Download The Chief The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts Joan Biskupic Books
Download As PDF : The Chief The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts Joan Biskupic Books
An incisive biography of the Supreme Court's enigmatic Chief Justice, taking us inside the momentous legal decisions of his tenure so far
Download The Chief The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts Joan Biskupic Books
"If Joan Biskupic is indeed "the best Supreme Court reporter in the country", as Jake Tapper proclaims on the back of the book, it says more about the pool of journalists covering the highest court of the land than it does about the author of this book.
I am not impressed. Right from the start of this book it's clear she didn't set out to write a balanced biography, but simply a liberal look at the chief justice. When the court votes 5 to 4 with "conservatives" prevailing she accuses them of being political, while the very same thing can ofcourse be said of the "liberal" minority, but that the author refuses to do.
According to the author Robert's only has two roads to choose: "hew to his conservative roots or find common ground". Very simplistic.
The constant labels of conservatives and liberals in this book are irritating to say the least as the author doesn't do justice to a court that announces UNANIMOUS opinions in most of its cases. The politicalization of the court is more a media narrative than rooted in reality. An interesting book for sure but just don't expect a balanced view of the Chief."
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The Chief The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts Joan Biskupic Books Reviews :
The Chief The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts Joan Biskupic Books Reviews
- If Joan Biskupic is indeed "the best Supreme Court reporter in the country", as Jake Tapper proclaims on the back of the book, it says more about the pool of journalists covering the highest court of the land than it does about the author of this book.
I am not impressed. Right from the start of this book it's clear she didn't set out to write a balanced biography, but simply a liberal look at the chief justice. When the court votes 5 to 4 with "conservatives" prevailing she accuses them of being political, while the very same thing can ofcourse be said of the "liberal" minority, but that the author refuses to do.
According to the author Robert's only has two roads to choose "hew to his conservative roots or find common ground". Very simplistic.
The constant labels of conservatives and liberals in this book are irritating to say the least as the author doesn't do justice to a court that announces UNANIMOUS opinions in most of its cases. The politicalization of the court is more a media narrative than rooted in reality. An interesting book for sure but just don't expect a balanced view of the Chief. - The author of this solid new study of John Roberts and his court, Joan Biskupic, has several advantages in writing this kind of book. She has already written bios of three justices, including two members of the Roberts court; she has been covering the Roberts court as a journalist for Reuters and other news sources for most of its existence; and she has developed an important network of court sources that is amply demonstrated in this book. In short, she knows how to put together an impressive judicial biography and has done so admirably here.
Following the customary chronological biographical format, the first 171 pages cover Roberts' youth, education, work in the Reagan administration as an assistant to Attorney General Smith and associate White House counsel, his development of a successful appellate practice at Hogan and Hartson, service in the Solicitor General's office, his unsuccessful and eventual victorious nominations to the D.C. Circuit, and his Supreme Court nomination after the death of William Rehnquist. These chapters are done very well by the author since she is one of the most knowledgeable persons writing about the court at the present.
Biskupic has a central theme to which she frequently returns in discussing Roberts' activities as Chief Justice. She argues that from young adulthood through to the present, Roberts has adhered to certain fundamental views and values without deviation, and these values continue to drive his decisions (in a "straight line") and leadership of the court. Specifically, the author points to Roberts' views on abortion, affirmative action and racial issues, church-state issues, and limiting federal power. Hence, the author argues, Roberts' famous claim in his confirmation hearings that he would be just an umpire not a lawmaker, had regard for precedent, and was a judicial moderate, have proven to be inaccurate in practice. She discusses the Robert courts' pattern of decisions in most of these areas in individual chapters.
i found the best chapters to be those discussing the "Citizens United" campaign finance decision, the "Shelby County" holding undermining of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and most especially the fine chapter on Roberts' surprising decision in the Obama Care case where he voted to uphold the law. The author's sources allow her to write the best explanation of Roberts' Obamacare support I have ever seen, including some real "behind the scenes" revelations. Similarly, the author explains how Justice Sotomayor's emotion outburst persuaded Justice Kennedy to vote to return a controversial affirmative action case back to the lower court, thereby avoiding a Roberts' court adverse decision. Two major revelations regarding the secretive court in one book is doing quite well. Surprisingly, the author has little to say regarding Scalia other than in the chapter on the vacancy accruing after his death.
It seems to me that the book can be seen sending a message to Roberts with all this talk of enlarging the court and modifying its jurisdiction, more leadership like his vote in the Obamacare case which strengthens the public's faith in a not completely political court is in order. It appears that the Chief does keep one eye on the public reputation of his court and may on occasion vote such as in Obamacare to protect it, even if it leads to distrust and friction on the part of his otherwise ironclad conservative majority. That is something for us all to consider, and this imposing volume helps us to just that. - Joan Biskupic is a legal analyst who covers the Supreme Court. She has written biographies about Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia and Sonia Sotomayor.
The book is well written and researched. The author covers the highlights of the Burger Court and the Rehnquist Court. She compares their style of leadership to that of Roberts. Roberts clerked for Rehnquist. Biskupic writes as a reporter, stating facts and where appropriate she provides the various theories that were reported at the time. She provides no personal opinions and attempts to report in a neutral manner. There is lots of information about Justices on the Rehnquist Court and the Roberts’ Court. I have the impression there was more information about the Justices she had written biographies on in this book.
The author reviewed the Court pointing out that the Roberts’ Court has struck down many laws related to civil rights, business regulation, worker’s rights and safety, and anti-corruption laws regarding monies to political campaigns. I found the information about Mitch McConnell and his fight against the McCain-Feingold Act and his lawsuit McConnell v Federal Election Commission that was heard by the Supreme Court in 2003 most interesting. Biskupic reveals some slight changes in Roberts in that he is becoming more open to compromise in recent years. The author tells of his early life and how that upbringing (elite white only schools and community) has influenced his viewpoint. I found this book most interesting and have a bit better understanding of Roberts.
I read this as an e-book downloaded from to my app on my iPad. The book is 437 pages.
