Sandra Day O’Connor Book No-Tell All Tome

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

By now, you’ve heard about a new book being launched, written by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. It’s titled Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court.

Happy Change of Venue Friday. For those of you (OK, me) hoping for the excavation of a few skeletons from the Court’s many closets, we’re likely to be disappointed. Here’s how an ABA Journal news story opens:

“Readers hoping for juicy revelations about controversial Supreme Court cases or ‘tell all’ insights won’t find them in Sandra Day O’Connor’s latest book.”

“But those looking for a ‘succinct, snappy account’ of the Supreme Court’s history should pick up the latest book by the retired justice, the New York Times reports. The Christian Science Monitor also has a review of the book, Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court.”

(The whole story is here.)

Succinct and snappy are grand, just grand. But throw us a bone. I’m not expecting garish displays or jaw-dropping pronouncements. But something. Anything.

• Does Justice Scalia slurp his soup?
• Does Justice Kennedy irritate other Justices by earmarking the pages of books? (And is that really why Justice Souter retired?)
• Does Justice Ginsberg sneak extra Jell-O in the Court’s dining room?
• Does Chief Justice Roberts park badly, causing his next-door parker to put nasty notes on his windshield, and maybe, just maybe, to dissent more often as retribution?

You see where I’m going here. We want a little insight. But I suppose I’ll have to wait for a less courteous member of the Court to retire for that enticing volume to appear.

That said, I too will likely read the book. (Or, as the Justices stoutly declare, “I join.”) And if I know anything about Justice O’Connor, I’ll learn quite a bit in the process.

And if you want to buy what looks like a great book, it is available here.

Have a great weekend.

Follow @azatty

 

The Book Lady Law Examines Justice Lorna Lockwood, Reviewed in Arizona Attorney

Former Arizona Chief Justice Lorna Lockwood

I’ve written before about how much I enjoy a good book review. And as January is about to close, I point to another great review in this month’s Arizona Attorney.

The author this month is esteemed lawyer (and past State Bar President) Mark Harrison. He is a good writer, but to make his task easier, he wrote about a great woman—Lorna Lockwood.

Arizona’s first woman Chief Justice is described well in the book Lady Law, by author Sonja White David. Here is how Mark opens his review:

“In 1960, Lorna Lockwood became the first female Justice on the Supreme Court of Arizona. In 1965, she became the first female Chief Justice of any state Supreme Court in the nation. Justice Lockwood’s remarkable story is beautifully captured in Lady Law, a book written by Sonja White David, a resident of Mesa. In a way that Justice Lockwood surely would have appreciated, the author describes how a small-town girl from Douglas and Tombstone, Arizona, defied the odds and blazed the way for women in the law. In the process, Justice Lockwood left a significant and indelible mark on the law of Arizona.”

“Lady Law would be an enriching read for all Arizona lawyers, but it will be an inspiration for young girls and women. As Ms. David describes Justice Lockwood’s journey, she explains how Justice Lockwood was rebuffed and discouraged, not surprisingly by the male establishment, from pursuing her ambition to become a lawyer. As we now know, the pioneering role of Justice Lockwood was a harbinger of things to come; in the half century since Justice Lockwood was elected to the Supreme Court, the percentage of women in law schools has equaled and occasionally exceeded the percentage of men. In addition, women have come to play an increasingly influential role in the profession and on the judiciary.”

Read the entire book review here. And if you’re interested, the book is available here.

Follow @azatty