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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