Synopses & Reviews
Warren E. Burger served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1969 to 1987, an often tumultuous period in which the Court wrestled with several compelling constitutional issues.
United States v. Nixon set the stage for the resignation of a President;
Roe v. Wade created a nationwide debate that is as divisive today as ever before;
Lemon v. Kurtzman attempted to enunciate a clear standard for vexing church-state issues; and the "Pentagon Papers" case was a landmark freedom-of-the-press decision.
An impressive collection of writings by legal scholars and practitioners, including many by people who worked directly or indirectly with the Court itself, The Burger Court is the first truly systematic review of the Court's activity during Warren Burger's tenure. Such distinguished contributors as Derrick Bell, Robert Drinan, Anthony Lewis, and Mark Tushnet review individual cases and jurisprudential trends in order to render comprehensive judgments of the Court's accomplishments and shortcomings. The essays in this volume were gathered by the late Bernard Schwartz, one of America's most revered scholars of constitutional law and the editor of this book's well-received predecessor, The Warren Court: A Retrospective (OUP, 1996).
As the finest overview to date of this Court's legacy and significance, The Burger Court will greatly interest anyone with a taste for constitutional issues or recent American history.
Review
"Bernard Schwartz leaves a legacy of fascinating essays, compiled and edited with intellect, honesty, and perceptiveness."--Nina Totenberg, Legal Affairs Correspondent, National Public Radio and ABC Nightline
"This book represents the last major work edited by the late Bernard Schwartz, whom Anthony Lewis once termed 'the most committed, productive legal scholar of our time.' Following The Warren Court: A Retrospective, it is the second volume of a trilogy that proposes to cover our last three Supreme Courts. Schwartz selected scholars, journalists, historians, and judges to present a view that is both composite and unique. From Garrow to Graglia, from Brennan to Bell, this book offers to practitioners, scholars, and jurists an examination of that most intriguing Court that separates the conflicting models of the Warren and Rehnquist benches."--Robert Henry
About the Author
The highly esteemed legal scholar
Bernard Schwartz (1923-1997) was a member of the Law Faculty at New York University for forty-five years before retiring in 1992 as the Edwin D. Webb Professor of Law. Thereafter he was appointed Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tulsa, the post he held until his death. He was the author or editor of over sixty books, and wrote hundreds of articles over the span of a brilliant and influential career.