Closed Chambers

When Closed Chambers was first published, it was met with a firestorm of controversy—as well as a shower of praise—for being the first book to break the code of silence about the inner workings of this country’s most powerful court. In this eloquent, trailblazing account, with a new chapter covering Bush v. Gore, Guantanamo, and other recent controversial court decisions, Edward Lazarus, who served as a clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun, presents a searing indictment of a court at war with itself and often in neglect of its constitutional duties. Combining memoir, history, and legal analysis, Lazarus reveals in astonishing detail the realities of what takes place behind the closed doors of the U.S. Supreme Court—an institution that through its rulings holds the power to affect the life of every American.Preface to the Penguin Edition
Author's Note
The Highest Court in the Land

THE MARBLE PALACE
A Clerk's Eye View
The Grand Canyon

THE PENALTY OF DEATH
The Spirit of Scottsboro
Sand in the Machine
The Strike of Lightning
Backlash
The Death Watch
The Lone Ranger
Stay of Execution
A Cop Killer's Case
Equal Protection of the Laws

THINGS FALL APART
Robert Bork and Civil War
The Cabal Against the Libs
The Test of Sincerity

THE TORTURE OF LAWS
The Right to Privacy
The Price of Good Intentions
The Triumph of Politics

A COURT DIVIDED
Transitions
A Fragile Peace
Old Battles, New Wounds
Final Thoughts

Notes
Index

"Ambitious, opinionated, scholarly, gossipy … wonderful. Closed Chambers is a crash course in contemporary constitutional law and judicial culture." —Newsday

"Lazarus has opened a window on matters that are usually kept secret. … [He] should be praised … for shedding light where it is needed." —The Washington Post

"Impeccably resarched and impressibly documented … will fascinate diehard court-watchers." —The Boston Globe

"The Court needs critics—and members—with Lazarus's intellectual clarity and deep attachment to its best traditions." —Los Angeles Times

Edward Lazarus is the author of Black Hills, White Justice. He writes regularly for national publications including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Atlantic Monthly. A former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Lazarus is currently in private practice in California.