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Review of "First Among Equals: The Supreme Court in American Life"
By Randolph J. May
Introduction
First Among Equals: The Supreme Court in American Life
Kenneth W. Starr
New York: Warner Books, 2002, 320 pp.
Much has changed since John Jay's tenure as the nation's first Chief Justice. Not only did the Supreme Court's sparse caseload provide ample time for Jay to conduct overseas diplomatic missions, including negotiating what became known as Jay's Treaty, but Jay had few qualms about resigning his position as Chief Justice to become Governor of New York. After serving two terms, Jay was nominated by President John Adams to once again serve as Chief Justice. This time he declined, citing poor health, but he also pointedly informed Adams: "I left the bench perfectly convinced that under a system so defective [the Court] would not obtain the Energy, Weight and Dignity which are essential to its affording due support to the national Gover[ment]; nor acquire the public Confidence and Respect, which as the last Resort of Justice of the nation, it should possess."
As a nation, we have traveled a long way from a time when such minimalist expectations regarding the Supreme Court's place in our constitutional firmament could not be readily gainsaid. Now we have no less an astute observer of the Supreme Court than Kenneth W. Starr asserting that, "ultimately, in our system of government, the Supreme Court is first among equals." Indeed, in his new book, First Among Equals: The Supreme Court in American Life, Starr, the distinguished former independent counsel, solicitor general of the United States, and federal appeals court judge, argues that the modern Supreme Court is "the branch of government with the authoritative role in vital issues that deeply affect American life and politics."
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