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momsreadingera 's review for:
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.