Matthew J. Franck

The premise of this study is that judicial sobriety has been underappreciated in scholarship and commentary on the Supreme Court, and this underappreciation has led to a devaluation of certain justices. The five justices treated in this book - Nathan Clifford, Standley Matthews, Edward White, Fred M. Vinson, and Antonin Scalia - have all exercised sobriety on the bench, and have consequently been dealt with unjustly. This book should be of interest to scholars of political science, history, and law.

Studying the role of the Supreme Court, this account argues that it has grown beyond its constitutional mandate since decisions made by the Court may be grounded in natural law or a ""higher law"". A more accurate and responsible view of judicial power is proposed in the discussion.