The Majesty of the Law
Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice

Sandra Day O'Connor

4/16/2005

In 1981 President Ronald Regan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to sit on the Supreme Court, the highest court of law in the United States. Hers was a ground breaking appointment. She is the first woman to be named to the Court. Since then Justice Ruth Ginsberg has also joined the Court. But as Justice O'Connor points out, at least 50% of our population is women, but only 22% of the justices are.

But although there is a major section of this book devoted to the women's movement in the United States, this book is about the legal system in the United States, with the major emphasis on the Supreme Court. She relates the early history of the judicial system and recognizes the brilliance of the writers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. She describes major cases over the years and show when and how different interpretations of the Constitution and Bill of Rights have shaped our legal system today.

Sandra Day O'Connor tells of the history of the Court itself. In the beginning there were only six justices that spent part of their time in the Nation's capital and part of the time riding circuit around six regions of the country (thus we now have the Federal Circuit Court) acting as judges in the lower courts. The number of justcies has been as high as 11 and as low as five. The number has been set at nine since the late 1800's, although there has been the occasional proposal to change it (specifically by Franklin Roosevelt).

She also gives biographies of some of the influential justices, such as Justice John Marshall and Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr. More recent justices are also featured, including stories of her own interaction with some of them.

This is an excellent book. O'Connor uses a conversational tone that isn't full of legalese, nor does it speak down to the reader. She brings the history and the Court to life. The judicial system is no longer a mystery after her narrative (which was not the case after my high school Civics class!). She occasionally "gets on her soapbox", especially with the women's suffrage movement. She offers the history of the woman's place in United States society as well as talks about the current state of the movement. She also gives the reader her vision of the possible future of the judicial system in our country and around the world. I'll gladly recommend this book to any of my non-lawyer friends for a better understanding of our judicial system.

You can find more about this book at .