Supreme Court at Work

This volume, drawing from and updating material from Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court (Congressional Quarterly, 1979), should be of interest to both scholars and the general public. A historical section traces trends in the Supreme Court's jurisprudence, with pivotal episodes in the Court's development highlighted. The emphasis in this section, as in the summary of important decisions, is on description rather than legal evaluation--no ruling, not even the Court's infamous decision in Dred Scott, is characterized as a perversion of the Constitution. Another section offers brief biographies of every Supreme Court justice, emphasizing personal and political background rather than jurisprudence. Finally, the volume provides an interesting account of the everyday workings of the Court as an institution. Recommended as a supplementary reference in law collections.-- G. Alan Tarr, Rutgers Univ., Camden, N.J. Copyright 1990 Cahners Business Information.