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213 reviews for:
Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Leah Litman
4.23 AVERAGE
213 reviews for:
Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Leah Litman
4.23 AVERAGE
The writing is just awful. Might force myself through it another time for a medium article but ugh
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Recommended if you enjoy getting angry at Republicans, or are a fan of Supreme Court history. Fast-paced, liberally uses pop culture references. Unapologetically liberal.
funny
informative
medium-paced
funny
informative
fast-paced
Lawless provides a scathing and thorough look at the Supreme Court, unpacking how this institution has operated in some unhinged (and lawless) ways in the past and present. Filled with stories from history, quotes from the Court’s decisions, and pop cultural references, this book is an entertaining read. While the subject matter is upsetting and infuriating, Leah Litman’s strong voice and storytelling make you want to keep reading.
If you want to better understand the Supreme Court, some of its decisions, and how it continues to shape our world today, you should check out this book. It’s also a great read even for non-lawyers! If you’re at all curious about the Supreme Court, check this book out.
If you want to better understand the Supreme Court, some of its decisions, and how it continues to shape our world today, you should check out this book. It’s also a great read even for non-lawyers! If you’re at all curious about the Supreme Court, check this book out.
I am not a Strict Scrutiny listener (I read the news and am depressed enough about it as it is) but I am a casual Pod Save listener who happens to be a lawyer, so I wanted to read this one. I got frustrated with this because I don't really know who this is for. It's written in a wannabe-Gen Z way that drove me (a millennial) nuts, and honestly removes credibility from Litman's argument. She's using facts to make an argument -- one I absolutely agree with -- but it's so full of pop culture references that it was annoying to read as someone who wants to take this argument seriously. On the flipside, it's dense and full of information that I think it would be difficult to read if I didn't already have a solid background in this area. I am guessing this is a similar vibe to her podcast, which means her audience would like it, but I got frustrated by it.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
challenging
funny
informative
medium-paced
The subtitle of LAWLESS, "How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes," truly sums up the content presented. Ms. Litman has written a book directed (almost) specifically at a Gen X/Gen Z audience using pop culture references that Boomers like me need to research to understand how they pertain to the Supreme Court, its member Justices, and their decisions. She is brutally frank in her assessment of the Dobbs decision, the various voting rights cases and their decisions, and the decision on the Citizens United case. Anyone who follows the news knows these decisions are a BFG (don't know that acronym — Google is your friend). If you don’t keep up with the news or even glance at the headlines, this book is essential reading. A Supreme Court that rules based on 'feelings' and 'vibes' is not a court that is a good arbiter of law.
LAWLESS is divided into five chapters, each with several sub-chapters. The chapter titles alone hint at Litman’s biting critique and humor.
Chapter One: The Ken-Surrection of the Courts
• The Feelings, Politics, and Law of the Kens
• Supreme Court Ken — and Amy (Barrett)
• The Supreme Court Declares the Constitution a Ken-stitution
• The Future of the Mojo Dojo Casa House
Chapter Two: You Can't Sit with Us!
• Social Conservatives' Burn Book
• Get in, Loser: We're Going Shopping for a Case to Undo Civil Rights Protections for the LGBT Community
• The Supreme Court Is Not Sweet! They Ruined My Life
Chapter Three: Winter Is Coming (for Voting Rights)
• "Tell Them the South Remembers"
• Winter Is Coming (for Voting Rights)
• The Long Night Is Coming and the Dead Come with It
• Winter Is Here
• A Red Wedding for Democracy
• A Ladder of Chaos
Chapter Four: There's Always Money in America
• There's Always Money in… Politics
• "I've Made a Huge Mistake"
• "I Don't Understand the Question and Won't Respond to It"
• "Unlimited Political Spending? This Party Is Going to Be Off the Hook"
• "They're Not Tricks, They're Illusions"
• Again "If That's a Veiled Criticism of Me…"
• "I May Have Committed Some Light Treason"
The American Psychos of the Supreme Court
• Let's See [The Administrative State's] Card"
• There Is an Idea of Patrick Bateman (And of Law)
• The Murder and Execution of the Administrative State
• "Did You Know I'm Utterly Insane?"
No matter how you slice it, the law is a difficult and convoluted subject. Adding a political element to the law often turns it into an ouroboros. An example of this is X sues Y for discrimination in Federal Court. X doesn't like the Federal Court's finding and escalates the case to the appropriate Circuit Court. The Circuit Court's ruling also doesn't satisfy, so X escalates to the Supreme Court who decides to hear the case. SCOTUS renders its opinion that Y is the entity against whom the discrimination has occurred. Case closed. That's how 'feelings,' 'vibes,' and political pressures work. Are you confused? You should be.
