To A High Court
The Tumult and Choices That Led to United States of America v. SCRAP
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $3.99
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Publisher Description
***40th Anniversary Edition***
Fall 1971, George Washington University: five law students working under the acronym SCRAP, Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures, embark upon an epic David versus Goliath mission. Their objective is to make the nation's Railroads and the Interstate Commerce Commission comply with the new National Environmental Policy Act. Despite the prowess of the Commission and the Railroads, SCRAP petitioned for compliance with the law and a billion dollar refund.
In To A High Court, Neil Thomas Proto, the chairman of SCRAP, chronicles the United States of America v. SCRAP story. Using excerpts from court transcripts and the recently released papers of Justices Douglas, Marshall, and Blackmun and personal experience, Proto offers a first hand account of the roadblocks SCRAP encountered from both the environmental and industrial sides of the battle. Over thirty years after the 1973 Supreme Court ruling in favor of SCRAP, To A High Court offers a timely and pertinent look at the U.S. legal system.
For additional information on To A High Court and author Neil Proto, please visit the book's website at www.toahighcourt.com.
Customer Reviews
Endorsements
For the Chief Justice, a Dissent and a Line in the Sand. (New York Times)
There is a special lesson in this story. ...Proto's readable, entertaining narrative on how a vital tool for environmental protection was born, midwifed by a bunch of law students, is a must read for tomorrow's environmental litigators and advocates. (Leon G. Billings)
[To a High Court] captures the hopes, fears, slips, and slides of big-time environmental litigation. I wish every student of the law could share [such] moments: adversaries spanning the spectrum of trade association lawyers, oblivious agencies, and applause-seeking environmentalists. ...[such a victory is] harder to do today, but unwarranted optimism has always been behind the better moments of environmental law, and that can never be amended into oblivion or ruled out of order. (William H. Rodgers, Jr.)
To a High Court is consistently perceptive and a pleasure to read. A large part of the story's appeal is its setting in the personal lives of SCRAP's members (along with Proto's insightful digressions on the depredations of the coal industry, the ghost of Louis Brandeis, student anti-war demonstrations, Frank Norris and the insidious interlocking directorates of the nineteenth century). Proto examines not only the legal issues in the case and their historical backdrop, but also the everyday context in which SCRAP's members worked, played and thought... For the rising generation of public interest lawyers, SCRAP's story is a compelling case study of the power of resourcefulness, determination and audacity. (Stone, Antoinette R. The Philadelphia Lawyer)
'It's a wonderful book that evokes not only the case but the five brave and intelligent law students who dared to take on one of the most powerful industries in America, as well as the federal government, and won,' says Peter H. Meyers, JD '71, professor of clinical law, who, as legal assistant to Banzhaf in the early 1970s, worked closely with the students and argued their case before the Supreme Court. (Jamie L. Freedman Gw Law School)
This high drama of five law students confronting the Railroads' power and the government's failure is riveting. The story resonates with questions still central to citizens and legislators: what is the duty of government? And who advocates the public's interest? To a High Court may be a 30-year-old story, but its lesson for holding government accountable could not be more current. (Rosa DeLauro)
[A]ccording to Chief Justice Roberts, SCRAP is back. (Linda Greenhouse)
Today's decision in [Massachusetts v. EPA] is SCRAP for a new generation. (Chief Justice John Roberts in dissent)
Students fighting Goliaths. A timeless theme, engaging characters and plot twists. A Civil Action merged with Paper Chase. I can't wait to see the movie! (Dan Lauria)
To A High Court is a fascinating and incisive account of a major Supreme Court decision. Scholars, students, and those interested in law all would benefit from reading this outstanding book. (Chemerinsky, Erwin)
High Court captured the hopes, fears, slips and slides of big-time environmental litigation. (William H. Rodgers, Jr.)
To A High Court describes, with captivating eloquence and logic, how the imagination and persistence of students can sometimes achieve more than professionals who are restricted by doctrine and imprisoned by caution. (John Bonine)