First Among Equals

September 2, 2002
Starr steps decisively away from his celebrated (or infamous, depending on your politics) role in the Clinton imbroglio and focuses here on the U.S. Supreme Court over the last 30 years. To this analysis Starr brings experience as a law clerk to Chief Justice Burger, federal appellate judge, U.S. solicitor general and professor of constitutional law. The author selects some 14 areas of law for examination, ranging from freedom of speech to separation of church and state, from abortion to affirmative action. For each area, Starr profiles several major decisions of the Rehnquist Court. For the author, the court under Rehnquist is centrist, lawyerly and analytical, a welcome departure from the activism and judicial policymaking of the court under Earl Warren. One principal focus of the book is on the leadership role played by individual justices, especially Justices O'Connor and Breyer, in devising rationales that command majority agreement among their peers. Starr declares that Justice Thomas is the Rehnquist court's most original and creative thinker, but does not explain the basis for this judgment. The book is written in a clear, nontechnical style accessible to a wide readership, not just court watchers and constitutional scholars. This study is slated to be a main selection of the Conservative Book Club, and this is entirely appropriate. Starr delivers attacks on Miranda
and Roe
v.Wade
and a defense of the court's decision in Bush
v.Gore.
Readers—especially those on the right—interested in the law's evolution will find in this a conservative synthesis of the constitutional thinking of today's Supreme Court.

June 15, 2002
Having taken on a President, the tenacious Starr doesn't hesitate to take on the Supreme Court.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2002
Starr, independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation, former U.S. solicitor general, and onetime clerk to Chief Justice Warren Burger, draws on his experience and knowledge to offer insights into the role of the Supreme Court. Starr highlights the differences in legal philosophy between the Warren Court, which took an activist approach, and the post-Warren Court, which is more lawyerly in outlook. He focuses on those areas where the post-Warren Court has unexpectedly upheld earlier rulings on separation of church and state, free speech and free press guarantees, and affirmative action. Starr also examines how political decisions impact who is and isn't seated on the Court and offers details of the personalities and legal styles of the individual justices, particularly the most influential--Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, and Breyer. Starr analyzes the major Supreme Court cases of the past three decades--including the one that decided the outcome of the 2000 presidential election--examining the social issues behind the cases and the judicial arguments underlying the decisions. But the book is most fascinating in Starr's analysis of the subtle influences that justices exert in their opinions--whether supporting or dissenting--and their interactions with other justices.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)