I’ve just finished a book I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. It’s called “Have To” History: The Roberts Court – Stuff You Really Should Know (Even If You’re Not Sure You Want To) About The Most Important Cases Of The Supreme Court (2005-2025).
Yeah, kind of a mouthful, I know. I’d tell you what it’s about, but the title already seems to give that away. I’ve included the book’s introduction here anyway, and if you’ve been keeping up with recent posts, the ones covering Supreme Court cases were rough drafts along the way.
The current cover is probably temporary while I explore some options, but that just means it will be a collector’s item once the book catches on and I become rich and famous – so buy several dozen NOW, before I update it! If you do check it out, I’d very much appreciate a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Those things make way more difference than most folks realize.
Here’s that intro…
Introduction
John Roberts grew up in Indiana, the son of a steel plant manager, before his family moved to an affluent suburb of Buffalo, New York. After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Roberts clerked for Justice William Rehnquist, worked as an associate counsel in the Reagan administration, spent time in private practice, and then served in the George H.W. Bush administration as principal deputy solicitor general. He was nominated to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by George H.W. Bush in 1992, but delays in the approval process and the election of Bill Clinton to the presidency later that year effectively thwarted his confirmation.
George W. Bush renominated him in 2003, and he served on the Court of Appeals for two years before his Supreme Court nomination. His record and Federalist Society connections made him a favorite of conservative legal circles. John Roberts was initially chosen to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, but when Chief Justice Rehnquist died in September 2005, Bush renominated Roberts for the chief justiceship. At 50 years old, he was confirmed 78-22, becoming the youngest Chief Justice since John Marshall. His judicial philosophy emphasized narrow rulings and respect for precedent, though his actual record would prove more complex.
By all accounts, Roberts hoped to continue building the Court’s legacy as an institution above political theater, committed to constitutional fealty via enlightened debate and transparent reasoning. Nearly two decades into his tenure, however, there’s a very real danger that he’ll instead be remembered as the Chief Justice who presided over the collapse of the Court’s institutional legitimacy – and perhaps the very constitution it seeks to guard.
Or maybe not. The nation has survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, Watergate, and the self-proclaimed “War on Terror.” Each time we’ve emerged greatly changed, for better or worse, but that’s hardly a guarantee. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
One guarantee history can offer us is that all empires eventually fall. Sometimes it’s the enemy from without, other times the rot spreads from within. Decline is often so gradual as to remain almost undetectable, then so sudden it seemed entirely unpredictable. Other times, civilizations find ways to rebuild, revitalize, or reboot. That’s what keeps things interesting.
The Roberts Court is but one element in a much larger story, but it’s an important one. The decisions made there impact all of us to varying degrees, and they shape the way history will remember our great experiment and the lessons to be learned from both our successes and our failures. For those of us living through these times, it’s often difficult to see clearly through the barrage of information, emotion, inspiration, and deceit blasting us without mercy or intermission. Trying to make sense of it all is simply too daunting, so we seek solace in the smaller realities – family, friends, distraction, entertainment. We seem to control so little that it’s comforting to at least have some sovereignty over our own bread and circuses. And yet, there’s that nagging feeling we should at least try to be a bit more informed (if only to win more arguments on Facebook).
Enter the book you hopefully have in your hands right now, or are at least considering adding to your cart before checking out.
Why This Book?
There are plenty of thicker, more impressive volumes out there analyzing the jurisprudence of the Roberts Court and its constituent members in far greater detail than anything attempted herein. Some focus on grander constitutional themes, others elaborate on the individual justices themselves and the philosophies to which they most often adhere. These are all important works, now and in the larger record of history.
What this book attempts instead is to make the major decisions of the Roberts Court accessible to readers who feel like they should have some idea what’s happening up there but simply don’t have the time or inclination to wade through hundreds of pages of opinions, dissents, or analysis aimed at law school students or bitter basement bloggers. The cases covered herein have all shaped American life in concrete ways – affecting voting rights, healthcare, marriage equality, presidential power, and the basic relationship between citizens and their government. Many remain controversial, and some are outright indefensible, but a surprising number include perfectly plausible arguments made on behalf of whatever side you disagree with most.
I’ve tried to keep the coverage uptempo without being flippant or dismissive of the very real issues in play or the real lives impacted by each decision. Readers paying any attention at all will infer my worldview easily enough, but I’ve done my best to fairly represent all sides (minus a few situations in which they’ve simply left me nothing defensible to work with). Every case in this book could be the subject of a volume this length all on its own; any experts who accidentally peruse these pages will no doubt find some legal concepts too oversimplified, some fascinating technicalities overlooked, and numerous non-majority opinions ignored.
In the unlikely event that you don’t find yourself as fascinated as I predict, this book still looks great left in conspicuous spots like your living room coffee table, your desk at work, or the shelf behind you during Zoom meetings. Every time someone asks about it, you have the opportunity to look surprised you’d left it there and humblebrag about how important it is to stay well-informed, what with how complicated the world is getting these days, don’t you think? (A hair flip might not be totally unwarranted.)
The book is intended to work equally well read start-to-finish (chronologically) or by hunting down cases in whatever order you wish. The Appendix offers a grouping of every case included herein by general subject matter.