
Lawless
Leah Litman
(Author)Description
Something is deeply rotten at the Supreme Court. How did we get here and what can we do about it?
Leah Litman, co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, shines a light on the unabashed lawlessness embraced by conservative Supreme Court justices and shows us how to fight back.
With the gravitas of Joan Biskupic and the irreverence of Elie Mystal, Leah Litman brings her signature wit to the question of what's gone wrong at One First Street. In Lawless, she argues that the Supreme Court is no longer practicing law; it's running on vibes. By "vibes," Litman means legal-ish claims that repackage the politics of conservative grievance and dress them up in robes. Major decisions adopt the language and posture of the law, while in fact displaying a commitment to protecting a single minority: the religious conservatives and Republican officials whose views are no longer shared by a majority of the country.
Dahlia Lithwick's Lady Justice meets Rebecca Traister's Good and Mad as Litman employs pop-culture references and the latest decisions to deliver a funny, zeitgeisty, pulls-no-punches cri de coeur undergirded by impeccable scholarship. She gives us the tools we need to understand the law, the dynamics of courts, and the stakes of this current moment--even as she makes us chuckle on every page and emerge empowered to fight for a better future.
Product Details
Publisher | Simon & Schuster Audio |
Publish Date | May 13, 2025 |
Language | English |
Type | |
EAN/UPC | 9781797196657 |
Dimensions | 5.5 X 5.7 X 1.1 inches | 0.4 pounds |
About the Author
Leah Litman is a professor of law at the University of Michigan and a former Supreme Court clerk. She has been published in top law reviews and received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award for her "scholarly excellence" from the American Constitution Society. In addition to cohosting Strict Scrutiny, she writes frequently about the Court for media outlets including the Washington Post, Slate, and The Atlantic, among others. She has appeared as a commentator on NPR and MSNBC, in addition to other venues. Follow her on X @LeahLitman and Instagram @ProfLeahLitman.
Reviews
"In Lawless, Litman has succeeded in writing a lively and engaging book without sacrificing scrupulous legal research and trenchant analysis...A thorough and alarming assessment."
-- "Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine""Litman ingeniously mines the past half century of conservative politics for comedy gold as she builds her case that the movement's bugbears are now driving the court...It's a clear-eyed and alarming view of a court captured by far-right conspiracy theories."
-- "Publishers Weekly""This breezy yet authoritative explainer of the bad faith reasoning, extreme ideology, and shady tactics that characterize today's Court majority will ably arm readers for what's to come."
-- "Irin Carmon, co-author of Notorious RBG""A refreshingly accessible and outrageously funny indictment of robed partisans drunk on power. Leah Litman is the ideal guide for this tour of the Supreme Court's assault on democracy and civil rights: She's wise, witty, and totally fearless."
-- "Mark Stern, senior writer and Supreme Court correspondent, Slate""Litman ably documents the Court's devolution, as it was yoked into service to a political party and a billionaire class."
-- "Senator Sheldon Whitehouse"Earn by promoting books