Why read The Choices Justices Make?

Book cover of The Choices Justices Make

Book description

The Choices Justices Make is a groundbreaking work that offers a strategic account of Supreme Court decision making. Justices realize that their ability to achieve their policy and other goals depends on the preferences of other actors, the choices they expect others to make, and the institutional context in which…

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The Supreme Court

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Political

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Choices Justices Make as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Gerald N. Rosenberg

Author

Justice William Brennan reportedly would tell his new law clerks each year that the most important thing to understand about the Supreme Court was the number five.

He meant that it takes the votes of five justices to set precedent and change the law. In this very readable study Epstein & Knight explore how justices act if they wish to move the law as close as possible to their preferred outcome.

Based on careful reading of the papers of four Justices, Epstein & Knight make a persuasive case that justices who wish to change the law act strategically. That is,…

From Gerald's list on The best books on how the U.S. Supreme Court really works (it’s much less powerful than you think!).