“A fascinating judicial study. The importance of the modern high court's docket is thoroughly and expertly chronicled in this book: reapportionment, courtroom cameras, personal injury, family law, environmental law, capital punishment, criminal justice, and equal justice under law.”—Thomas E. Baker, coauthor of Appellate Courts: Structures, Functions, Processes, and Personnel
“A highly readable portrait of a crucial time in the history of the state high court. It brings to life the jurists and lawyers who contributed so much to contemporary Florida law.”—Mary Ziegler, author of After Roe: The Lost History of the Abortion Debate
“A richly sourced, thoroughly researched, and entertaining account of one of the most significant eras in the history of what is arguably the most important (and least reported) branch of Florida government.”—Martin A. Dyckman, author of A Most Disorderly Court: Scandal and Reform in the Florida Judiciary
“Necessary reading for anyone interested in law and politics in Florida.”—Jon L. Mills, author of Privacy in the New Media Age
This third volume in the history of the Florida Supreme Court describes the court during its most tumultuous years. Amid the upheaval of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Watergate, the story begins with reform in the entire Florida court system. It includes the court's first black justice, Joseph Hatchett; Governor Reubin Askew's new system for merit selection of justices; and revision of Article V, the section of the state constitution dealing with the judiciary.
Neil Skene moves on to cover landmark court decisions; the introduction of cameras in court; changes to media law, personal injury law, and family and divorce law; privacy rights; gay rights; death penalty cases; and the appointment of the first woman justice, Rosemary Barkett. This book is an absorbing portrayal of a judicial institution adapting to a time of deep political and social change.
