Joan
Biskupic and Elder Witt, Congressional Quarterly’s
Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court (3rd
ed. Congressional Quarterly 1997).
Shelley
Dowling, The United States Supreme Court
Library, in Law Librarianship: Historical
Perspectives 3 (Laura N. Gasaway and Mike C.
Chiorazzi, eds., Fred B. Rothman & Co. 1996).
Jerry
Goldman and Northwestern University, The
Oyez Project: U.S. Supreme Court Events Occurring
‘On This Date in History’ (visited
Dec. 1, 1999) http://oyez.nwu.edu
Kermit
L. Hall et al., The Oxford Companion to the
Supreme Court of the United States, (Oxford
University Press 1992).
Lisa
Paddock, Facts About the Supreme Court of the
United States (H.W. Wilson 1996).
Robert
Shnayerson, The Illustrated History of the Supreme
Court of the United States (Abrams, in association
with the Supreme Court Historical Society 1986).
Kenneth
Jost, The Supreme Court A to Z: (2nd
ed. Congressional Quarterly 1998) (1993).
Journal
of Supreme Court History (Supreme Court Historical
Society 1990 — present).
The
Supreme Court Historical Society Quarterly (Supreme
Court Historical Society 1978 - present).
The
Washington Post, The Supreme Court (visited
Dec. 1, 1999) http://www.
washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/supcourt/supcourt.htm
Congressional
Quarterly’s Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court
("Guide") is in
its third printing and is an invaluable source
for Supreme Court information. The Guide
provides an historical account of the development
of the Supreme Court through three centuries,
complete with supporting tables and illustrations.
[135] The Guide also examines the Supreme
Court’s place in society and reviews the
operations and traditions of the Supreme Court.
[136] Finally, the Guide provides one-page
biographical sketches on the Justices, complete
with portraits. [137]
The
appendices to the Guide contain the full-text
of selected important documents, such as: the
Supreme Court Rules, the Declaration of Independence,
the Constitution of the United States,
legislation related to the Judiciary, selected
cases, and former Justice Abe Fortas’s
letter of resignation from the Supreme Court.
[138] A second appendix contains: (a) tables
of the natural Courts and Supreme Court nominations,
1789-1996, (b) a glossary of legal terms, (c)
a list of Congressional acts the Supreme Court
held unconstitutional, (d) a chronology of the
Supreme Court’s major decisions, and (e)
a map of the federal court system. [139] The
ten-page selected bibliography corresponds to
the chapters of this two-volume set. [140] The
Guide is a fantastic comprehensive source
for information about the Supreme Court.
Shelley
Dowling is the current Librarian of the Court.
Her article The United States Supreme Court
Library offers a great review of the history
of the Supreme Court Library. The article is
part of a compilation of works written about
law librarianship. It is included in Law
Librarianship: Historical Perspectives,
edited by Laura N. Gasaway and Mike C. Chiorazzi.
In the article, Dowling reviews how the Supreme
Court Library has changed from the time of its
inception to the present day. Dowling not only
covers the Court’s Library, but also reviews
the establishment of the Supreme Court itself.
Throughout the piece, she provides factual information
about the Court and its Library, while sharing
anecdotes about the Court. Dowling’s article
is an enjoyable and worthwhile read for anyone
interested in the history of the Court and its
Library.
To
learn what happened at the Supreme Court on
a particular date in history, the Oyez
site at Northwestern University provides a current
source of information. The "On This Day"
service allows users to enter a particular month
and day, and retrieve information about what
Supreme Court-related events occurred on that
date. [141] Events might include what cases
were argued, what Justices were born, or what
Justices were sworn in on a particular date
in history. While the Oyez site does
not purport to be a comprehensive source of
historical information, the "On this Day
in History" service provides a substantial
amount of information about Supreme Court-related
events that happened on a particular day in
history.
The
Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court ("The
Oxford Companion") is
an excellent ready reference source for quick
facts about the Supreme Court. For instance,
to find information about the opinion-writing
style of the Justices, simply look under "Opinions,
Style of." [142] The Oxford Companion
includes biographical entries about the
Justices, recounts major Supreme Court cases,
provides definitions, and gives general historical
material. Each of the entries is signed and
some contain references for further consultation
and research. [143] In addition to these smaller
entries, The Oxford Companion contains
thirty-one pages on the Supreme Court’s
history. [144] All of these features make The
Oxford Companion an excellent ready reference
source for quick background information about
the Supreme Court.
Lisa
Paddock’s Facts About the Supreme Court
of the United States begins with an historical
overview of the Supreme Court and then proceeds
chronologically, Court by Court, beginning with
the Jay Court and concluding with the Rehnquist
Court. [145] Each section includes biographical
information on the Supreme Court’s Chief
Justice and Associate Justices, as well as short
summaries of major cases. [146] Paddock also
highlights notable features of each particular
Court. In the Hughes Court section, for example,
a notation states that the 1935 Supreme Court
building solved the lack of space problem the
Supreme Court
had been facing, but "most of the [J]ustices
refused to occupy their spacious new suites,
preferring to continue working at home, as was
their custom." [147] Paddock’s book
gives the reader an excellent overview of all
of the different Courts over the years.
Although
dated, The Illustrated History of the Supreme
Court of the United States ("The
Illustrated History") provides excellent
historical coverage of the Supreme Court. Illustrations
in the center of the book include photographs
of the construction of the Supreme Court building
from 1933-1935. [148] In addition to these illustrations
are pictures of the interior of the Supreme
Court that are not included in the Maroon book.
The Illustrated History is written in
a narrative form and might not be as useful
for ready reference, but would definitely be
worth a look for more extensive historical background
on the Supreme Court.
The
layout of Kenneth Jost’s The Supreme
Court A to Z is similar to The Oxford
Companion. Jost arranges the entries alphabetically,
defines terms relating to the Supreme Court,
gives brief biographical sketches of the Justices,
reviews issues addressed by the Supreme Court,
and covers selected Supreme Court cases. [149]
Unlike The Oxford Companion, Jost’s
The Supreme Court A to Z also contains
pictures, illustrations, and tables. [150]
The
Supreme Court Historical Society publishes both
the Journal of Supreme Court History
and The Supreme Court Historical Society
Quarterly. Both offer interesting pieces
of historical information about the Supreme
Court, although they are not really useful for
ready reference. For instance, the first volume
of the 1998 Journal of Supreme Court History
includes biographical articles on six of the
former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court Historical Society is "dedicated
to the collection and preservation of the history
of the Supreme Court of the United States"
and seeks to fulfill its mission through a variety
of Supreme Court history-related publications.
[151] A new addition is the Supreme Court Historical
Society Web site. Unique features of the Web
site include: digitized versions of selected
Supreme Court Yearbooks, the Supreme
Court Historical Society Gift Catalog, a
current schedule of Supreme Court-related C-Span
broadcasts, and Real Audio versions of past
lectures. [152] This Web site is in the development
process and will likely be a valuable resource
for Supreme Court history in the near future.
The
Washington Post Web site offers an historical
look at the Supreme Court through its "history"
link. [153] The information is grouped into
three categories: information about the Justices,
how the Supreme Court works, and notable past
cases. Joan Biskupic, Supreme Court correspondent
for The Washington Post and author of
the Congressional Quarterly’s Guide
to the U.S. Supreme Court writes the narrative.
[154] The site also includes a quiz, to test
your mastery of Supreme Court knowledge. [155]
