{"product_id":"the-supreme-court-footnote-a-surprising-history-9781479830220","title":"The Supreme Court Footnote: A Surprising History","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA history of the humble footnote and its impact on the highest court in the land\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn May 2022, a seismic legal event occurred as the draft majority opinion in \u003ci\u003eDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health\u003c\/i\u003e was leaked. The majority aimed to eliminate constitutional protection for abortion. Amidst the fervor, an unnoticed detail emerged: over 140 footnotes accompanied the majority opinion and dissent. These unassuming annotations held immense significance, unveiling justices' beliefs about the Constitution's essence, highlighting their controversial reasoning, and laying bare the vastly different interpretations of the role of Supreme Court Justice. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Supreme Court Footnote \u003c\/i\u003eoffers a study of the evolution of footnotes in US Supreme Court opinions and how they add to our constitutional understanding. Through a comprehensive analysis, Peter Charles Hoffer argues that as justices alter the course of history via their decisions, they import their own understandings of it through the footnotes. The book showcases how the role of the footnote within Supreme Court opinions has evolved, beginning with one of the first cases in the history of the court, \u003ci\u003eChisholm v. Georgia\u003c\/i\u003e in 1792 (a case concerning federalism vs. states' rights) and ending with the landmark \u003ci\u003eDobbs v. Jackson\u003c\/i\u003e case in 2022. Along the way, Hoffer demonstrates how the footnotes within these decisions reflect the changing role of the Supreme Court Justice, along with how interpretations of the constitution have transformed over time. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt once surprising and revealing, \u003ci\u003eThe Supreme Court Footnote\u003c\/i\u003e proves that what appears below the line is not only a unique window into the history of constitutional law but also a source of insight as to how the court will act going forward.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter Charles Hoffer\u003c\/b\u003e is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of Georgia. He has authored and co-authored more than twenty books, including \u003ci\u003eClio Among the Muses: Essays on History and the Humanities; The Historians' Paradox: The Study of History in Our Time; \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and the Crisis in the Legal Profession\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"New York University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50614713221394,"sku":"9781479830220","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_85504e46-d1f0-49b6-a916-62d115bc062a.jpg?v=1732457787","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-supreme-court-footnote-a-surprising-history-9781479830220","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}