About the Author

Bernard Schwartz, the Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tulsa, has written the definitive judicial biography of Chief Justice Earl Warren, as well as many other books on the Supreme Court, including A History of the Supreme Court, The Reins of Power: A Constitutional History of the United States, and The Unpublished Opinions of the Rehnquist Court.

Reviews

"Decision combines the scholar's meticulous research with the journalist's instinct for reporting. A reader feels like a witness to the exercise of the best legal minds on the Court (and of those that sometimes fell short). In the end, this book is a reassuring picture of those who wield unreviewable power."--The New York Times Book Review
"Reading about the justices' foibles and personality conflicts is all the more entertaining given the veil of secrecy behind which they normally work....Thoughtful and illuminating."--Kirkus Reviews
"Decision combines the scholar's meticulous research with the journalist's instinct for reporting. A reader feels like a witness to the exercise of the best legal minds on the Court (and of those that sometimes fell short). In the end, this book is a reassuring picture of those who wield unreviewable power."--Marcia Coyle, The New York Times Book Review
"This fascinating book shows how the major decisions of the Supreme Court came to be, including Roe v. Wade.... In all, a terrific primer on the Supreme Court, the true lawgivers of the republic."--Booklist
"Shows that the justices...make law through a much more collaborative and less individualistic process than is generally assumed.... Reading about the justices' foibles and personality conflicts is all the more entertaining given the veil of secrecy behind which they normally work.... Thoughtful and illuminating."--Kirkus Reviews
"While Supreme Court decisions determine the rights of all individuals and the powers of all government officials, the Court's deliberations and actions that lead to these vitally important decisions are largely shielded from public view. By shedding valuable light on the Court's behind-the-scenes workings, Decision should enrich public understanding and support of our constitutional liberties and the Justices who uphold them."--Nadine Strossen,
President, American Civil Liberties Union, and Professor of Law, New York Law School
"Privy to heretofore unrevealed internal memoranda, Professor Bernard Schwartz has produced a remarkable scholarly analysis of Supreme Court practice and the thought processes of past and present justices who have been at the helm of our nation's judiciary."--Stanley Mosk, Justice, Supreme Court of California
"Arguably the leading Supreme Court scholar of the day."--Supreme Court Historical Society Quarterly

"Decision combines the scholar's meticulous research with the journalist's instinct for reporting. A reader feels like a witness to the exercise of the best legal minds on the Court (and of those that sometimes fell short). In the end, this book is a reassuring picture of those who wield unreviewable power."--The New York Times Book Review "Reading about the justices' foibles and personality conflicts is all the more entertaining given the veil of secrecy behind which they normally work....Thoughtful and illuminating."--Kirkus Reviews "Decision combines the scholar's meticulous research with the journalist's instinct for reporting. A reader feels like a witness to the exercise of the best legal minds on the Court (and of those that sometimes fell short). In the end, this book is a reassuring picture of those who wield unreviewable power."--Marcia Coyle, The New York Times Book Review "This fascinating book shows how the major decisions of the Supreme Court came to be, including Roe v. Wade.... In all, a terrific primer on the Supreme Court, the true lawgivers of the republic."--Booklist "Shows that the justices...make law through a much more collaborative and less individualistic process than is generally assumed.... Reading about the justices' foibles and personality conflicts is all the more entertaining given the veil of secrecy behind which they normally work.... Thoughtful and illuminating."--Kirkus Reviews "While Supreme Court decisions determine the rights of all individuals and the powers of all government officials, the Court's deliberations and actions that lead to these vitally important decisions are largely shielded from public view. By shedding valuable light on the Court's behind-the-scenes workings, Decision should enrich public understanding and support of our constitutional liberties and the Justices who uphold them."--Nadine Strossen, President, American Civil Liberties Union, and Professor of Law, New York Law School "Privy to heretofore unrevealed internal memoranda, Professor Bernard Schwartz has produced a remarkable scholarly analysis of Supreme Court practice and the thought processes of past and present justices who have been at the helm of our nation's judiciary."--Stanley Mosk, Justice, Supreme Court of California "Arguably the leading Supreme Court scholar of the day."--Supreme Court Historical Society Quarterly