A Year in the Life of the Supreme Court

Aaron Epstein; Kay Kindred; Tony Mauro; David Savage; Stephen Wermiel

Published by Duke University Press 1995

A Year in the Life of the Supreme Court

Aaron Epstein , Kay Kindred , Tony Mauro , David Savage and Stephen Wermiel
Edited by: Rodney A. Smolla , Neal Devins and Mark A. Graber
With contributions by: Paul Barrett and Lyle Denniston

In the series Constitutional conflicts

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822381945

Overview
Contents

About this book

Despite its importance to the life of the nation and all its citizens, the Supreme Court remains a mystery to most Americans, its workings widely felt but rarely seen firsthand. In this book, journalists who cover the Court—acting as the eyes and ears of not just the American people, but the Constitution itself—give us a rare close look into its proceedings, the people behind them, and the complex, often fascinating ways in which justice is ultimately served. Their narratives form an intimate account of a year in the life of the Supreme Court. The cases heard by the Surpreme Court are, first and foremost, disputes involving real people with actual stories. The accidents and twists of circumstance that have brought these people to the last resort of litigation can make for compelling drama. The contributors to this volume bring these dramatic stories to life, using them as a backdrop for the larger issues of law and social policy that constitute the Court’s business: abortion, separation of church and state, freedom of speech, the right of privacy, crime, violence, discrimination, and the death penalty. In the course of these narratives, the authors describe the personalities and jurisprudential leanings of the various Justices, explaining how the interplay of these characters and theories about the Constitution interact to influence the Court’s decisions. Highly readable and richly informative, this book offers an unusually clear and comprehensive portrait of one of the most influential institutions in modern American life.

Author / Editor information

Rodney A. Smolla is Allen Professor of Law at the School of Law, University of Richmond. His books include Suing the Press, Law of Defamation, Jerry Falwell v. Larry Flynt, Free Speech in an Open Society, Smolla and Nimmer on Freedom of Speech, and Federal Civil Rights Acts.

Reviews

"An enlightening series of journalistic snapshots of the Supreme Court by those who portray it best—reporters who have made a specialty of covering the nation’s highest Court."—Fred Graham, Chief Anchor and Managing Editor, Court TV

You don’t have to be a lawyer or a Supreme Court junkie to enjoy this book: it is as good a description—for a general audience as well as a legally trained one—of the real people and cases that come before the Supreme Court as we have ever had. This book is a joy to read."—Floyd Abrams, Constitutional attorney

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgment Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
ONE Introduction: Personality and Process Rodney A. Smolla Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
TWO A Case of Old Age Paul Barrett Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
THREE The Defining Moments ofJayne Bray ... and Justice Blackmun Lyle Denniston Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
FOUR A Search on the Street Richard Carelli Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
FIVE The Interpreter and the Establishment Clause Aaron Epstein Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
SIX A Question of Innocence Marcia Coyle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
SEVEN Hate Speech, Hate Crimes, and the First Amendment David Savage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
EIGHT Civil Rights and Higher Education Kay Kindred Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
NINE A Claim of Sexual Harassment Stephen Wermiel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	231
TEN The Supreme Court and the Cult of Secrecy Tony Mauro Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	257
Appendix: Justices of the Supreme Court, 1992-93 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
Biographies of the Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	283
Table of Cases Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	287
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291

Language: English
Publisher: Duke University Press
Pages
- Main content: 312

eBook

Published: July 28, 1995
ISBN: 9780822381945