Short Synopsis
In this compelling book, Michael J. Graetz and Linda Greenhouse excavate the roots of the most significant Burger Court decisions and show how their legacy affects us today.

Full Synopsis
When Richard Nixon campaigned for the presidency in 1968 he promised to change the Supreme Court. With four appointments to the court, including Warren E. Burger as the chief justice, he did just that. In 1969, the Burger Court succeeded the famously liberal Warren Court, which had significantly expanded civil liberties and was despised by conservatives across the country.

The Burger Court is often described as a "transitional" court between the Warren Court and the Rehnquist and Roberts Courts, a court where little of importance happened. But as this "landmark new book" (The Christian Science Monitor) shows, the Burger Court veered well to the right in such areas as criminal law, race, and corporate power. Authors Michael J. Graetz and Linda Greenhouse excavate the roots of the most significant Burger Court decisions and in "elegant, illuminating arguments" (The Washington Post) show how their legacy affects us today.

“An insightful and well-researched examination of the Burger Court." ---Library Journal Starred Review

"[A] groundbreaking study . . . Two powerhouse law historians/journalists deliver a major contribution to the history of the Supreme Court." ---Kirkus Starred Review

“A powerful corrective to the standard narrative of the Burger court . . . should change the way that period is perceived. . . . As this important book makes clear, courts, given time, can accomplish—or demolish—a great deal by degrees, leaving their successors to finish the job.” ---New York Times

"Ambitious and engaging. . . . Graetz and Greenhouse's work serves as an important corrective, demonstrating that the Burger court demands far more sustained scrutiny and analysis than legal scholarship has generally afforded it." ---The Washington Post

Library Journal Review

Kirkus Review