Supremely Partisan

As the future of the Supreme Court hangs in the balance, James Zirin has given us an extraordinarily timely, riveting, and historically informed work about how the Court has become a supremely political and partisan body. A must-read.”—Katrina vanden Heuvel, Editor and Publisher, The Nation

“Supremely Partisan will deepen readers’ understanding of the Court at a time when concerns of partisanship and identity politics undeniably overwhelmingly drive the nomination process. All Americans should pay close heed.” —Kermit Roosevelt, from his Foreword to Supremely Partisan

“A vivid, no-holds-barred portrait of the politicization of the Supreme Court. Read it. It’s a WOW! Book.” —Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson’s top assistant for domestic affairs, former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

★“A top-notch book about the Supreme Court. Zirin has his finger on its pulse, and he shows the rest of us how it works and how it doesn’t.” —Kirkus, in a starred review

On the eve of a presidential election that may determine the makeup of Supreme Court justices for decades to come, prominent attorney and former federal prosecutor James D. Zirin argues that the Court has become increasingly partisan, rapidly making policy choices right and left on bases that have nothing to do with law or the Constitution. Zirin explains how we arrived at the present situation and looks at the current divide through its leading partisans, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor on the left and the late Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas on the right. He also examines four of the Court’s most controversial recent decisions – Hobby Lobby, Obamacare, gay marriage, and capital punishment – arguing that these politicized decisions threaten to undermine public confidence in the Supreme Court.

In SUPREMELY PARTISAN, Zirin:

• Examines whether or not the Supreme Court of the United States has become a political court making policy judgments based on sources outside the Constitution.
• Argues that identity politics has become the overwhelmingly decisive factor in the appointment process.
• Discusses the evolution of the Catholic, Jewish, and African-American seats on the court.
• Offers an explanation of the Supreme Court’s original and intended purpose, and how it may have veered off that course.
• Engages with the politically-charged court cases surrounding issues like religion, abortion, race, LGBT issues, and more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James D. Zirin is a leading litigator who has appeared in federal and state courts around the nation. He is the author of the acclaimed book The Mother Court about some of the great cases tried in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He hosts the critically acclaimed cable TV talk show “Conversations in the Digital Age.” A former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, his op-ed articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Times (London), The Washington Times, Forbes, and Barron’s.