A really great article in the NY Times magazine yesterday about Harry Blackmun's inadvertent journey to becoming the first great feminist justice. This is the kind of material I wish had been included in con law: understanding the personal & political dynamics among the justices is like the National Enquirer method of contextualizing their decisions.

The article, an excerpt from an upcoming book, pays special attention to Ruth Ginsburg's relationship with the court, first as an ACLU attorney and then as a justice. For instance: Scalia and Ginsburg were good friends from the Court of Appeals at the time she joined the Supreme Court. Who knew? The book is based on Blackmun's recently released private notes, which show his doubts & conflicts about how to vote in various cases.

11 Apr 05