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J\ 'Brethren' AuthorsWi~<Ca§e:ill, . , By ANDREW·B ob ".Watergate" ;ood~ard' "The book is an amalgam of views,'" GoodBook, sees the court as "an insti- .

was In New Haven Tuesday,' he said, "and there isn't anyone of tution that works.", and at 8 p.m. he was trying to them that's going to say, 'yeah, that's . Compared to officials in Congress

· squeeze some straight talk out of an the way I saw it.' ". . and the executive branch, the court'sevasive and reluctant respondent. "I've always felt as a journalist that personnel are very hard-working and, Finally, after more than five min- if you do a goodjob you have everyone passionate about duties, he said. ,

utes of insistent questioning, Wood- a little unhappy with you, and every- . Court deliberations have more prln-ward got the statement he wanted: one saying ... 'Gee, that's not the way , ciples and legal reasoning than he had

"... I can't say it's inaccurate," con- I saw it (but) no, that's not inaccu- ' expected. But, Woodward said: "I'm afessed Yale Law School Professor rate,' " Woodward said. little more critical, thinking the mern-.Robert N. Cover, concerning Wood- Armstrong, an 'exuberant and rum- bers of, the court are very much an /

'ward's controversial best-seller on the' pled man who thumbs through his copy average lot right now, and the countrySupreme Court, "The Brethren." of "The Brethren" looking' for pas- suffers for it." His midwestern twang

Woodward and his co-author, Scott ,sages like a preacher quoting from The reflected .his youth in Wheaton, Ill.,Armstrong, then turned to Yale Pro-fessor Robert N./Bark at the forum, ,-

· held before more than 400 students inthe law school's auditorium. "

Bork, who had jovially opened thediscussion by calling the two authors"ink-stained wretches," said he hadfound a couple of technical points inerror.

"But they don't matter," continuedBork, an acting U.S.Attorney Generalunder President Nixon who balancedCover's liberal views on the Yale dis-cussion panel. . '

Woodward ana Armstrong, authorsof the nation's No. 1 best-seller, tookthe professors' comments as endorse-ments of their dead-pan, "just-the-facts" style portrayal of the court,even though both professors arguedthat the book should have contained,more commentary.

But Armstrong suggested that thosetwo professors could never agree

'themselves on what the commentaryshould lLe,and the crowd erupted inlaughter. .

The "Brethren" co-authors, ,whoI spent two hours before their Yale ap- '

pearance in an interview, said theirgoal in the book was to, make thecourt's complex operations as clear tothe general, public as possible. "

.". Woodward said he wasn't looking~.for' Watergate-type scandal 'but in-:

stead was aiming at a Iactualdescrip-. '"tion of the nation's most important se-,. . " ". , . ,,, .. , I..,., .••

: ~ret 1ieli,b~~at~?,n~.~~_,r\;",,'~:',;~;:~:.~.,\t>{, .',~?";~',~\'j ,; -:.'X '~.,:;'':~:~;:';~~::;::~;,,' ':~~>,

Bob Woodward

: .

i·

"

;reporter in 1976,said: "Our whole Idea.. .. was saturation, to go in and get all the, . ,-

_ material we could possibly collect." ~.: He said their most common tech-~

nique in overcoming traditional court'.secrecy was to ask clerks, justices and ;0court workers a lot of broad questions.

"Then we'd say, 'Prove it to me.Show me what you mean.' And theywould begin to give us specific exam-ples," Armstrong said. ',-

He said those interviewed had,countless individual views of whatshould be kept confidential.> ,. .

"But if you're artful you can recon-struct a lot," ~e s~id. ) ,~. - '..e;

. The court tradition on secrecy has 'been widely misinterpreted, said '.Woodward as he slowly mangled an,'empty styrofoam coffee cup during .hls interview in a Yale guest room.

