Brethren: A Critical Book Review Term Paper

Indeed, this understanding of the Marshall court comes full circle: The Court is the most cutting edge front of American legal society, casting decisions that are years ahead of what the general populace often wants, according to Armstrong and Woodward, but the Court is also a conservative vestige of administrations past because of lifetime tenure.

That is why the most influential Courts are those in which an appointed justice does not conform to the expectations of his presidential appointer, but rather strikes out on his or her own with a body of decisions that counter the president's and former administration's ideas.

Opinion

The viewpoint of Armstrong and Woodward as presented in "The Brethren" is a much more forgiving look at the Court's influence than the viewpoint presented in our text. However, "The Brethren" looks at the Court with its own jaded eyes as well. The book understands that justices are political figures as well, not supremely accurate judicial interpreters, and even the most forward thinking and visionary justices often had little regard for legal interpretation, save as a tool to achieve their ends of how society should be or look.

That is why I believe that the viewpoint in "The Brethren" is more accurate and a better portrayal of the functioning and influence of the United States Supreme Court.Abstract

The Brethren" takes an inside look at the U.S. Supreme Court and paints colorful pictures of the justices and their clerks, who often actually did the legal reasoning. Matched against our text, "The Brethren" often puts forth conflicting views on the….....