Gavel Grab

Loyal readers of Gavel Grab already have been exposed to writer Jeffrey Toobin’s account of how Chief Justice John Roberts personally “orchestrated” the landmark Citizens United decision. Now they can learn more details about that and other controversial rulings from Toobin’s new book about conflict between the court and the Obama White House.

Toobin’s “The Oath” provides “a compelling narrative of the early years of the Roberts court, which produced a series of 5 to 4 decisions that pitted the Obama administration against the conservative justices,” according to a book review by Jeffrey Rosen in The Washington Post.

According to Rosen’s review, Toobin examines who, between Obama and Roberts, better represents a model of constitutional conservatism;  explores the changing politics of judicial review; and describes the role of the chief justice in such controversial rulings as Citizens United and the Affordable Care Act challenge.

In other coverage related to the Supreme Court, a Washington Post article was headlined, “[Justice Clarence] Thomas concedes that ‘we the people’ didn’t include blacks;” and a New York Times article was entitled, “From Justice Thomas, a Little Talk About Himself and the Court.” An Associated Press headline declared, “[Justice Samuel] Alito says Supreme Court misunderstood by media.”