Pun Salad

I put this book by SCOTUS Justice Amy Coney Barrett on my get-at-library list thanks to a good review from Barton Swaim last year in the WSJ.

Some of the book is autobiography, although she avoids being overly personal, or (heaven forbid) critical of her political/judicial adversaries. She tells feelgood stories about her career, colleagues, and family; outlines her career (SCOTUS clerk, lawprof, lower court judge, …). There's next to nothing, for example, about the overtly partisan confirmation process, where all Senate Democrats voted against her. In this area, she's all sweetness and light, with a lot of emphasis about how collegial SCOTUS is, with (sometimes bitter) legal disagreements never intruding on the Justices' mutual respect and affection.

Apart from autobiography, the book goes into detail about how SCOTUS works: what clerks do (she was at one time a clerk for Antonin Scalia); the mysteries of standing, certiorari, amicus briefs, and the like. Something I didn't previously appreciate: the Constitution restricts SCOTUS to Cases and [specific] Controversies; they can't just make up decisions on issues they find interesting or important.

Another portion of the book goes into methods of judicial interpretation. Justice Barrett lays out her case for Scalia-like originalism/textualism. (She's pushing on an open door in my case.) But there are also a couple of interesting chapters on how justices have to deal with sloppily-worded statutes, or some with outright mistakes. ("I think they meant to say 'illegal', instead of 'legal' there.") Laws are written (mostly) in English, and English is notoriously ambiguous! One of her examples: a lime-green gas-guzzler parked in front of a sign saying "Green Vehicles Only". Does the owner get ticketed?)

I was interested by the book, at the "aspiring dilettante" level. It occurred to me that it would make an excellent high-school graduation gift to a bright student contemplating a career in law. If they pore over the pages in rapt fascination, I'd encourage them to go for it!