A Justice for All: William J. Brennan, Jr., and the Decisions That Transformed America
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.75 (922 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0671767879 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 303 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 0000-00-00 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
A biography of one of the greatest Supreme Court Justices of this century explores his role in landmark decisions on pornography, libel, desegregation, search and seizure, and legislative redistricting.
Liberal Lion Marc Korman Justice Brennan was nominated by President Eisenhower with an assumption that he would be a conservative and vote against Chief Justice Earl Warren. Brennan became one of a long line of justices to shock the president that appointed them by being farther to the left. That list includes Blackmun, Souter, Stevens, and Warren as well. Brennan's appointment happened very quickly with a minimum of checking on his background. He was a New Jersey Sup. Good biography Peter I became interested in Justice Brennan after reading the brilliant book The Brethren by Bob Woodward. Brennan came across as the most interesting Justice in that book (although they all came off as people one would like to read about).Eisler's book is good, gives a readable account of Brennan's life and accomplishments in and out of the court. I would like to have seen some more opinions on Brennan from other sources after his retirement but a. "Great Justice, decent book" according to N. Perz. AJFA is a pretty average biography on on of the more important Supreme Court Justices of the 20th century. The first half is a traditional biography; the second half attempts to profile some of the major decisions of the era with which Brennen was involved. The book isn't great but it's not bad either. For $0.11+S&H, I can't complain.Not bad but not recommended.
A progressive who interpreted the Bill of Rights expansively in favor of individual rights, Brennan was the ``lapel-pulling playmaker'' whose gregarious personality and taste for compromise made possible some of the Warren and Burger Courts' most famous activist decisions. Although Eisler's analyses of specific cases can be disappointingly superficial, he paints a warm, vivid portrait of Brennan the man and admirably sums up the justice's humane and progressive jurisprudence. Carr (which established the ``one person- one vote'' rule for election district-drawing), and various privacy and obscenity cases (Brennan's most influential decision, New York Times v. Sullivan, which revolutionized the law of defamation, receives only a brief sketch). Tune, in which he argued that a criminal defen