The Center Holds: The Power Struggle Inside the Rehnquist Court

By James F. Simon

Book Overview

The Center Holds provides an intimate look at who the Supreme Court justices are, how they have made critical decisions, and why, ultimately, the Rehnquist Revolution failed.

Focusing on four key areas of civil rights and liberties--racial discrimination, abortion, criminal law, and First Amendment freedoms--The Center Holds provides an in-depth look at the Supreme Court documents that illustrate the battle between the old liberal order and emerging conservative majority, beginning in the early 1980s. James F. Simon, a former Time correspondent and contributing editor, ex-dean of New York Law School, and nationally recognized scholar of constitutional law, examines key decisions on civil rights and civil liberties in a readable, intimate look at some key Supreme Court Cases and includes absorbing descriptions of confidential memos and drafts gleaned from sources from within the court.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684870436
• ISBN13: 9780684870434
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Well organized; Not my top pick

Well organized, issue focused, format by that allows the reader to follow the development of case law and the efforts to influence outcomes of decisions through the nomination process. Professor Simon writes with a benign liberal bias and ends the book in the same tone as "The Brethren" with "moderates" in fair amount of control through their influence on the Court. This is a useful for those who want to appreciate more intimately where the court has come to on prevailing issues. I have also have made reviews on: Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics, Eighth Edition, Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court, and Reason and Passion: Justice Brennan's Enduring Influence My favorite overall on the high court is Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics, Eighth Edition. It is great for those that want to study both the court as an institution as well as the politics of the major case issues. For a deeper study on issues, I recommend: Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court. The book on Brennan is not intended to be on balance.

Nothing new, but well-written

I've read a lot of books on the Supreme Court, from Woodward's "The Brethren" to Lazarus' "Closed Chambers." Professor Simon's "The Center Holds" is a well-written entry that sheds little new insight into the court but provides a good introduction for the student of the Rehnquist Court.In terms of structure, this book is a little different than others. Rather than proceed chronologically, Professor Simon organizes his discussion thematically. He covers employment discrimination, abortion, federal habeas corpus, and the First Amendment (flag burning, church and state separation) in different chapters. In some ways, this makes a lot of sense, because you get to see the development of controversy over a particular area of law, such as the Reagan administration's repeated efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade. These efforts included attempting to pack the Court with anti-Roe Justices such as Robert Bork (who was not confirmed), and ultimately culminated in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a case that reaffirmed Roe's central holding (the constitutional right to abortion) but weakened its application.Like most of what is written about the Supreme Court, there is a slight to moderate liberal tilt to "The Center Holds." What is written is accurate and probably does not paint an unfair picture of anyone, but you also get a clear sense of what Professor Simon thinks of the Court's rightward swing.In summary, this is a good introduction to the Rehnquist Court, and in some ways, is a good companion piece to "The Brethren." Interestingly, both books end on the same tone: the "moderates" are in control of the Court.