Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey

by Linda Greenhouse

Book Overview

A Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent with unprecedented access to the inner workings of the U.S. Supreme Court chronicles the personal transformation of a legendary justice From 1970 to 1994, Justice Harry A. Blackmun (1908-1999) wrote numerous landmark Supreme Court decisions, including Roe v. Wade, and participated in the most contentious debates of his era-all behind closed doors. In Becoming Justice Blackmun , Linda Greenhouse of The New York...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080507791X
• ISBN13: 9780805077919
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Times Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Blackmun's Papers

Please be aware before you pick up this book that it is based almost solely on the personal and professional papers of Justice Blackmun, which he left to the U.S. archives for analysis five years after his death. That said, this is a smooth and informative read for someone who is interested in how the Court works, as well as a first person account of the Court in the 70s/80s/90s. As expected, special attention is placed on Roe vs. Wade, which Blackmun ended up most famous for. However, the book also does a good job of covering other important decisions during Blackmun's tenure. Worth a buy!

Blackmun maximized the product and so has Greenhouse

Blackmun was clearly a man who maximized the product. Linda Greenhouse doesn't quite explain how this rather unprepossessing figure achieved such high office. He was bright and industrious, to be sure, but so were many others. He was not a strong personality or even particularly personable or outgoing. But in one respect at least, Blackmun seems to have been truly extraordinary--his penchant from an early age for recording the events of his life and collecting almost every note, letter or document which related to it--as if he knew and were determined to become someone of substance. Indeed, Greenhouse tells us that Blackmun's collection comprises more than one and a half million items, is contained in some 1585 boxes, and takes up more than 600 feet of shelf space in the Library of Congress. Greenhouse makes wonderful use of this massive collection, writing a remarkably spare yet elegant narrative of what she quite rightly calls "a consequential life," one that spanned the twentieth century and left its mark not only on the law but on American society. Blackmun's bookish reticence may not make him very attractive or interesting to the general reader, but for those seeking a better understanding of the modern Supreme Court and some of its Justices, this volume is as invaluable as it is fascinating. We see Blackmun increasingly determined to do justice as much as to apply the law, with Greenhouse focusing on his opinions having to do with abortion, capital punishment, and sex discrimination. We see Blackmun grow totally estranged from Chief Justice Warren Burger, his closest childhood friend at whose wedding he served as best man. We see Blackmun relate more closely to his young law clerks, some of whom seem to have authored the most memorable lines in his opinions. Someone else will have to research and interview more widely to write the definitive, full-length biography and survey Blackmun's entire judicial career. But we owe much to Greenhouse for this wonderful and most timely introduction.

A Changed Man

This is a remarkable books in so many ways. As other reviews have indicated this is not intended to be a complete biography but rather information gleaned from a review of the archives of Justice Blackmun LInda Greenhouse focused mainly on three topic. The first is the ending of a friendship between Justice Blackmun and Chief Justice Burger. The two men grew up together. Burger was the leader bringing Justice Blackmun with him. When Justice Blackmun arrived at the Supreme Court he slowly became his own man and the friendship falls apart. In her reliance on the Blackmun papers only we can only see one side of the fissure but even that shows when old friends go their own way it often is done by small slights that in each detail is irrelevant but together are significant. The second theme is the change in Blackmun"s attitude toward the death penalty. In small steps the responsibilities of the Court required Blackmun to more fully understand the implications of the penalty until finally he no longer could support it. Again the change is beautifully detailed and we feel from his writing as portrayed by Ms Greenhouse the depth of the change. In this portion of the book we learn how difficult it is to predict how sitting on the Court will change people. As we see the selection process for a new justices begin we should remember that people do grow with responsibilities and not to be to quick to characterize a nominee. The last focus and the most detailed portion of the book is the identification of Justice Blackmun with the Roe decision which he wrote. Starting from the beginning of the research at Mayo Clinic the focus of the decision was the protection of doctors. As Blackmun developed his view he became more concerned about the rights of woman. Roe became his legacy and he worked hard and even stayed on the Court longer to be sure the case was not reversed. The book also provides a wonderful insight on how the Court operates. Justices that have different views are friendly. The letters and the notes between the justices are fascinating. The theme is the change in Blackmum as he served. The lesson is that as we watch the Court we forget that the justices can change and that there is enormous pride in the institution. In summary this is a wonderful book by an author who obviously respects her subject

Masterful use of Blackmun's archive

As Linda Greenhouse notes in her book, Harry Blackmun left us a gift: his papers accumulated over the course of his 24 years on the Supreme Court, plus private correspondence and papers. Blackmun was introspective and took notes on everything at the Court and in his private life, maintaining a "chronology of significant events." By reviewing these files, Greenhouse -- Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times -- makes sense of Blackmun's life and provides detailed tidbits for Supreme Court junkies who regard Woodward and Armstrong's "The Bretheren" (an insider's account of the Supreme Court) as one of the greatest books of all time. In this book, we see the struggles at the Supreme Court throughout Blackmun's tenure, from the early days of the Burger Court to the start of the Rehnquist Court, when the liberal majority was receding and conservatives were chipping away at Blackmun's cherished precedent, Roe v. Wade. I cannot get enough of the internal memos and draft opinions which have never seen the light of day. Equally interesting is the running account of Blackmun's relationship with Warren Burger. They were boyhood friends and remained close throughout their lives when they both wound up on the Supreme Court within a few years of each other. This would seem like a dream: serving as a Supreme Court Justice with your best friend. But it was not to be. Blackmun and Burger grew apart and the friendship suffered irreparable damage. Read the book to find out how this happened. I wish more Supreme Court Justices had the foresight to make available their papers upon their retirement. The Court remains a mysterious institution, quietly handing down decisions on the most important issues of the day. But books like this tell the other side of the story and humanize the individuals who reach the pinnacle of their profession.

An Invaluable Insight into the Supreme Court

Linda Greenhouse, long-time Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times, was permitted early access to the papers of Justice Harry Blackmun which became publicly available in 2004, five years after his death. Utilizing this treasure trove of Supreme Court files, enhanced by her more than twenty-six years covering and studying the Court, she has crafted a book of unusual insight and value for students of the Court. Through the use of Blackmun files, and the reproduction in the book of key documents, it is possible to gain an understanding of how the Justices interact with each other, how they reach consensus on opinions, the techniques through which they express disagreement and displeasure with one another, and the various persuasive strategies that they may follow. This is particulary the case with the abortion controversy that Blackmun, the author of Roe v. Wade, faced for much of his Court tenure. While not a conventional biography of Justice Blackmun, we do learn quite a lot about his career and standards from his pre-Court papers. But it is Blackmun on the Court (1970-94) that is the meat of this volume. One of the most valuable aspects of the volume is the insight it affords into Chief Justice Warren Burger, Blackmun's friend from childhood who is instrumental in securing his nomination. Burger has not been the subject of a full-length biography, and Greenhouse's discussion of his interaction with Blackmun (including the deterioration of their relationship) and his leadership of the Court is quite helpful in filling this gap. Aside from the book itself, and its many virtues, the question does arise as to the propriety of Blackmun's papers being made public so soon after his death, especially considering that he served with all members of the present Court with the exception of Justice Breyer. Included in the book are memos from Justice Kennedy for example, as well as Blackmun conference notes relating the positions of Justices Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia and Kennedy on the Webster abortion case in 1989. However it is difficult to argue against such early release given the splendid contributions Greenhouse had made in this truly monumental volume.