Courting Disaster: The Supreme Court and the Unmaking of American Law.

• Position: Book Review

by Martin Garbus

Trial lawyer Martin Garbus takes a hard look at the history of the Supreme Court in his new book Courting Disaster: The Supreme Court and the Unmaking of American Law. Garbus's book examines monumental decisions made in recent American history, such as Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, and Bush v. Gore, and examines what he calls a judicial revolution created by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Garbus explains how Reagan and his cabinet determinedly used their two terms to fill vacancies in the courts with not only Republicans, but right-wing conservatives.

Garbus's contention that the American court system is a hotbed of political agenda undermines the idealized view of justices as protectors of the objective truth.

Garbus analyzes each of the Supreme Court justices' positions on key issues such as abortion, affirmative action, states' rights, religion, the free market, and...