A compelling real-life drama featuring a contentious battle over the nomination of a judge to the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Pressure adeptly highlights the polarized environment of 1930s America, along with the progressive groups advocating for change in the status quo. Author Victor Li proficiently chronicles the key figures at the center of the heated confirmation process and the factors that led to the rejection of the nomination of Judge John J. Parker in 1930.
The nomination process is expected to be a cake walk, or at least that is what the Hoover administration believes when it puts forth the name of Circuit Judge John J. Parker for the US Supreme Court. Parker has served as a Circuit Court Judge since 1925, and he has received plaudits for his efficiency and his knowledge. The candidate hails from Monroe, NC, and is believed to be a favorable candidate as he is a Southern boy and a Republican. Parker is not a political novice, as he had previously waged unsuccessful but respectable campaigns for Attorney General and Governor.
In the past, there had been some dogfights during the confirmation proceedings, oftentimes due to political gamesmanship, as in the case with Charles Evan Hughes, or something prejudicial, as in the case of Louis Brandeis. John J. Parker’s credentials for the Supreme Court are about to be called into question by two groups whose voices are steadily growing louder by the year, organized labor and the NAACP. Both groups believe John Parker is not fit for a position on the exalted judicial bench, and they plan to utilize all of their influence to spike his appointment. Organized labor’s ire at Parker stems from a ruling he issued in a case that favored corporate interests, while the NAACP has taken issue with a statement Parker made while running for Governor, an utterance they believe affects Parker’s impartiality toward African Americans.
The hearings are bruising, as Progressive Republicans and some Democrats opine on why John J. Parker is not an acceptable choice for the Supreme Court. Some of their points have merit (i.e. Parker’s anti-labor ruling in the Red Jacket Case), while others rely on innuendo as in Parker’s handling of fraud cases in relation to World War I. Parker remains steadfast in his candidacy and believes most of his rulings show impartiality and appreciation for the Constitution.
Supreme Pressure is a fascinating book that examines a fraught period in the United States, where an economic downturn has just commenced, a nascent presidential administration is struggling to combat the financial crisis, and equality among the citizenry is far off in the future. John J. Parker is presented in a non-partisan fashion; the author presenting his attributes and his shortcomings. Despite the known outcome of the vote, the road to the pivotal moment is presented in a fashion that makes for riveting reading from start to finish.
Author Victor Li’s well-researched work shares a wealth of information about how past candidates for the Supreme Court fared in hostile environments and how politics can be a blood sport where reputations are battered by grandstanding and crusading politicians. Li’s work manages to incorporate the significance of the judicial nomination process and how the outcome of this particular battle affected the court in later years and served as precedent for later explosive and pivotal hearings.
The post Supreme Pressure by Victor Li appeared first on Independent Book Review.