First Principles: Jurisprudence of Clarence Thomas: The Jurisprudence of Clarence Thomas - Hardcover

Gerber, Scott Douglas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 081473099X ISBN 13: 9780814730997

Publisher: NYU Press, 1999

Synopsis

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

Review:

"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

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

-First Things

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

-National Review

From the Author:

It's time to move beyond Anita Hill.
Clarence Thomas is one of the most vilified public figures of our day. TIME magazine has called him "Uncle Tom Justice" and famed columnist Nat Hentoff accuses him of "having done more damage, more quickly, than any Supreme Court justice in history." Dismissed as an opportunistic puppet of white conservatism by many Americans, black and white, and launch onto the Court amidst a storm of controversy and frenzied publicity, Thomas has served the early years of his tenure in an isolation unusual even by the cloistered standards of the institution he cherishes. What is perhaps most remarkable about Justice Thomas's Supreme Court tenure to date is that, despite the fact that he will be influencing American law for generations to come, his legal philosophy has received only cursory treatment. I seek to remedy this state of affairs by casting aside facile, visceral assessments of Thomas--from both the left and the right. I take on the formible task of providing 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. And what I find is likely to surprise Justice Thomas's critics and supporters alike.

About this edition

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 081473099X
• ISBN 13: 9780814730997
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 316