Perhaps my favorite quotable bits from the book are "these guys (and Amy)" and "Federalist Society fraternity brothers (and Amy)" used to refer to the conservative justices. Additionally, I have one conservative Republican friend who has said to me "the country is a republic, not a democracy." He's a lawyer and goes on to explain the whys and wherefores of this. Litman counters this Republican talking point with an explanation of how it is used to support minority rule. Perhaps one reason to read LAWLESS is to be able to counter that uncle who rants against anything Democratic (or democratic).
LAWLESS will be available May 13, 2025
LAWLESS is divided into five chapters, each with several sub-chapters. The chapter titles alone hint at Litman’s biting critique and humor.
Chapter One: The Ken-Surrection of the Courts
• The Feelings, Politics, and Law of the Kens
• Supreme Court Ken — and Amy (Barrett)
• The Supreme Court Declares the Constitution a Ken-stitution
• The Future of the Mojo Dojo Casa House
Chapter Two: You Can't Sit with Us!
• Social Conservatives' Burn Book
• Get in, Loser: We're Going Shopping for a Case to Undo Civil Rights Protections for the LGBT Community
• The Supreme Court Is Not Sweet! They Ruined My Life
Chapter Three: Winter Is Coming (for Voting Rights)
• "Tell Them the South Remembers"
• Winter Is Coming (for Voting Rights)
• The Long Night Is Coming and the Dead Come with It
• Winter Is Here
• A Red Wedding for Democracy
• A Ladder of Chaos
Chapter Four: There's Always Money in America
• There's Always Money in… Politics
• "I've Made a Huge Mistake"
• "I Don't Understand the Question and Won't Respond to It"
• "Unlimited Political Spending? This Party Is Going to Be Off the Hook"
• "They're Not Tricks, They're Illusions"
• Again "If That's a Veiled Criticism of Me…"
• "I May Have Committed Some Light Treason"
The American Psychos of the Supreme Court
• Let's See [The Administrative State's] Card"
• There Is an Idea of Patrick Bateman (And of Law)
• The Murder and Execution of the Administrative State
• "Did You Know I'm Utterly Insane?"
No matter how you slice it, the law is a difficult and convoluted subject. Adding a political element to the law often turns it into an ouroboros. An example of this is X sues Y for discrimination in Federal Court. X doesn't like the Federal Court's finding and escalates the case to the appropriate Circuit Court. The Circuit Court's ruling also doesn't satisfy, so X escalates to the Supreme Court who decides to hear the case. SCOTUS renders its opinion that Y is the entity against whom the discrimination has occurred. Case closed. That's how 'feelings,' 'vibes,' and political pressures work. Are you confused? You should be.
Perhaps my favorite quotable bits from the book are "these guys (and Amy)" and "Federalist Society fraternity brothers (and Amy)" used to refer to the conservative justices. Additionally, I have one conservative Republican friend who has said to me "the country is a republic, not a democracy." He's a lawyer and goes on to explain the whys and wherefores of this. Litman counters this Republican talking point with an explanation of how it is used to support minority rule. Perhaps one reason to read LAWLESS is to be able to counter that uncle who rants against anything Democratic (or democratic).
LAWLESS will be available May 13, 2025
challenging
funny
informative
medium-paced
Thank you to Atria Books for the free ARC via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.
While I often read to escape or check out of real life and current events for a bit, there is a time and place for non-fiction (and fiction!) that helps me understand the current moment. That's where books like Lawless by Leah Litman come in.
Leah (Professor Litman) is a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, a co-host of the Strict Scrutiny Podcast, and a dedicated Swiftie. In other words, you're in good hands with her. In this book she lays out the patterns and history that got us to the modern U.S. Supreme Court - the one that overturned Roe v. Wade, gave the President almost total immunity, and so many more harmful decisions over the last few years. Through the lens of 5 topics she explains how the conservative majority relies on grievances about conservative views becoming more and more fringe to protect those views above all else. And the same justices that frequently emphasize adherence to the text of the laws above all else don't have a problem relying on vibes - theories they pulled out of nowhere - when it feels right to them.
Back when I was in law school and took constitutional law, I came out of the class more cynical about the Court. My feeling at the end of the day was that these were people smart enough to write some words that sounded good to get to the result they wanted. And that was 10+ years ago - as Leah demonstrates in this book it's only gotten worse since then.
I really appreciated learning about these trends in context. The book also filled in several gaps in my own knowledge, both in terms of recent court decisions and the historical context for them. This book is not just for lawyers though - Leah avoids complex legalese to explain these issues to anyone who cares to learn about them.
I highly recommend reading this book if you want to know more about why the Supreme Court has gone off the rails with a side of sarcasm, wit, and plenty of pop culture references. I don't recommend reading this book if you disagree with the characterization that the Court has gone off the rails.
Lawless is out May 13. Thank you so much to Leah for writing it - it certainly informed my understanding of where we are, how we got here, and why it's important to keep fighting back.
informative