Encyclopedia Of The Supreme Court - Hardcover

Schultz, David

9780816050864: Encyclopedia Of The Supreme Court

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0816050864 ISBN 13: 9780816050864

Publisher: Facts on File, 2005

An addition to the Facts on File Library of American History presents a collection of essays that covers the structure, judges, cases, and issues of the United States Supreme Court throughout history.

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About the Author:

David Schultz is currently a professor at Hamline University.

From Booklist:

This volume contains information on a wide assortment of topics and issues directly related to the history and function of the Supreme Court and includes both landmark cases and those of lesser note. Most Supreme Court justices have detailed biographies that explain their particular approaches to jurisprudence. Entries are arranged A-Z. The "Selected Bibliography" provides researchers with some useful sources, including biographies of high-profile justices and scholarly examinations of major constitutional issues. However, the "Chronology" is only five pages long.

Written by experts, the articles vary in length and complexity according to the subject matter. Typically, they are one to two columns long. The introduction notes that the encyclopedia is intended for the "average citizen," although some readers may be confused by the legalese. At the end of each article, a brief "For More Information" section provides a grab bag of sources, such as the Yale Law Journal, government documents, scholarly monographs, and Web sites.

Entries cover almost every aspect of the Supreme Court's storied past and controversial present, with some quite notable exceptions. For example, readers who are looking for relevant information on recent interpretations of the Sixth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments since 9/11 will be disappointed. Though the volume contains entries on cases decided during the 2003 term, the historic decisions of Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Chavez v. Martinez, and Rasul v. Bush are not presented. Of comparatively lesser importance is the exclusion of an article on the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, a position of immense influence.

Although some librarians may be dismayed by these oversights, the volume otherwise achieves the goal of presenting a serious overview of the Supreme Court. Libraries that do not already have other resources--for example, The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (2d ed., 2005)--may wish to purchase this work. Michael Matthews
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