Customer Reviews

God Save this Honorable Court: How the Choice of Justices Shapes Our History

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This is a curious peek into how the Supreme Court was viewed in the beginning of 1985. Apparently, there was a myth that the Senate was spineless and would just confirm anyone the President suggested, and people thought that Presidents were often surprised by the decisions made by their nominees once confirmed. These myths seem like bizarre historical quirks in 2010, when the question of a Presidential candidate's potential nominees is such a huge focus in every major election, but they are valuable quirks, and Professor Tribe ably guides the reader through not only myths believed by the public but also historical overviews, issue-based analyses of the Burger Court, and suggestions for the future of the nomination process. Tribe makes a compelling case for a vigorous confirmation hearing in the Senate, and it is a refreshing one after so many ugly partisan hearings that have little to do with a nominee's actual abilities to decide cases fairly.

I was a student in Professor Tribe's Constitutional Law class in the Spring of 2005, and I did not particularly enjoy the process. I got the impression that Tribe took Justices at their word when they promised that they were applying various convoluted tests and imaginary standards, while I was much more skeptical about how conveniently the end results were exactly what the majority of Justices wanted no matter how the issues were analyzed. In this book, however, Tribe comes across as much more of a realist. He recognizes political forces and the way that desired outcomes have effects on the legal analysis of a case, and this book comes across overall like a simplified version of his class, maintaining almost all of his admirable qualities as an educator and almost none of his faults.

This is not exactly a must-read, as it sounds alarms that were most relevant 25 years ago, but it is an enjoyable read, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the history of the Supreme Court and a brief introduction to Constitutional Law.

Laurence H. Tribe has admitted that he plagiared several passages from Henry J. Abraham's 1974 book on Supreme Court appointments, Justices and Presidents. Research before you buy..