What did you learn about the judicial process from reading The Brethren? Please also address about how politics affects the Court.

One of the themes that carries throughout the book is the role of protocol. Protocol here refers to how they do things at the Supreme Court. This doesn't just means who sits in what chairs or walks in what order. The term is used here to describe the unwritten rules that prescribe behavior. For example, the Justices meet in the conference room to vote on cases having to do with petitions for cert or after hearing oral augments. The unwritten rules determine the order in which they talk and vote. This is usually done in terms of seniority in that the most junior member is that last to speak.

Protocol also has to do with how assignments are made. The most senior member in the majority makes the written assignment of the opinion, and it isn't always the Chief Justice. When Burger became Chief Justice he would withhold his vote or change his vote in many cases in order to be in the majority. This then allowed him to assign the written case. This is what often became an issue between Burger and first Douglas and then Brennan who were the senior members of the Court. Many decisions that they should have assigned were assigned by Burger. Since unwritten rules are not written down, it is hard to enforce them and fight the abuses of them. There was not much that they could do in the situation except have a confrontation. This was also a recurring problem throughout the book. This was one of the most interesting things to watch throughout the book.