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 First edition | |
| Author | Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Supreme Court of the United States |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 1979 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 467 |
| ISBN | 978-0-671-24110-0 |
| OCLC | 61201839 |
The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court is a 1979 book by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong. It gives a "behind-the-scenes" account of the United States Supreme Court during Warren Burger's early years as Chief Justice of the United States. The book covers the years from the 1969 term through the 1975 term. Using Woodward's trademark writing technique involving "off-the-record" sources, the book provides an account of the deliberations leading to some of the court's more controversial decisions from the 1970s. The book significantly focused on the Supreme Court's unanimous 1974 decision in United States v. Nixon, which ruled that President Richard Nixon was legally obligated to turn over the Watergate tapes. In 1985, upon the death of Associate Justice Potter Stewart, Woodward disclosed that Stewart had been the primary source for The Brethren.[1]
The book begins with the 1969 exit of ailing Chief Justice Earl Warren from the Supreme Court after the U.S. Senate refused to allow President Lyndon Johnson to elevate sitting Associate Justice Abe Fortas to Chief Justice in 1968. Newly inaugurated as president, Richard Nixon considered nominating moderate Justice Potter Stewart, but ends up selecting Judge Warren Burger. Upon Burger's successful confirmation, the Republican Party begins pursuing reversals of liberal Warren Court decisions. John Marshall Harlan II comprised the more conservative side of the court, often joined by Byron White, while William Douglas, William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall took up the left. Serving as the narrator, Potter Stewart was portrayed as the Supreme Court's ideological center alongside Hugo Black.
Over the course of the book, Woodward and Armstrong portray the nominations of six additional justices, including the Senate's rejection of Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell as successors to Abe Fortas. The replacement of Hugo Black and John Marshall Harlan II with Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William Rehnquist reinforces the Burger Court's conservatism, and the book ends with William Douglas suffering a stroke at the end of 1974, allowing Gerald Ford to appoint John Paul Stevens as his successor. While Douglas despised Ford over a 1970 attempt to impeach him, Stevens would ultimately lead the court's liberal bloc.
Warren Burger is described by others as pompous, devious, and intellectually mediocre. The book is also critical of William Douglas, who is portrayed as having gone from one of America's greatest jurists to a "nasty, petulant, prodigal child" who was overly political.[2] Woodward and Armstrong also criticize Thurgood Marshall for being intellectually lazy and apathetic, which legal scholar Mark Tushnet has portrayed as racially charged.[3][4] The accuracy of the book was questioned by some of the Justices, particularly Brennan, who privately called it a "goddamn shit sheet."[5]
- ^ Garrow, David (2001-01-01). "The Supreme Court and the Brethren". Constitutional Commentary.
- ^ Nichol, Gene (1979-12-01). "Book Review: The Brethern, by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong". West Virginia Law Review. 82 (2). ISSN 0043-3268.
- ^ Tushnet, Mark. "Thurgood Marshall and the Brethren". Georgetown Law Review (80): 2109–2131. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ Robin, Corey. The Enigma of Clarence Thomas. Metropolitan Books. p. 11. ISBN 9781627793834. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ Stern, Seth; Wermiel, Stephen. Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion. University Press of Kansas. p. 469. ISBN 9780700619122. Retrieved 28 August 2022.