Home Rating: - Fine work but not a good read
This is a book based on fine research, good judgment, and intelligent analysis. but it is not very exciting a read. And the fault is not Mr. Toobin's at all. It is just that supreme court judges, like many judges and lawyers, are just not very interesting people. The law is for intelligent but uninteresting people who are really not good company, not persons with whom you would want to have a beer.

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Rating: - Worthwhile and Important Read
The lawyer and New Yorker contributor Jeffrey Toobin's main argument in his informative and insightful "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court" is that for two decades Sandra Day O'Connor has been the most influential member of the Rehnquist Supreme Court. And that's good for the American people because Justice O'Connor, even though appointed by Ronald Reagan and a stalwart of the Republican Party, has sought in her long and storied career to best reflect and represent the interests and opinions of the American people. Without her and her benevolent influence over the otherwise mercurial and bombastic Anthony Kennedy the Supreme Court would have long struck down Roe v. Wade and affirmative action.

In Toobin's analysis the Supreme Court can be divided into three main factions. There is the liberal faction as best represented by John Paul Stevens, who seeks to interpret the "spirit of the law" to maintain America's dynamic democracy. Then there is the conservative faction best represented by Antonio Scalia who emphasizes the original intention of the Founding Fathers and the actual words of the Constitution. This liberal-conservative ideological breach is primarily the result of Roe v. Wade, and Justice Harry Blackmun's decision. In his decision Justice Blackmun permitted the right to abortion based on the "right to privacy," and although the Constitution does not mention once "privacy" he makes the contorted and controversial argument that the right is implied in different parts of the sacred document. Roe v. Wade represents to conservative lawyers a liberal activist court (the Warren Supreme Court) that instead of interpreting law makes law.

Then there are the three justices who have come to dominate the Supreme Court with their swing votes: Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter, and Anthony Kennedy. O'Connor tries to best represent popular opinion in her decisions, Souter believes in the wisdom of the law and thus rely on precedent for his decisions, and although Kennedy doesn't have a theory of the law he believes judges are like King Solomon. Together the three, although appointed by Republican Presidents, have mostly believed in the power of precedent and preserved the Warren Court decisions. And as the Republican Party has become more conservative and thus more hostile they have gradually swung to the left, marginalizing Justice Scalia, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist on the right. As Mr. Toobin noted poignantly, the American public would forever hold these three "swing vote" justices in high esteem if it were not their decision -- against all they've stood for and fought for -- to participate in the 2000 Presidential Election, and thus send George W. Bush to the White House. And, as was usually the case, Justice O'Connor made the final decisive vote.

It would be a decision she would come to regret. O'Connor had a particular fondness for George W. Bush, seeing his ideology of "compassionate conservatism" akin to her own. But the way that President Bush conducted the "war on terror" horrified her, and the Supreme Court worked hard to limit what Bush saw as his executive prerogative. As well, to appease his conservative base, Bush made sure to put two solid conservatives on the bench, conservatives that would vote according to doctrine and ideology as opposed to O'Connor's moderate pragmatism. With John Roberts and Samuel Alito the Supreme Court suddenly swung hard right.

Anthony Kennedy is now the "swing vote," a position he relishes -- and without O'Connor to influence him Kennedy now is free to pursue his own agenda, even if no one is sure what that is. In the Roberts Court Justice Kennedy has usually sided with the conservatives but he has at times also sided against them. But the real issue isn't what the Court does now but what it promises to do. Three of the four liberal judges -- Stevens, Souter, and Ginsburg -- will all retire soon, and if the Republicans can put one more conservative on the bench then they'll have an unbreakable majority, and the conservative agenda of reversing the Warren Court will finally be reality. It all depends on who the next President is.

That's the main reason why Mr. Toobin's book is such compelling reading. At the very end he reminds us that the nine justices are not there to just interpret the Constitution -- they're also there to represent the ideology of the President who put them there, and that's why in a roundabout way the American people also elect the Supreme Court. His book incisively and insightfully shows us why the 2008 election is so important.

There are two main problems with this book, and both stem from the fact that Mr. Toobin is a lawyer. The first is diction. He's usually a clear writer but now and then he chooses to burden his writing with legal jargon. The second is organization. On one hand Mr. Toobin is a lawyer, and so he writes what comes what is naturally to him: a lawyer's brief on the nine justices. On the other hand Mr. Toobin chooses to tell the story chronologically. And while there aren't any obvious contradictions and redundancies thanks to Mr. Toobin's meticulous editing the book nevertheless does feel disorganized and scrambled.

The reading wasn't pleasurable but it was certainly worthwhile.

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Rating: - The Nine
The Nine was a behind the scenes look at the members of the Supreme Court, with comments on their personalities and decisions. The background research was fascinating with regard to the cases. Mr. Toobin was much too biased in his presentation, and it showed in the distinct adjectives he used to describe those decisions that did not fit his political paradigm, or to describe the personalities who did not vote the way he deemed they should. Too bad about that. Otherwise, it was quite informative.

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Rating: - Inside the Supreme Court
Readable, informative, even handed and filled with details both mundane and anecdotal, this book gives much insight into the inner workings of the Supreme Court. Fascinating conclusions drawn from the study of the various personalities and character traits as well as conclusions drawn from effects of various world events make it hard to set aside. One wants to know more and more about these endlessly interesting choices and the paths that brought them to their powerful positions.

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Rating: - A Very Good Historical Synopsis of the Modern Supreme Court
Jeffrey Toobin delivers a very fast-paced and readable synopsis of the past 30+ years of the Supreme Court. This book moves very fast but covers the highlights of the Court that we know today.

The best part of the book is his biographical sketches of the Justices. Toobin really makes them come to life and has some very interesting behind-the-scenes vignettes of them. Especially interesting is his analysis of the Clinton and Bush II nominees - especially the Harriet Miers debacle and the John Roberts nomination.

The book sometimes wanders when it discusses the actual cases and his analysis of Bush v. Gore is too partisan for my tastes (and I am a Democrat). But for someone who didn't take Constitutional Law in law school, this will be a good summary of the most important recent decisions.

The only main criticism I have is the structure. Toobin never gives a roadmap as to what he is going to cover and the chapter headings don't allow the reader to know what the chapter is going to be about (e.g. "Just Deserts" or "Question Presented"). He was being too cute here and took me a while to figure out where the book was heading (it's fairly chronological after the first 50 pages).

In all, I found myself tearing through this book and for a topic that could be potentially very boring, I will tip my hat to Toobin.