The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court
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The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court is a 1979 book by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong. It gives a "behind-the-scenes" account of the United States Supreme Court during Warren Burger's early years as Chief Justice of the United States. The book covers the years from the 1969 term through the 1975 term. Using Woodward's trademark writing technique involving "off-the-record" sources, the book provides an account of the deliberations leading to some of the court's more controversial decisions from the 1970s. The book significantly focused on the Supreme Court's unanimous 1974 decision in United States v. Nixon, which ruled that President Richard Nixon was legally obligated to turn over the Watergate tapes. In 1985, upon the death of Associate Justice Potter Stewart, Woodward disclosed that Stewart had been the primary source for The Brethren.[1]
 First edition | |
| Author | Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Supreme Court of the United States |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 1979 |
| Pages | 467 |
| ISBN | 978-0-671-24110-0 |
| OCLC | 61201839 |
The book begins with the 1969 exit of Chief Justice Earl Warren from the Supreme Court after the U.S. Senate refused to allow President Lyndon Johnson to elevate sitting Associate Justice Abe Fortas to Chief Justice in 1968. Newly inaugurated as president, Richard Nixon considered nominating moderate Justice Potter Stewart, but ends up selecting Judge Warren Burger. Upon Burger's successful confirmation, the Republican Party begins pursuing reversals of liberal Warren Court decisions. John Marshall Harlan II comprised the more conservative side of the court, often joined by Byron White, while William Douglas, William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall took up the left. Serving as the narrator, Potter Stewart was portrayed as the Supreme Court's ideological center alongside Hugo Black. Over the course of the book, Woodward and Armstrong portray the nominations of six additional justices, including the Senate's rejection of Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell as successors to Abe Fortas.
Justices Hugo Black and John Harlan both leave the court in September 1971 (both died before the end of the year) and are replaced by Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William Rehnquist. Douglas, the most powerful liberal on the bench, suffers a stroke on New Year's Eve 1974 and is forced to retire at the end of the book, furthering the decline of the liberal control of the bench, with John Paul Stevens (who later became the leader of the court's liberal bloc, but was a swing vote in his early years on the court) appointed as his successor. Douglas was especially dismayed President Gerald Ford appointed his successor, since Ford led an impeachment inquiry into Douglas as House Minority Leader in 1970.
The book's sources are highly critical of Burger as Chief Justice, especially in comparison to his renowned predecessor, Warren (whose death in July 1974 is mentioned in the book). Burger is described by other Justices as pompous, devious, and intellectually mediocre. The book is also critical at various points of Douglas, who is portrayed as having gone from one of America's greatest jurists to a "nasty, petulant, prodigal child" who was overly political, and is also occasionally critical of Marshall, another liberal stalwart, for his alleged intellectual laziness and apathy.
The book does frequently lend out praise to other Justices though. Stewart, who was one of the primary sources for the book, is portrayed in a positive light, as is Brennan, the acknowledged leader of the liberal bloc of justices, both for his shrewdness as well as his amiable, friendly personality. The book also issued some particular praise for Justices Harlan, Powell, and Rehnquist.
The accuracy of the book's portrayal of Marshall has been questioned in some quarters, and it has been characterized by some as racially charged.[2][3] The accuracy of the book was questioned by some of the Justices, particularly Brennan, who privately called it a "goddamn shit sheet."[4]
Specific criticism edit
In the 1972 baseball anti-trust case Flood v. Kuhn, Justice Harry Blackmun circulated a first draft listing more than 70 baseball greats to illustrate the role of baseball in American society. Armstrong and Woodward claimed that he included no African-American players until prodded to do so by Justice Thurgood Marshall. However, when the papers of Justice William O. Douglas were opened to the public in 1986, the names Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Satchel Page were already included in Justice Blackmun’s 1st draft.[5]
Regarding the 1972 case Moore v. Illinois, Armstrong and Woodward claimed that Justice William Brennan did not vote in favor of giving a man a new trial because he was trying to build Justice Harry Blackmun’s confidence and independence from Chief Justice Warren Burger, potentially winning Blackmun's votes on other cases. Legal writer Anthony Lewis has since argued that this casual "vote swapping" did not happen based on interviews with Supreme Court clerks.[6][7]
References edit
- ^ Garrow, David J. The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court. Publication: Constitutional Commentary, June 22, 2001 at Access my Library.
- ^ Tushnet, Mark. "Thurgood Marshall and the Brethren". Georgetown Law Review (80): 2109–2131. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ Robin, Corey. The Enigma of Clarence Thomas. Metropolitan Books. p. 11. ISBN 9781627793834. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ Stern, Seth; Wermiel, Stephen. Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion. University Press of Kansas. p. 469. ISBN 9780700619122. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
- ^ “A Tall Tale of ‘The Brethren’”, Ross E. Davies, Baseball Research Journal, Fall 2009. This article was originally published in the Journal of Supreme Court History 33, no. 2 (July 2008): pages 186–99. The names Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and Satchel Page were also shown when Justice Marshall’s and Justice Brennan’s papers were made public in the 1990s. The claim in question is on page 191 of The Brethren.
- ^ "The Evidence of ‘The Brethren’: An Exchange", New York Review of Books, June 12, 1980. In the 1st letter, Armstrong and Woodward criticize Anthony Lewis's claim from a previous review. In the 2nd letter, Lewis defends his claim. This previous review was "Supreme Court Confidential," New York Review of Books, Anthony Lewis, Feb. 7, 1980.
- ^ The case in question is Moore v. Illinois 408 U.S. 786 (1972). Argued January 18, 1972. Decided June 29, 1972.