Political Supreme Court

Todays Supreme Court justices bristle at the label politicians in robes, insisting that they operate above the fray of partisan politics. But for the first century of the nations history, the Court was unmistakably a political institution, both by design and in practice. Justices were fully expected to engage in partisan politicsthere was no concern that such engagement would lead to corruption or undue biasand they remained deeply involved in civic debate and the electoral process while on the bench. In addition to hearing cases in the capital, each justice spent much of his time riding circuit and presiding over federal trial courts. On circuit and in Washington, nineteenth-century justices wrote for partisan newspapers, drafted legislation, advised partisan allies, campaigned for colleagues, and even ran for political offices from the bench. Through these political interactions, members of the Court helped shape debates about the Constitutions meaning at a time when most Americans did not believe in judicial supremacy.In this sweeping history, Rachel A. Shelden, one of Americas leading voices on the history of the Court, brings readers inside the social and political world of its justices, recovering their essential role in the eras turbulent politics. She also charts shifts at the turn of the twentieth century, when members of the Court and the legal community refashioned the judiciary as an apolitical institution, setting the stage for an increasingly more powerfuland more isolatedmodern Court. The Political Supreme Court is required reading for anyone interested in the legal and political underpinnings of todays judicial power.