Books on the Supreme Court

Book Buzz is a blog produced in collaboration with neighborhood librarians from Houston Public Library, Harris County Public Library and the Bellaire Library.

On April 7, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate to become the 113th justice of the U. S. Supreme Court. While the closest I will ever be to a Supreme Court justice is my honor to serve on jury duty in Harris County, my interest in the Supreme Court Justices stem from a book published in 1979, The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong

In this book, the authors examine the function of the Supreme Court during the era of Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, the time frame 1969-1976 in particular. What I remember the most was the presentation of the personalities of the Justices and the mechanics of how things got done in the highest court in the land, a perspective never before presented and something that always fascinated me (I still find myself watching the proceedings of a court during jury duty). An investigative journalist, Bob Woodward (of Watergate fame), writes a non-fiction book that reads like a novel and you do not have to have a legal background to follow and appreciate what happens.

There are numerous biographies available on the Justices themselves, but if you want to read about the workings of the court, check these other two titles out:

The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin

Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court by Jan Crawford Greenberg.