Book Review: "Antonin Scalia: A Court of One" by Bruce Murphy

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“Scalia: A Court of One” is like watching The Godfather, once you start you just can’t stop. His is a dark and mysterious world that is illuminated by the sheer legal brilliance of his mind which is radiated outward as a forceful conservative beam giving light to our original constitution.

“SCALIA: A COURT OF ONE” BOOK STATS:

Published 2014
644 total pages
499 pages of text
27 chapters
8 black and white picture pages inset
1 extensive Notes section
1 Selected Bibliography section
1 Index section
1 Case Index section
Hardcover available

MIND BLOWN! COOL THINGS I LEARNED:

Antonin Scalia’s father was a professor of Romance Languages
Antonin Scalia’s father has a library named after him at Brooklyn College
Young Antonin was always first in his class
Antonin Scalia was a nationally recognized debate master champion
Colleagues used to call him the “Ninopath” for his dogmatic views
Justice Scalia brought out the fun in learning the law to his lectures
Justice Scalia never became Chief Justice
Justice Scalia’s battles with Justice Kennedy and Justice O’Connor are legendary
He is best described as “brilliant and undiplomatic” (p.434)
He is to be honored because he never wavered in his beliefs and always carried the conservative flag

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Murphy, Bruce Allen. 2014. Scalia: A Court of One. New York: Simon and Schuster.

“SCALIA: A COURT OF ONE” BOOK REVIEW:

If you want to know what it is like to really be a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, “Scalia: A Court of One” will rip open the curtain and take you back stage to the court chambers where all the action happens. You will be surprised at the almost schizophrenic level of interactions the Justices have with one another, from kind, congenial supporting decisions to scathing diatribes in descent with no stone or insult left unturned.

Antonin Scalia defied convention from his very first day on the bench. His upsetting of the culture of the Supreme Court was intentional; his “court of one” was an explosive combination of his need to be right and the incredible power of his intellect. I’m glad the author spent so much time delving into the Scalia family and young Antonin’s upbringing as it plays such a powerful role in his later life.