96. Shades of Freedom: Racial Politics and Presumptions of the American Legal Process Race and the American Legal Process - A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.

I was incredibly impressed by this well-researched and well-documented book by Higginbotham, a former Third Circuit judge. He gives a very thorough analysis of the "interaction between the law and racial oppression in America" (from the back of the book - but said so well). The first part of the book explains how perceptions of black inferiority developed, and how they came to influence our society so much. He also discusses the U.S. Constitution's references to slavery; the Supreme Court's sanction of racism in decisions like Plessy v. Ferguson and Dred Scott v. Sanford; and the unequal criminal justice system.
One passage that jumped out to me was from a part in which Higginbotham was discussing Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, Uncle Tom's Cabin:

Those who are oppressed may have the capacity to be brave and noble like everyone else, but the oppression itself is probably not what makes them brave and noble. Those who are oppressed may be in possession of certain absolute and simple truths beyond the knowledge of others, but chief among those truths is that freedom is preferable to oppression. Yet those who insist on seeing beauty in oppression often do so to assuage their guilt for contributing to that oppression. That is why the temptation to find beauty and nobility in suffering and oppression has a long and distinguished history.

Also, from the Dred Scott decision: did you know that Chief Justice Taney made twenty-one references to African Americans as inferior and to whites as dominant or superior? (i.e. African Americans being an "inferior class of beings"; an "unfortunate race"; and "unfit to associate with the white race"). And of course we all know that blacks were unable to serve as witnesses or jurors in court. This especially posed problems where a white man was sued by a black man, or was prosecuted for a crime against a black man, because the black man could not testify; nor could black witnesses. Clearly, this often led to a miscarriage of justice. To imagine a time where such things overtly pervaded our legal system.

And from President Abraham Lincoln:

I am not, nor have I ever been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races .... and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, I am as much as any other man in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.

I think a lot of people forget how pervasive these beliefs were, and how they really influenced not only behavior but legislation and jurisprudence!

How humbling to have finished reading this book the same day that I was sworn in as a lawyer.

93. Gideon's Trumpet - Anthony Lewis

I was supposed to read this book the summer before I started law school (but never did). Now that I've finally read it three years later, I can definitely understand why it was assigned! This book tells the story behind Gideon v. Wainwright, the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision which held that states are required under the Sixth Amendment (of course, as incorporated through the Fourteenth) to provide counsel for criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own attorneys. I say that I now understand why it was assigned because Lewis does a fantastic job of explaining how a case gets all the way up to the Supreme Court; the procedure behind four justices deciding whether to grant a writ of certiorari; the role of the law clerks; etc. What I particularly enjoyed about this book was how Lewis gave so much context and background of the case itself, such as including letters that the defendant (Gideon) wrote to his lawyers.
For example, when Gideon learned that attorney Abe Fortas, had been appointed to represent him for his appeal to the Supreme Court, he wrote to Fortas asking him if there was any information he could provide that would help with the case. Fortas replied and told Gideon that "a little background" would help ... Gideon replied with a twenty-two page letter about his entire life that concluded as follows:

I have no illusions about law and courts or the people who are involved in them. I have read the complete history of law ever since the Romans first started writing them down and before of the laws of religions. I believe that each new era finds an improvement in law each year brings something new for the benefit of mankind. Maybe this will be one of those small steps forward, in the past thirty-five years I have seen great advancement in Courts in penal servitude. Thank you for reading all of this. Please try to believe that all I want now from life is the chance for the love of my children the only real love I have ever had.

Doesn't that put such a human face on such a landmark decision?! In the decision itself, the Court overruled Betts v. Brady and held that the right to the assistance of counsel was a fundamental right, essential for a fair trial, and emphasized the procedural safeguards needed for due process of law.

The amount of detail might make this book more likeable by lawyers and/or people who are interested in the law. Although some of the case law discussed is a bit outdated (this book was published in 1964), it's a great read.