New from Palgrave Macmillan:
Pathways to the Supreme Court: From the Arena to the Monastery (Dec. 2013), by
Garrison Nelson (University of Vermont). From the Press:
As the arbiter of the Constitution, it is presumed that the US Supreme
Court decrees "the law of the land" in a fair-minded and even-handed
manner. Key decisions in the Court's history have challenged these
assumptions, giving way to a greater discussion about how judges are
chosen, and the ideological roots from which they rule. This book
explores more than two centuries of Supreme Court justice selections,
tracking the Court's change from a time when consensus choices were
relatively evenly divided between political leaders from "the arena,"
and judges from "the monastery," to a recent era fraught with
controversial presidential appointees to federal positions that have
yielded ideologically-influenced administrations of law.
A few
blurbs of note:
"This fascinating, methodologically-inventive book advances our
understanding of key issues in American politics. By systematically
probing how Supreme Court Justices are selected, by helping understand
the types of Justices, and by tracking ideology and voting patterns,
Pathways to the Supreme Court offers important insights both into the
Court's actions and standing." --Ira Katznelson
There are four routes to the Supreme Court-collateral, diagonal,
vertical, and external. That is Garrison Nelson's analytic framework in
this work stretching across two centuries of Court history. The book is
loaded with fascinating information about where the justices have come
from, why, and so what. As always, Nelson is sure-footed and
meticulous." --David Mayhew
More information is available
here.
