over the course of his entire career, done so much to shape America's national character. Portraits of John Marshall, Louis Brandeis, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Earl Warren, Felix Frankfurter, Robert Jackson, and William O. Douglas belie Dunne's comic remark. These fiercely independent thinkers followed no election returns but used their intellect and vision to preserve the American Constitution. Lerner's essays on the Court's moments of both majesty and shame are dedicated "to the newest generation of constitutional students." Among the subjects are "The Supreme Court and American Capitalism," "Watergate as Constitutional Crisis," and "The Bork Wars as Confirmation Crisis." Nonpartisan and clear-eyed, Lerner's discussions of the justices and their most important cases will enrich anyone's understanding of American culture and law. --Nancy Starr

About the Author:

Max Lerner is the author of, among many other works, America as a Civilization, The Unfinished Country, and Wrestling with the Angel. For the last twenty years of his life he wrote a highly respected, widely syndicated newspaper column. He died on June 5, 1992.

Stephen Wermiel is professor of practice of constitutional law and associate director of the Summer Institute on Law and Government at American University Washington College of Law. He is coauthor of Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion.

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