Carly Friedman's Reviews > Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices

Scorpions is a thorough examination of four justices appointed by FDR: Felix Frankfurter, Robert Jackson, Hugo Black and William O. Douglas. The book discusses their educational backgrounds, private lives, rise to the supreme court, and of course their notable decisions while serving.

Each of the justices were fascinating people with complex perspectives on the law. My favorites were Frankfurter, an outspoken Jew who believed in judicial restraint, and Hugo Black, a former Klans member who ended up arguing for desegregation in Brown vs. the Board of Education.

Other interesting topics included the case involving the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII and Jackson's involvement in the Nuremberg trials.

I read this as part of my 2019 resolution to read more about the Supreme Court. Like many of the other books I have read on the topic, it is striking how political and personal issues influence interactions between justices and even court decisions.

I will admit that I didn't fully understand some of the information regarding the different perspectives (originalism, judicial restraint, liberalism, pragmatism) and the book felt very long at times. Overall, though, I highly recommend it for anyone interested in legal history!