Title

Closed chambers : the first eyewitness account of the epic struggles inside the Supreme Court.

Description

Edward Lazarus details his experiences as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice, Hugo Black.

Identifier

751796

812924029

Creator

Lazarus, Edward

Format

1st ed.

Source

Brian Lamb Booknotes Collection

Gift of Brian Lamb, 2011.

Catalog record

Language

eng

Date

1998

Program air date: June 14, 1998

Publisher

Times Books

George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives

Text

Transcriptions of Annotations
Notes on front endpapers, flysheet and half title: Spirit. What is the legacy of Scotsboro. What is the Greenhouse effect p 428. 1. What outside forces impact the court--e.g. the media?; 2. Does the number of amicus briefs have an impact on the court?; 3. Does oral argument have an impact; 4.How much practicing do attorneys do before argument (Kolbert in Casey); 5. What's the impact of marches and pickets in front of Court; 6. What's impact of mail--Webster and Blackmun; 7. How long should a Justice serve. Brennan--gall bladder, Marshall. Habeas Corpus, Due Process. p 428 Anthony Kennedy's craving for popularity and Jimmy Stewart idealism. Layovers: Rhenq., O'Connor, White. Scalia, Kennedy, Powell, Stevens, Blackmun, Marshall, Brennan. Now: Rhenquist/Stevens/O'Connor/Scalia/Souter/Kennedy/Thomas/Ginsburg/Breyer today. Book limited to death penalty/race discrimination/abortion. 3 approaches 1. court history; 2. memoir; 3. analysis. What is Chief J. Earl Warren "Rights Revolution." "Join memo" p. 24. Scalia "I would be pleased to join." "A chambers." Dog days of term--March and early April. Fewer cases--80 a term. Cert pool--Bench memo. The Friday morning conference. Court meets Monday, Tuesday, Wed--2 weeks in a row. Justice Stevens flag speech. Blackmun--most empathetic in recent times, maybe ever p 39. Breakfast-align our and his thinking. I had clerked for Judge William Noris--9th circuit. Ninograms as relates to Yonkers case. Justice Powell's retirement--where did he find letters p 222. Bork and Reagan's appointees p 228--Liberals attitude. D.C. Court of Appeals--angry. "Years later I am still glad Bork lost" but there is lasting damage that liberals approach visited on court p 248. Clarence Thomas--Bush strategy-Reverse Bork liberals thought Senate had confirmed a Felon p 455. Conservative clerks-Chris Landon from Scalia. You say your biggest memory is watching the * weekly recessional of Justices p 401.Webster. Justice Powell never met a gay men 386. 18 amicus briefs on Webster. O'Connor weekend conclaves w her clerks. Paul Cappuccio--a Scalia protégé. Harry Litman-had worked for T. Marshall. Webster conference--how did you get detailed account of what justices said. What are the Thurgoods Marshall Papers? William Brennan. *[Rehnquist circulated 1st draft on Webster only to conservative judges--Marshall and Brennan papers don't have draft--You say Historians make a big mistake--How did you get the draft and letter. p. 402.] Who was in the "cabal." Scalia's "brutal attack" on O'Connor p. 415. Stevens note to O'Connor--where did you get it 417. Happy hour for the clerks dissolves into a shouting and shoving match. Tim Bishop v. Andrew McBride 419. Rehnquist was deceitful and surreptitious with Webster p 423. Stevens working "clerk back channel" to promote his view w O'Connor p 433. O'C circulated a memo p. 434. Stare decisis. Impact of Brennan's resignation 1990. Liberal legacy p 477. Rehnquist's "relisting" of Casey unprecedented 463. South on Casey--footnote 544 dispute on what happened at conf. Another footnote--Kennedy's conservative clerks refused to write opinion 544. Harlan on stare decisis-468. 