Legalities
Life, Politics and the Law From ABC News Correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg
Jan Crawford Greenburg is a correspondent for ABC News' bureau in Washington DC. She covers politics, the Supreme Court and provides legal analysis for ABC News. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago's law school and is a member of the New York bar.
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January 23, 2007 11:50 AM
Howard Rosenberg, a producer at ABC News Nightline, interjecting here today to pass on a couple of links to reviews of Jan's anxiously-awaited book, Supreme Conflict, out today from Penguin Press.
"A supremely informative and reliable insider's guide to the U.S. high court" is how Pulitzer-prize winning historian David Garrow sums up the book, while lauding it as "the richest and most impressive journalistic look" at the court in nearly 30 years. You can read Garrow's full review by clicking here.
At the New York Times, the paper's top book reviewer, editor Michiko Kakutani, says "Jan Crawford Greenberg's lively new book offers a fascinating look at the history, the dynamics and the future of the Supreme Court." You can read the full review by clicking here. Of course, sharp-eyed readers will have already noted that the venerable Times misspelled Jan's last name in first reference. We television folk rarely make those kinds of errors.
Jan's too modest to post these links herself, so I've taken it upon myself to do the honors. As a colleague of Jan's who has worked with her on segments she's reported on Chief Roberts and Justice Stevens for Nightline, I had the good fortune to read Supreme Conflict a couple of months ago. My view: It's everything the eminent Mr. Garrow says it is, and much more. And most importantly for those whose lives don't necessarily revolve around the law, it makes the Supreme Court and the intrigues of the nomination process understandable and acccessible to ordinary citizens and legal scholars alike.
January 23, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (5)
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I picked up the book at lunch, and I'll say this much - JCG gains practically instant credibility within forty pages. On page 38, discussing what Ed Meese was looking for in a nominee (and, implicitly, found in Scalia), Jan defines Originalism as "a way of interpreting the Constitution that limits a judge's focus to the document's exact words and the original understanding of its meaning." I wouldn't put it quite like that - but it is nothing short of overjoying, in an environment where Originalism is constantly, pervasively, and usually deliberately and duplicitously, misrepresented as "the theory of original intent" to see a journalist hitting the nail squarely on the head in a book aimed at the mass market.
We'll see if that first impression holds when I get back to it tonight. ;)
Posted by: Simon | Jan 23, 2007 1:10:52 PM
Is there a schedule for the book tour? Where can I find out if and when she will be in town to discuss this?
Posted by: DC | Jan 23, 2007 4:51:56 PM
Charles Gibson interviewed 3 potential president candidates (male, female, african american). The male and female candidates character generation "only" provided their political choice (D)(R) and stated their state. What I found disturbing was that the african american was marketed for his presidency while he was being interviewed with his education, involvement in organizations etc. whereas that infor distracted the viewer from his verbal comments/opinion. What happened to impartiality in reporting techniques? Cheap shot on ABC's part.
Posted by: c jski | Jan 24, 2007 11:46:50 AM
I like this one:
"[Supreme Conflict is]like crack for Supreme-Court watchers," Alexham @ Confirm Them
Posted by: Jan Fan | Jan 25, 2007 10:50:18 AM
I just finished Supreme Conflict last night. Absolutely riveting. Better than the Brethern. When is part II coming out? Where can I get a Jan Crawford Greenburg poster?
Posted by: Matt O | Jan 27, 2007 10:26:54 AM
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