September 24, 2012 Articles

    Book Review: Courtwatchers: Eyewitness Accounts in Supreme Court History

    The stories are often delightful, illuminating the personality of a justice or exploring an aspect of court life.

    By Dennis Owens

    Clare Cushman
    Courtwatchers: Eyewitness Accounts in Supreme Court History
    Rowman and Littlefield (2011)

    This book was published in association with the Supreme Court Historical Society. Ms. Cushman is editor of the society’s Journal of Supreme Court History. She dedicated the book to “my husband and children, without whom I would have finished this book much sooner.” Thus, we are put on notice that some playfulness will be served up with the history. The stories are often delightful, illuminating the personality of a justice or exploring an aspect of court life. Much good use is made of original sources. This brings us to a small style flaw of this volume. The quoted material is presented in blocked and indented paragraphs of smaller type font. These paragraphs are usually preceded by the author’s introduction, which often give the gist of the quoted material, making for needless repetition.

    One of the more moving stories is that of the retirement decisions of Hugo Black and John M. Harlan the Younger. Harlan waited for Black to step down, so as not to distract from the reflection on and praise for Black. Harlan himself then quietly retired six days later.

    We enjoyed this book, particularly its insider’s viewpoint, taken from letters, interviews, diaries, and memoirs, rather than just newspapers. We have reviewed a great number of books about the Supreme Court. This one is unique in its focus on human interest stories. This volume is informative and quite entertaining.

    Keywords: litigation, appellate practice, Hugo Black, John M. Harlan, court life, human interest stories

    Dennis Owens practices appellate law in Kansas City, Missouri.

    Copyright © 2012, American Bar Association. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association. The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the American Bar Association, the Section of Litigation, this committee, or the employer(s) of the author(s).