Linda GreenhouseCríticas

recommended by AP teachers
author is the Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times

Harry Blackmun az Amerikai Egyesült Államok Legfelsőbb Bíróságának bírája volt 24 évig. Végrendeletében halála (1999) után személyes jegyzeteit, leveleit a Kongresszusi Könyvtárnak ajándékozta. Elképesztő mennyiségű iratról van itt szó, több mint 1500 doboz, kb. 200 folyóméter. Viszonylag korán, már 2004-ben hozzáférhetőek lettek az iratok. A család engedélyével Greenhouse pár hónappal korábban hozzáfért az iratokhoz a többieknél és egy cikksorozatot írt a jegyzetek alapján. Ebből a cikksorozatból nőtt ki ez a könyv.

A többi hasonló könyvvel ellentétben az írónő nem készített interjúkat Blackmun kortársaival, mivel Blackmun éveinek nagy részében a Legfelsőbb Bíróságról írt cikkeket a New York Timesnak, vagyis leginkább a saját cikkeit használta fel forrásként. Ezen kívül felhasznált más forrásokat is (pl. nyilván a The Brethrent) de a fő újdonságot mindenképpen Blackmun jegyzetei jelentik.

A könyv szerkezete nem túl meglepő, viszonylag gyorsan átugorjuk a korai éveket, a Legfelsőbb Bíróság éveire összpontosítunk. Alapvetően időrendben haladunk, de pár kiemelt témát (pl. nem túl meglepő módon az abortusz, hiszen Blackmun jegyezte a Roe v. Wade többségi véleményét) külön is elemez az írónő. Visszatérő elem Blackmun kapcsolata Burger főbírával, akikkel évtizedes barátok voltak (Minnesota twins ugye) de idővel elhidegültek.

A könyv kellemes olvasmány, érdekes (híres és kevésbé ismert) bírósági döntéseket mutat be. Blackmun jegyzetei hasznosak, de azt nem éreztem, hogy valami óriási nagy meglepetést tartalmaztak volna. Ha jól tudom az egyik legfontosabb ami kiolvasható a jegyzetekből az az, hogy többségében alátámasztja a Brethren állításait.

5768. Justice on the Brink The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and Twelve Months That Transformed the Supreme Court, by Linda Greenhouse (read 3 Dec 2021) This book has just been published, having been finished on 21 July 2021. It covers the the events of the Supreme Court from October 2020 through July 2021,and was written as the year progressed. So it cannot have much current reflection concerning the time as a whole. But it is a good commentary, and makes many valid comments about the tendencies of the various justices. But one must be fearful as to some of the aims of the some of the justices. I think that Alito is the easiest of the justices to predict on his wing of the Court. I have no expectation he will ever vote as I prefer, whereas I have some hope for the other justices, even Clarence Thomas. And I still think Amy Barrett might sometimes surprise a person. Following the Supreme Court is a fascinating enterprise, and this book highlights some of the reasons therefor.

This is how my life should be: The first 50 years dispatched in two chapters.

5427. The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right, by Michael J. Graetz and Linda Greenhouse (read 29 Nov 2016) This is an excellent book, right up to the present. It discusses the Supreme Court during the years from 1969 to 1987--the years when Warren Burger was Chief Justice. But in order to give context the book discusses events before and after those years as well. Its principal divisions are captioned Crime, Race, Social Transformation, Business, and The Presidency. Each topic is covered as thoroughly as even a lawyer would want, with full footnotes and legal citations. The authors show the ways that the Burger Court cut down on the accomplishments of the Warren Court, even though they did not reverse them--leaving such for the Rehnquist and Roberts Court to do. I found all the discussion of exceptional interest, although I will admit the section under Business dealing with workplace inequality is pretty technical and without close study is hard to absorb. But all the other parts of the book are of huge interest and most enlightening.

My favorite law-related book ever. Excellent biography of one of my favorite Supreme Court justices, and written by an author who really knows her stuff.

The judicial branch of government in the United States had a remarkable development. Linda Greenhouse introduces the reader to the Supreme Court, its formation, development and the role it performs in the public square. The Supreme Court's decisions shaped importants aspects of american life and gave to the Judiciary a crucial position, one of protagonism in the social arena. The book made insightful remarks about the composition of the Court, the way its members are choosed and the rules that governed its works. In this short work one has a valuable resource about the rule of the law in american democracy.

Very well written and researched of the Supreme Court Justice

A detailed and perhaps overly sympathetic portrait of Justice Blackmun. This is a quick, entertaining read, but it likely overestimates the quality of Blackmun's work on the Supreme Court½

4079 Becoming Justice Blackmun Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey, by Linda Greenhouse (read 4 Oct 2005) This book by the very able New York Times Supreme Court reporter is exceptionally well-done, and furnishes a super authentic insight into the workings of the Supreme Court during Blackmun's tenure. Blackmun was born 12 Nov 1908 in Nashville, Ill., grew up in St. Paul, met future Chief Justice Warren Burger in kindergarten. He went to Harvard College and Law, ranking no. 120 out of 451 in his law school class. This book is not really a biography, but only because it leaves out a lot of his life. There is much concentration on Roe v. Wade. The account of the behind the scenes story of that opinion made me feel the justices were acting like legislators--as they were. There was no justification for the Supreme Court to override all the state law, and it is I think generally realized by legal scholars that Roe v. Wade was a brutal exercise of judicial power, done because they could do it. But the behind the scenes account is excellent, based on Blackmun's papers which were opened five years after his death on 4 Mar 1999. I think it is a better book than even Bob Woodward's The Brethren (read 17 Mar 1982) and Closed Chambers by Blackmun's law clerk Edward Lazarus (read 18 Aug 1998) and ranks with the fascinating behind the scenes book The Forgotten Memoir of John Knox (read 15 Feb 2005) by Justice McReynolds' law clerk. This book was a sheer pleasure to read, even tho I disapprove of Blackmun's infamous work in Roe v. Wade.½