This volume is an updated edition of the 1994 work, The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary. Information on the new Chief Justice John Roberts and on Justice Samuel Alito has been added. (Oddly, since the biographies are in alphabetical rather than sequential order, the most recent Justice Alioto's biography is first).
The book consists of a short introduction followed by 110 essays covering each Justice in the history of the Supreme Court. In his preface Prof. Urofsky notes that the intent of the volume is not to provide comprehensive biographies of each Justice, but rather to discuss their tenure on the Supreme Court, and to place their actions in the court into the historical context of the period during which they served. Each Justice's value is discussed in terms of his or her impact, not only on the court, but also on the American people affected by their decisions. The opinions of each Justice also become more important depending upon how much lasting influence they had on future court decisions. Each Justice is presented in the context of issues which confronted the court during his or her tenure, and on how the outcome influenced constitutional doctrine.
The editor goes on to discuss how a Chief Justice's work is evaluated differently from that of Associate Judges. Although a Chief Justice has one vote just as the Associates do, he can often influence the mood and intent of the court. Most Chief Justices are remembered less for their opinions than how they shaped the court through their liaison work with the other branches of government. Earl Warren, for example, is more known for expanding the interpretation of the Constitution than for his work on desegregation, while John Marshall actually recreated the Court from a rather weak institution to the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution. The editor also points out that William Howard Taft, who also served as President of the United States, actually made more lasting changes in the Court, where he ensured that the Court had control over its docket for the first time.
The various essays evaluate each Justice for “greatness”. Interestingly, one of the criteria for this was how learned they were in the law, a factor that was missing in several Justices (many were political appointees with little background in legal research). Another criterion for greatness was how effective the Justice was or is in understanding the relationship between the law and the aims, values and needs of society. And finally, greatness is defined as one who can communicate his or her decision in terms understandable not only to legal scholars but to American society as a whole.
The essays themselves vary widely, but all include extensive bibliographies covering biographies of the Justice, information on noteworthy opinions, and information on their judicial philosophy. All include information on birth date, education, lower court appointments or political offices held, and the Justice each replaced on the Court and who replaced them. The essays vary widely in information, since each essayist followed his or her own instincts on what was the most important focus for their article. The essays range from two pages on several minor Justices to over ten pages on such luminaries of the Court as John Marshall and Joseph Brennen. Interestingly, there are five pages on Justice Alito, which naturally focus on his earlier work since he had been involved in few opinions at this writing. A great deal of space is given over to discussion on the problems involved in his confirmation vote in the House of Representatives. The essay on Justice Brandeis, on the other hand, is over ten pages long and goes into great detail on the fact that he was widely regarded as a legal scholar who wrote at length about the nature of the democratic state and the role of the individual in that state. These philosophical beliefs about the nature of the state were reflected in his opinions.
The book concludes with a select bibliography of books on the Supreme Court, a chart showing succession of Supreme Court Seats, and a chapter on supporting personnel of the Supreme Court, with chronological lists of Clerks of the Court, Marshals of the Court, Reporters of Decisions (who edit the opinions and supervise their printing and publication), and Court Librarians. There is also an alphabetical list of Supreme Court cases and a subject index to the volume.
In all, this volume is a valuable addition to any library, whether or not they are attached to a law school. Most of the essays are written by professors of law, history and/or political science, and aimed at the educated layman or student of law. The volume would be a good introduction to the ideology of the Supreme Court for both students and the general public alike. Because of the extensive bibliographies this encyclopedia would be a good starting point for anyone contemplating research on the Court or on the Justices. The writers, editor, and CQ Press have once again provided an excellent resource for the public and scholar alike.
