First Principles: The Jurisprudence of Clarence Thomas - Hardcover

Scott Douglas Gerber

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 081473099X ISBN 13: 9780814730997

Publisher: NYU Press, 1998

Synopsis

Clarence Thomas is one of the most vilified public figures of our day. To date, however, his legal philosophy has received only cursory treatment. First Principles provides a portrait of Thomas based not on the justice's caricatured reputation, but on his judicial opinions and votes, his scholarly writings, and his public speeches.

The paperback edition includes a provocative new Afterword by the author bringing the book up to date by assessing Justice Thomas's performance, and the reaction to his decisions, during the last five years.

About this title

About the Author:

Scott Douglas Gerber, Ph.D., J.D., is author of To Secure These Rights: The Declaration of Independence and Constitutional Interpretation and editor of Seriatim: The Supreme Court before John Marshall, both available from New York University Press. He teaches at Ohio Northern University College of Law.

Review:

"...the most comprehensive and incisive account of Thomas' political philosophy to date."

-First Things

"Gerber's book is a breath of fresh air, because it treats Justice Thomas and his work with respect and intellectual curiosity."

-Ideas on Liberty

"Gerber is scrupulously honest in dissecting Thomas' opinions, their legal background, and their place in the Court's jurisprudence, and he demonstrates his own excellent capabilities as an objective, fair, thoughtful, and thorough scholar."

-The Federal Lawyer

"The virture of Scott Gerber's new study ... is that it puts in better perspective Thomas's whole career."

-The Weekly Standard

"...An excellent and balanced review of the justice's first years on the Court."

-National Review

About this edition

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 081473099X
• ISBN 13: 9780814730997
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 305