Status Update

Henry Watson is on page 157 of 320

Litman expresses a fairly coherent thesis on page 130: that some political decisionmaking is necessary on the Court, but the current state of affairs “differs, at least in degree, from what was happening before”. This isn’t explored in enough depth, and clashes with Litman’s frequent criticism of historical courts such as during the outset of the Great Depression.

— Jul 24, 2025 06:52PM

Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

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Henry’s Previous Updates

Henry Watson is on page 199 of 320

Some of the points raised regarding regulation in Chapter 5 are, unfortunately, just not quite right, such as how Litman characterizes economically significant rules as an invention of the conservative Court, rather than an Executive Order from the Clinton administration.

— Jul 30, 2025 04:14PM

Henry Watson is on page 129 of 320

I think part of my struggle with Litman’s argument is that the Court’s use of “vibes” to decide cases is endogenous to the outcomes. Would “vibes”-based decisionmaking be okay if they benefitted marginalized groups instead of harming them?

— Jul 22, 2025 06:36PM

Henry Watson is on page 53 of 320

Impressions after chapter 1:

- Designed for a narrow audience, presumably Strict Scrutiny podcast listeners. Won’t persuade a conservative, and assumes too much knowledge to be accessible.

- The thesis that Court decisions are purely political is valid (although not new) but this book is more about being outraged about that than proving the point with evidence.

- Very conversational, short shelf-life

— Jul 19, 2025 12:33PM