The Center Holds : The Power Struggle Inside the Rehnquist Court

Rating:
Summary: Nothing new, but well-written
Review: I've read a lot of books on the Supreme Court, from Woodward's "The Brethren" to Lazarus' "Closed Chambers." Professor Simon's "The Center Holds" is a well-written entry that sheds little new insight into the court but provides a good introduction for the student of the Rehnquist Court.

In terms of structure, this book is a little different than others. Rather than proceed chronologically, Professor Simon organizes his discussion thematically. He covers employment discrimination, abortion, federal habeas corpus, and the First Amendment (flag burning, church and state separation) in different chapters. In some ways, this makes a lot of sense, because you get to see the development of controversy over a particular area of law, such as the Reagan administration's repeated efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade. These efforts included attempting to pack the Court with anti-Roe Justices such as Robert Bork (who was not confirmed), and ultimately culminated in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a case that reaffirmed Roe's central holding (the constitutional right to abortion) but weakened its application.

Like most of what is written about the Supreme Court, there is a slight to moderate liberal tilt to "The Center Holds." What is written is accurate and probably does not paint an unfair picture of anyone, but you also get a clear sense of what Professor Simon thinks of the Court's rightward swing.

In summary, this is a good introduction to the Rehnquist Court, and in some ways, is a good companion piece to "The Brethren." Interestingly, both books end on the same tone: the "moderates" are in control of the Court.

Rating:
Summary: slanted, yet fascinating
Review: Simon has managed to construct a book with a heavy liberal tilt that is both fascinating (insofar as it reveals the Court's recent inner-workings) and well written.