1955-71--16 years N.Y. Roe to Miranda, affirmative action, Death penalty, free speech, separation of church and state, federal state relations, separation of power, takings clause> p. 282 all subject to radical change one cert petition away. The Cabal--"Defensive denial" in cert process what is it 267. Cert process--lead to recriminations. "emergency death penalty stays"--most contentious. We abolitionists found cabal's attitude nauseating. Written opinions--Stevens and Scalia only justices to write 1st drafts. Frequent flier rule--indigent cases p 281. Lamb checks 2 headings on the Contents pages. Notes/Underlinings: Notes: "1988-89," "disquiet," "Today's court," "clerks," "cynical," "Rehnquist evil counter revolution," "lose our belief in founding principles," "the cure," "death penality, race, abortion," "Robert Bork," "court lacks a center," "clerks since 1887," "1922 Congress," "4 clerks," "feeder judges," "male clerks," "Blackmun 2 W's," "Roe," "security, 36 clerks," "join memo," "Burger's 'I join'," "nine princes," "Marshall's secretary," "Brennan's retirement," "28 yrs old," "Yonkers case," "stay petition," "Scalia objects to using judicial power," "Ninograms," "electric charge," "Marshall publish dissent," "Brennan dropped respectfully," "capital cases," "gang rape," "8 of 9 death," "Scottsboro overturned," "tried for 3rd time," "blacks in South," "Civil War," "13th, 14th, 15th," "Arthur Goldberg," "Southern rape case 110 of 119 were black," "the Great Writ," "Justices never conferred about stays," "O'Connor letter to Powell," "Byron White to Justice Powell," "Yale graduate," "not personal to Bork," "Can't fault Reagan on conservative judges," "en banc review," "Mikva and Silberman," "Rex Lee, Charles Fried," "Liberals in control for 25 yrs.," "fire at Yale library," "liberals twisted meaning," "Jefferson to Madison," "Original intent," "hostile camps," "10 Federalist Society clerks," "bigots, fascists," "McBride e-mail," "the Cabal favored states," "opinions," "clerks write opinions," "[Scalia] cleverest and most pungent prose," "Brennan the playmaker," "Marshall senile," "Stevens Florida Fed Ex Justice," "oral argument," "special writs," "conservatives wanted to end," "Roe to Miranda," "Four Horsemen," "Three Musketeers," "1935 term," "conference discussions," "10 days on opinion," "bad faith, stupidity," "conservatives and liberals played politics," "Blackmun chambers," "For Roe: Blackmun, Brennan, Marshall, Stevens; Against: Rehnquist, Scalia, White; ? Kennedy, O'Connor," "O'Connor and female clerks, fake unwanted pregnancy," "Georgia homosexual affair," "Burger letter," "Michael H. and Scalia," "Andrew McBride, Jane Stromseth," "Mandil," "Kennedy audio tapes from clerks," "Stevens longer argument," "Webster conference," "Rehnquist a shocker," "Scalia -would write opinion if overturned Roe," "Litman influences w Kennedy," "Rehn--sends conservatives Webster draft," "attack on Roe," "Scalia chief done "crummy" job," "waiting for O'Connor," "sitting alone with Black.," "Blackmun's dissent in Webster," "Scalia's brutal attack," "Scalia's smear," "private note from Stevens to O'Connor," "Kennedy abandons a brief statement," "Rehnquist announces Webster," "Blackmun angry," "Rehnquist deceitful," "Kennedy private reaction," "Kennedy romanticism," "Scalia led enterprise," "Brennan letter/Blackmun letter," "Hodgson decision," "Scalia mocking," "Brennan retires," "mourning and fear," "Souter's Roe memo," "Rehnquist cavalier treatment," "Marshall, confused," "free to reverse," "liberal legacy," "Brennan & Marshall didn't follow stare decisis," "Blackmun looked at Brennan," "Thomas," "conservative clerks," "prison brutality defense," "Landau memo to Scalia," "Roe overturned," "prochoice 3 options," "Casey," "relisting," "Casey conferred April 24," "footnote, Club's memos, Justice Harlan, stare decisis," "O'Connor hated abortion cases," "Ginsburg and Harvard." Underlinings: Lamb's underlinings add details to issues shown in the notes.

Subject

"United States. Supreme Court--History."

"Clerks of court--United States--History."

"Judicial process--United States--History."

"Political questions and judicial power--United States--History."

Relation

Original Booknotes interview

Rights

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