PDF The Roberts Court The Struggle for the Constitution Marcia Coyle 9781451627527 Books
Download As PDF : The Roberts Court The Struggle for the Constitution Marcia Coyle 9781451627527 Books
For eight years, the Roberts Court has been at the center of a constitutional maelstrom. In this acclaimed account, the much-honored, expert Supreme Court reporter Marcia Coyle reveals the fault lines in the conservative-dominated court led by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.
Seven minutes after President Obama put his signature to a landmark national health care insurance program, a lawyer in the office of Florida GOP attorney general Bill McCollum hit a computer key, sparking a legal challenge to the new law that would eventually reach the nation’s highest court. Health care is only the most visible and recent front in a battle over the meaning and scope of the US Constitution. The battleground is the United States Supreme Court, and one of the most skilled, insightful, and trenchant of its observers takes us close up to watch it in action.
Marcia Coyle’s brilliant inside analysis of the High Court captures four landmark decisions—concerning health care, money in elections, guns at home, and race in schools. Coyle examines how those cases began and how they exposed the great divides among the justices, such as the originalists versus the pragmatists on guns and the Second Amendment, and corporate speech versus human speech in the controversial Citizens United case. Most dramatically, her reporting shows how dedicated conservative lawyers and groups have strategized to find cases and crafted them to bring up the judicial road to the Supreme Court with an eye on a receptive conservative majority.
The Roberts Court offers a ringside seat to the struggle to lay down the law of the land.
PDF The Roberts Court The Struggle for the Constitution Marcia Coyle 9781451627527 Books
"I'm so very impressed by this book, I hope I can convey some of its fine character.
There are four major cases that form the basis of this work, and these are followed from their very beginnings till their final Supreme Court rulings. One sees that some stem from a real controversy among well meaning people while others are purposely fabricated to best challenge some specific target.
Along the way I learn so much about what's in play, from different angles. There's the procedural view, how cases move through the courts, how they are handled by the Supreme Court from acceptance till final ruling. There's the legal view, how the various components of scrutiny are met and argued. Then the precedents, which prior rulings set the stage for arguing the case at hand. Even the physical nature of the Supreme Court's courtroom is described, who sits where.
The author is unfailingly respectful of the Justices yet she's ready to exhibit situations where they appear to go amiss in their reasoning. The political nature of the court is certainly present in the background yet the text sticks with the particulars of the issues that play into the task at hand. There are lots of quotes by attorneys and by the justices. Only the public quotes by the justices are attributed, the private ones appear without specific names. Here's an example from an attorney, "You don't get on the Supreme Court if you're apolitical. You just don't because you don't move in the circles that would result in your being appointed." Here's one from a justice, "It's a lot more enjoyable if you like the people you work with, and this is a likeable set of people."
The book is chronological and aside from the four major cases you do get some insight into other cases of interest that come along the way. But the discussions of these are rather brief. The author will occasionally put her own judgements forward, but not frequently. Here's an unusual example referring to the oral argument process: "The Court's conservative justices, frankly, also are better questioners than their colleagues on the left, although that is slowly changing as Kagan and Sotomayor gain experience."
As I progressed through the book my interest seemed to grow as I became better informed about the justices and the process. It is written in a very readable manner yet there is substantive content on every page. That's remarkable."
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The Roberts Court The Struggle for the Constitution Marcia Coyle 9781451627527 Books Reviews :
The Roberts Court The Struggle for the Constitution Marcia Coyle 9781451627527 Books Reviews
- I'm so very impressed by this book, I hope I can convey some of its fine character.
There are four major cases that form the basis of this work, and these are followed from their very beginnings till their final Supreme Court rulings. One sees that some stem from a real controversy among well meaning people while others are purposely fabricated to best challenge some specific target.
Along the way I learn so much about what's in play, from different angles. There's the procedural view, how cases move through the courts, how they are handled by the Supreme Court from acceptance till final ruling. There's the legal view, how the various components of scrutiny are met and argued. Then the precedents, which prior rulings set the stage for arguing the case at hand. Even the physical nature of the Supreme Court's courtroom is described, who sits where.
The author is unfailingly respectful of the Justices yet she's ready to exhibit situations where they appear to go amiss in their reasoning. The political nature of the court is certainly present in the background yet the text sticks with the particulars of the issues that play into the task at hand. There are lots of quotes by attorneys and by the justices. Only the public quotes by the justices are attributed, the private ones appear without specific names. Here's an example from an attorney, "You don't get on the Supreme Court if you're apolitical. You just don't because you don't move in the circles that would result in your being appointed." Here's one from a justice, "It's a lot more enjoyable if you like the people you work with, and this is a likeable set of people."
The book is chronological and aside from the four major cases you do get some insight into other cases of interest that come along the way. But the discussions of these are rather brief. The author will occasionally put her own judgements forward, but not frequently. Here's an unusual example referring to the oral argument process "The Court's conservative justices, frankly, also are better questioners than their colleagues on the left, although that is slowly changing as Kagan and Sotomayor gain experience."
As I progressed through the book my interest seemed to grow as I became better informed about the justices and the process. It is written in a very readable manner yet there is substantive content on every page. That's remarkable. - This book is a solid and thoughtful review of the workings of the Supreme Court since Roberts became Chief Justice, focussing on four critical cases involving affirmative action, gun control, campaign finance, and health care. The reporting is precise and goes deeply into the issues and personalities involved, but it is accessible to a non-legal reader. I learned a lot about the way the Court works in reading it. Why four stars? One reviewer, I notice, headlined their review "Better Than Toobin", but for me the reverse was the case. This book, for me, was more legalistic and less character-driven, if you will, than Toobin's. In consequence, I didn't find it as compelling a read as Toobin's work. By the end, I was feeling rather overwhelmed with legal detail. Still, I shall look forward to reading Ms. Coyle's future works
- This is actually an exciting as well as fully educating study of how the Supreme Court works and why it is fair to call the Roberts Court the most conservative Court in decades. Coyle is an astute observer and has woven anecdotes about the various judges into the fabric of the workings of the Court without presuming to evaluate or judge them. She obviously has a deep respect for the process of adjudication even though she clearly points out the fact that plaintiffs who wish to be heard by our highest court often have a calculated political agenda.
- A regular reporter of the Supreme Court, she attends its sessions and knows the judges. Her history of the cases described in the book are well written and easy to follow. We get to know the lawyers, the judges and the Government involvement. Then when the decision is presented, she analyzes it well and presents her thoughts on the consequences. I have changed my opinion of the Roberts Court and now have a wait and see attitude and a greater respect for their opinions. Well written.
- As a non lawyer I found this to be readable and easily so. The book is divided into sections dealing with Race, guns, speech, etc and recent decisions effecting each magisterium. There is a great story to be told in each section as she involves the plaintiffs and the defense lawyers. Some of the stories are as interesting as the actual outcome of the decisions by the court.
One of the best books I have read this year!
