A Matter of Principle

Thumbnail An idealistic law student confronts the cynicism of his more conformist classmates in the post-protest era of the 1980s, and discovers that his ideas of how the law should work as an instrument of social justice are greeted with scorn and ridicule among his peers - and at the highest levels of an increasingly politicized judicial system.



What's Inside A Matter of Principle takes the reader behind the scenes for a realistic look at what the law school experience is like for an idealistic young person wanting to be a lawyer for all the right reasons, only to discover they aren't.



Based on actual events and reporting about the secretive United States Supreme Court, this novel pulls back the curtain to reveal the machinations of men with slanted ideology and personal ambition - at an institution at the head of a supposedly apolitical branch of government.



In an increasingly divided country, rather than rise above the fray and interpret the law as they find it, A Matter of Principle shows how judges are jousting just like everyone else, locked in mortal combat against what they perceive to be an unprincipled enemy - an enemy whose ideas are unworthy of thoughtful consideration, espoused by combatants driven by less than chivalrous ideals.



Synopsis Meet Earl Warren. No, not THAT one. Earl's real namesake was Uncle Earl, not the famous Supreme Court Justice. But he did have an all-consuming passion for the law. His first experience in court was as a teenager in traffic court. Thus began Earl's education into how the law really works - and a journey through the courts that led all the way to the highest court in the land. There Chief Justice Moorehead, more politician than judge, awaited those fateful papers bearing the name of his hated historical rival - papers that would eventually prove to be his undoing.



Based on real-life experiences, Earl's journey takes him into the rarified air of a prestigious law school where he looks on in horror as his classmates are transformed from regular human beings into veritable machines, driven by emotionless logic and ambition, leaving him in the dust as he alone continued to cling to his idealism. But then there was Marilyn, trying to mentor Earl in the ways of how to succeed in law school - while he stubbornly continued his tilt at every windmill he came across.



Eventually, one of his misadventures would end up on the desk of Moorehead, who was locked in a behind-the-scenes battle with Justice Baker, leader of the liberal wing of the Court - and Moorehead's hated nemesis. Their feud eventually became centered on the hapless appeals to their conscience made by one Earl Warren.



Moorehead's nostrils flared when he saw the papers on his desk bearing the name Earl Warren. The unseemly manner by which he lashed out at Earl shocked and horrified his colleagues. But he didn't care.



He would publish his diatribe - as a "matter of principle."



The result was not what he expected.



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