American Justice 2017

Kimberly Robinson is a legal editor for U.S. Law Week and the publication's lead reporter at the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to joining Bloomberg BNA, Robinson practiced with the law firm of Morrison and Foerster LLP, where she specialized in privacy and consumer-protection issues.

• Preface1. Trench Warfare2. The Stolen Seat3. Stand Idly By4. Quarter-Loaf Outcomes5. Courting Politics6. The Priceless Value of Citizenship7. Macabre Challenges8. Calm before the StormAppendix: Biographies of Current Justices of the Supreme CourtAcknowledgments

"This is a wonderful, engaging account of an unusual year in Supreme Court history. Kimberly Robinson does a masterful job of explaining the Court's decisions and puts them in a broader context of what they mean for the law and for the country. Those who watch the Court closely and those who watch it only casually will benefit from reading Robinson's account of October Term 2016." (Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law) "Robinson's account of this unusual term is thorough, fair-minded, and fascinating. With an eye to surprising details and historical ironies, she astutely explains the ad hoc compromises and unexpected dodges that the short-staffed court used to avoid gridlock and indecision. The result is a compelling and entertaining portrait of the justices navigating a slow-burning crisis, then adjusting to the controversial appointment of a new colleague. Robinson's fusion of sophisticated legal analysis and fine-grained reporting will delight veteran court-watchers and casual observers alike." (Mark Joseph Stern, legal analyst and Supreme Court correspondent, Slate) "Kimberly Robinson is an indispensable chronicler of today's Supreme Court, and this book is a thoughtful account of one of the most memorable stretches in the Court's recent history-if not in the cases decided, in the transformation it featured in the political dynamics of vacancy, nomination, and confirmation. Robinson draws out the impact of those dynamics on the Court-both the cases decided during an important period of transition, and the institution more broadly." (Kate Shaw, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law) "Kimberly Robinson is one of the best journalists covering the Supreme Court, and her American Justice 2017 is a riveting, revealing account of the most difficult and unusual term in years. With the reporter's eye for detail and balance, Robinson shows how the Court, shorthanded after the loss of influential Justice Antonin Scalia and caught in a political firestorm over his replacement, fought to preserve the integrity of the institution while finessing divisive and controversial cases on religion, free speech, and the right to vote." (Adam Winkler, UCLA School of Law)