ACBA Book Club Review: The Case Against the Supreme Court, by Erwin Chemerinsky

This accessible book by the Constitutional scholar and current Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law covers the history of the Supreme Court through the lens of the Court’s failures.  Chemerinsky demonstrates the ways in which the role of the judiciary in a constitutional democracy is to safeguard the needs of the minority (since democracy takes care of the needs of the majority), and the many instances when the US Supreme Court has failed in this mission, instead reinforcing the views and interests of the majority.  While the book is a little dense at times, it makes an interesting and disturbing  case, showing that what we might have thought was “the arc of history bending towards justice” (in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) is actually a series of rare moments in a generally regressive institution.  Recommended.

Every month, a group of ACBA members gathers to discuss this month’s reading selection.  We alternate between fiction and non-fiction, and try to choose books that have at least something to do with the law.  We really do talk about the books – also, of course, we drink wine, eat cookies, and get to know each other.  Do you like to read?  Come join us! RSVP to tiela@acbanet.org.