First among Equals : The Supreme Court in American Life

by Starr, Kenneth W.

• ISBN13: 9780446691307
• ISBN10: 0446691305
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-01
• Publisher: Grand Central Pub

Summary

Today's U.S. Supreme Court consists of nine intriguingly varied justices -- and one overwhelming contradiction: Compared to the Warren Court, the Rehnquist Court appears deceptively passive, yet it stands as ready to defy convention as its trailblazing predecessor of the 1950s and '60s. Now Kenneth W. Starr -- who argued twenty-five cases as solicitor general before the Supreme Court and is one of the nation's most distinguished practitioners of constitutional law -- offers us an incisive and unprecedented look at the highest court in the land. He shows us, as no one ever has, the very human justices who have shaped our law, from Sandra Day O'Connor, the Court's most pivotal player, to Clarence Thomas, its most original thinker. And he explores the present Court's evolution into a lawyerly tribunal dedicated to both consensus and debate on these and other hotly contested issues. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Kenneth W. Starr has served as solicitor general of the United States, Supreme Court clerk for Chief Justice Warren Burger, independent counsel, and United States circuit court judge. He is currently a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, in their Washington, D.C., office. He is also an adjunct professor at NYU and a distinguished visiting professor at George Mason University Law School.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. xvii
The Supreme Court Then and Now	p. 1
Origins	p. 3
The Justices	p. 13
The Rights of "We the People"	p. 45
Shouting Fire in Crowded Theaters: The Freedom of Speech	p. 47
Hard Money and Soft: The First Amendment and Politics	p. 70
Religion in the Public Square	p. 89
Parochial Schools and Public Money: The Neutrality Principle	p. 105
The Constitutional "Right" of Privacy: Abortion and Beyond	p. 120
Counting by Race I: The Affirmative Action Controversy	p. 143
Counting by Race II: Gerrymandering and Voting	p. 161
The Criminal Justice Revolution: Excluding Evidence from Criminal Trials	p. 176
"You Have the Right to ...": Miranda and the Fifth Amendment	p. 191
The Powers and Structure of American Government	p. 209
The Power to Make Law: The Statutory Conversation between Court and Congress	p. 211
The Rehnquist Court and the Federal Republic	p. 228
Presidents: The Court and the Executive Branch	p. 248
Bush v. Gore	p. 264
Acknowledgments	p. 281
The Constitution of the United States	p. 283
Index	p. 312
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