Elle reviewed Lawless by Leah Litman
Information dense, but still not a heavy read
4 stars
Lawless is very successful in compiling a substantial indictment of the Supreme Court comprised of many decisions over its history. The summation of the politically motivated decisions devoid of coherent judicial philosophy or reasoning is encapsulated by the author in the term "vibes". The court rules by vibes.
Despite the levity (and accuracy) of the description, the book doesn't stray far from dry facts. Even the narrative is more implied than directly stated throughout, drawing together relevant details to paint a picture over time.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone not especially familiar with the slanted nature of the court, but while Litman does walk through cases all the way back to the start of the court, there may not be a huge amount here for anyone who has been keeping tabs on John Roberts and company over the past decade.
Lawless is very successful in compiling a substantial indictment of the Supreme Court comprised of many decisions over its history. The summation of the politically motivated decisions devoid of coherent judicial philosophy or reasoning is encapsulated by the author in the term "vibes". The court rules by vibes.
Despite the levity (and accuracy) of the description, the book doesn't stray far from dry facts. Even the narrative is more implied than directly stated throughout, drawing together relevant details to paint a picture over time.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone not especially familiar with the slanted nature of the court, but while Litman does walk through cases all the way back to the start of the court, there may not be a huge amount here for anyone who has been keeping tabs on John Roberts and company over the past decade.