The United States Supreme Court
Subtitle: the pursuit of justice
By: Christopher Tomlins, editor ; developed in cooperation between Houghton Mifflin Company and the American Bar Foundation.
Contributors: Tomlins, Christopher L., 1951-; Houghton Mifflin Company.; American Bar Foundation.
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 578
ISBN-13: 9780618329694
Subjects: United States. -- Supreme Court -- History; Constitutional history -- United States
Description: With its ability to review and interpret all American law, the Supreme Court of the United States is arguably the most influential branch of government. Yet, institutionally, it is the least powerful. Its authority relies entirely on the willing consent of the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government and of the American people to accept it as law's ultimate arbiter. Perhaps for this very reason the Court has taken great care to shield itself from the public gaze. Offering a sweeping history of this remote and austere institution, The United States Supreme Court pulls back the curtain of mystery to make the Court accessible to all readers. Eighteen essays, written by the nation's top legal historians -- among them Mark Tushnet, Scot Powe, Paul Finkelman, and Katherine Fischer Taylor -- provide incisive interpretation of the Court's activities over the past two centuries, from its first meetings in borrowed space in the U.S. Capitol to the ornate "Marble Palace" of the present day. The United States Supreme Courtshowcases the Court's legal triumphs and disasters, its internal workings, and its impact on American politics, society, and culture. The book also brings to light the uneasy influence of popular culture and electoral politics on the Court. Organized chronologically by the terms of each chief justice, here are fresh insights into the Court's key moments and cases, from the Dred Scot decision to Brown v. Board of Education, from the Lochner era to the Warren Court, from Roe v. Wade to Bush v. Gore. --Publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The establishment of the federal court system (1787-1791) / Wythe W. Holt, Jr.; title: The earliest years (1790-1801) : laying foundations / Maeva Marcus; title: The Marshall Court (1801-1835) : law, politics, and the emergence of the federal judiciary / Charles F. Hobson; title: The Taney Court (1836-1864) : the jurisprudence of slavery and the crisis of the union / Paul Finkelman; title: The Chase Court (1864-1873) : cautious reconstruction / Michael Vorenberg; title: The Waite Court (1874-1888) : the collapse of reconstruction and the transition to conservative constitutionalism / Howard Gillman; title: The Fuller Court (1888-1910) : property and liberty / Linda Przybyszewski; title: The White Court (1910-1921) : a progressive court? / William E. Forbath; title: The Taft Court (1921-1930) : groping for modernity / Melvin I. Urofsky; title: The Hughes Court (1930-1941) : evolution and revolution / William G. Ross; title: The Stone and Vinson Courts (1941-1953) : transition and transformation / William M. Wiecek; title: The Warren Court (1954-1968) : procedural liberalism and personal freedom / Mark Tushnet; title: The Burger Court (1969-1986) : once more in transition / Keith E. Whittington; title: The Rehnquist Court (1986- ) : radical revision of American constitutional law / Stephen E. Gottlieb; title: First appearances : the material setting and culture of the early Supreme Court / Katherine Fischer Taylor; title: Advocacy before the Supreme Court : 1791 to the present / David C. Frederick; title: The Supreme Court and popular culture : image and projection / Norman L. Rosenberg; title: The Supreme Court and election returns / Lucas A. (Scot) Powe, Jr.; title: Appendixes. Supreme Court personnel : 1789 to the present; title: Supreme Court justices, 1789-2004 : biographical information; title: The Supreme Court's budget : 1790 to the present.