Sharply divided rulings in big cases out of the Supreme Court don’t tell the entire story, argues Sarah Isgur in her new book, “Last Branch Standing.”
She says that despite the 6-3 split between GOP and Democratic appointees, the high court often makes strange bedfellows. She urged her readers to look beyond the party affiliations when analyzing what the justices are doing.
Ms. Isgur says the bigger divide is often between institutionalists and those ready to test the traditional structures.
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh was in attendance at a book party on Sunday, hosted at the home of ABC journalist Martha Raddatz and retired NPR journalist Tom Gjelten.
Mr. Gjelten said the work was timely, given the “turbulence between the branches.”
Ms. Isgur hosts “Advisory Opinions,” a legal podcast, serves as an editor at SCOTUSBlog and is an analyst for ABC News.
She earned a law degree from Harvard University and clerked for Judge Edith Jones on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. Isgur was also spokeswoman for the Justice Department early in the first Trump administration.
She made clear her book touches on the human side of law, too — such as spotlighting a man who won a clerkship by bragging about his ability to play video games.
“Hopefully, that gives you some flavor of the book,” she told partygoers.
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