Description: In this illuminating work, Ronald J. Mann offers readers a comprehensive study of bankruptcy cases in the Supreme Court of the United States. He provides detailed case studies based on the Justices' private papers on the most closely divided cases, statistical analysis of variation among the Justices in their votes for and against effective bankruptcy relief, and new information about the appearance in opinions of citations taken from party and amici briefs. By focusing on cases that have neither a clear answer under the statute nor important policy constraints, the book unveils the decision-making process of the Justices themselves - what they do when they are left to their own devices. It should be read by anyone interested not only in the jurisprudence of bankruptcy, but also in the inner workings of the Supreme Court.
Brief description: Ronald J. Mann has been a commercial law professor at Columbia University, New York for the last ten years. Previously he has taught at the University of Texas, the University of Michigan, and Washington University, St Louis. He has also argued bankruptcy cases in the Supreme Court while working in the Office of the Solicitor General, and he has clerked for Justice Powell on the United States Supreme Court.
Review Quotes: Advance praise: 'Both bankruptcy specialists and scholars of the Supreme Court will find this book fascinating. Mann's analysis of the way that generalist judges understand bankruptcy issues provides priceless insights to specialists. He also shows how the Court's decisions on apolitical issues often 'rest on various types of information not immediately apparent even to a trained observer.' Jay L. Westbrook, Benno C. Schmidt Chair of Business Law, University of Texas School of Law