Stop in the Name of Law

From time to time, I've noted my ever-expanding interest in the U.S. Supreme Court. This has sometimes manifested in reading books on the subject, and it did so again during my flight out to Hawaii last month: I read Michael G. Trachtman's book, The Supremes' Greatest Hits. Its bold subtitle proclaims it will cover "The 37 Supreme Court Cases That Most Directly Affect Your Life," and that sold me on it being worth the read.

This is not a lengthy and opaque read stuffed with legal jargon. It's definitely aimed at a non-lawyer audience, which certainly I would have thought included me. Instead, the book demonstrated to me that I've probably reached a level of familiarity with the subject that outstrips the average layperson.

First of all, I already knew about a lot of the cases this book covers. That's no fault of the author's; if he really is picking the most important Supreme Court cases to discuss, anyone with even a bit of knowledge is likely to be familiar with them. Thus, it's expected and appropriate for the book to cover Marbury v. Madison (why the Supreme Court has so much power to affect your life in the first place), Miranda v. Arizona (the reason anyone who has ever watched a cop show can recite their "Miranda rights"), Brown v. Board of Education (the strong roots from which all rulings fostering racial equality grew), and so forth. If you aren't familiar with any of those cases I just named, you can stop reading my review now and go with this recommendation: pick up a copy of this book and read it.

Secondly, I knew of several cases I think the book should have covered. The author's lens is focused a bit too much on the straight male. He does cover a number of important cases on race, so at least he isn't focused on the straight white male. But Roe v. Wade is the only major case covered involving womens' rights. I would have included Craig v. Boren, the case that raised the bar on judicial scrutiny (the degree of "legal leeway") in matters involving gender classifications. In the area of gay rights, it's unfortunate that the book only covers a case where equality lost (Boy Scouts of America v. Dale), while relegating the landmark cases of Romer v. Evans and Lawrence v. Texas to mere mentions in passing.

Another oddity of the book is the way it simultaneously holds the Supreme Court in high esteem while expressly acknowledging how susceptible it is to swaying with the political winds. Yes, the Supreme Court is a political entity, as evidenced by the fact that in just the few years since the book was published, at least two of the "37 cases" have been seriously undermined by new Supreme Court rulings. (Buckley v. Valeo's campaign finance limitations, and Grutter v. Bollinger's endorsement of affirmative action.) Yet even though the book expressly acknowledges that a 5-4 vote split one year can be turned around just a few years later, it simultaneously praises the Court as a venerable institution. If the book were to come down on one side of this or the other, it would make a good deal more sense.

Still, the book did teach me about a few cases I hadn't heard of, and the author has a very approachable style. It's easy to read; I breezed through it in just a few hours (with plenty of flight time to spare for a subpar movie). For me specifically, I'd probably call it a B- overall. But I think that grade inches upward, to a B or even B+, depending on how unfamiliar the reader is with the cases included.