The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right

Name: The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Linda Greenhouse
ISBN: 9781541471078

Author: Linda Greenhouse, Michael J. Graetz

Narrator: Mike Chamberlain

Unabridged: 15 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/25/2017

Categories: Nonfiction, History, Law

Synopsis

When Richard Nixon campaigned for the presidency in 1968 he promised to change the Supreme Court. With four appointments to the court, including Warren E. Burger as the chief justice, he did just that. In 1969, the Burger Court succeeded the famously liberal Warren Court, which had significantly expanded civil liberties and was despised by conservatives across the country.

The Burger Court is often described as a "transitional" court between the Warren Court and the Rehnquist and Roberts Courts, a court where little of importance happened. But as this "landmark new book" (The Christian Science Monitor) shows, the Burger Court veered well to the right in such areas as criminal law, race, and corporate power. Authors Michael J. Graetz and Linda Greenhouse excavate the roots of the most significant Burger Court decisions and in "elegant, illuminating arguments" (The Washington Post) show how their legacy affects us today.

About Linda Greenhouse

Linda Greenhouse, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and other major journalism awards, covered the Supreme Court for the New York Times for nearly thirty years. Since 2009, she has taught at Yale Law School and written a biweekly op-ed column on the Court as a contributing writer for the Times. She is a graduate of Radcliffe College, Harvard, and earned a master of studies in law degree from Yale Law School. The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right is her fourth book about the Supreme Court.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jean on July 03, 2016

Michael Graetz and Linda Greenhouse’s main theme of this book is to challenge the popular notion that the Burger Court was a “nothing much happened” Court. They claim that it was President Richard Nixon’s four appointments to the Supreme Court that changed the court to the right. Nixon appointed War......more

Goodreads review by Chris on September 11, 2016

This is a book about a notable, thought decidedly easy to overlook period in the history of the modern judiciary: the period of Warren Burger, Chief Justice from 1969 to 1986. Burger was one of four Supreme Court justices picked by Richard Nixon. Coming right after Earl Warren’s liberal “rights revo......more

Goodreads review by Sean on July 28, 2017

Great book. In this relatively easy read, Graetz and Greenhouse challenge the assumption that rights once earned are rights forever retained. The authors provide a unique perspective on the Burger Court's decisions regarding criminal law, desegregation, affirmative action, gender equality, LGBT righ......more

Goodreads review by Jim on August 27, 2022

As authors Michael Graetz and Linda Greenhouse posit, the Burger Court is frequently regarded as a seventeen-year period, 1969-1986, during which nothing much happened. Highlighting landmark decisions over a series of significant issues, Graetz and Greenhouse make their case for the contrary. Devoti......more

Goodreads review by Don on October 21, 2017

This book examines the decisions and impacts of the Supreme Court under the guidance of Chief Justice Warren Burger, who served in that capacity from 1969 through 1986. The substitle hints at the thesis of the book, and the authors do a good job of tracing how many of the Burger court decisions, whi......more