"No one ever really challenged the <

,. tradition before 'The Brethren,'" he ,< '

said ofthe book that shot to the top of. best-seller lists immediately upon its "

publication in mid-Decemberv » "

", Woodward said that, to his knowl-edge, no justice 'forbade his former ..clerks from talking about past cases "and "The Brethren" authors neve;considered seeking information about .undecided cases. . "

- '

, A motivation of the justices whotalked to them, Woodward.said, wasthat. they felt the public does not im-gerstand the pressures of .the court's v I,

work. . 1

, " Some of the oider justices also' felt /that even presidents and senators don'tunderstand the qualifications that are.

:"going to be needed bycourt replace-]"ments, Armstrong said.' ;. .:( ".

'. .' T~e author.s said thecooperatio~·of:. ;; ;, : _,n' Justices required the 'omniscient tone '; ,~,..~",~,·.}':~andlack of. footnotes' in-the"book,l

f,~'.1;•. (·,~ ','. which are its, most, coritroversial"","> L":':t··~,-,I1' t _ /4~:t~~;~/,,:i~'r~~~ec~·';~Zi1~;:':i~iii~:~:-i;~;/;.-.

'; c' A_"" _'" .•,~!,r" (;,.~,"':! :):Wewould love to.have anno.. "COUR<\1)TPHOTO BY ~UD19~lESEDIE~K-;'f~;{r' 'this but then 'we b)uldn't h1l've'don

"";~r~,,J~\:'ik\'v~.~!'~_, ': .d;,-"~\,~;-, .. i'·~',r'1 f;·~;,l;~·~;,t~:<~ ~,~;~4.;:;' "";.c~, ''1~/.~:"'. "Ii", .. ' ~,- '~ .4i* -: .'W';·'*,'12·",C('.!h .: ,elt.:·! ~t ~'i;,,,,'14.::t:'~."""',.'""~V Continued on Page 7

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Scott A rm$trong

where he met Armstrong in juniorhigh ~ politan editor of the Washington Post..school. ~' '" . '''',' .; said "The Brethren" evolved from the. Woodward, quieter, slower-speak- co-authors' original plan for one bookmg and more preppy-looking than his on '-'the decision-making' process" infellow Yale College graduate Arm- all three branches of government in's.tf\.l:1g,said they each felt that the pub-, the nation's capitol.,lie should know that "the court is sim- , "We were surprised by how little

. ply not doing what it says it is.", > was written about how the court actu-"A fraud is being committed on the: , ally worked, behind the civics book,

public" when the legal establishment' "kind of description," said Armstrong, as~ggests that the court is beyond poli- " former investigator for majority coun-tIC',and "gut instincts" in deciding its' sel Sam Dash of the.Senate Watergate'.ca!;es, Woodward said. " . - Committee, - ,-, . , .'- 'Woodward, the 37-year-old metro- ,Armstrong, who joined the Post as a

, . " " \',.

./

ob "Watergate" Woodwardwas in New Haven Tuesday, 'and at 8 p.m. he was trying to

squeeze some straight talk out of anevasive and reluctant respondent., Finally, after more than five min-

.utes of insistent questioning, Wood-ward got the statement he wanted:

"... I can't say it's inaccurate," con-fessed Yale Law School ProfessorRobert N.Cover, concerning Wood-

,ward's controversial best-seller on the'Supreme Court, "The Brethren."

Woodward and his co-author, ScottArmstrong, then turned to Yale Pro-fessor Robert N."Bork at the forum, ,-

, held before more than 400 students inthe law. school's auditorium. ,

Bork, who had jovially opened thediscussion by calling the two authors"ink-stained wretches," said he hadfound a couple of technical points inerror.

"But they don't matter," continuedBork, an acting U.S. Attorney Generalunder President Nixon who balancedCover's liberal views on the Yale dis-cussion panel. ,. '

Woodward and Armstrong, authorsof the nation's No.1 best-seller, tookthe professors' comments as endorse-ments of their dead-pan, "just-the-facts" style portrayal of the court,even though both professors arguedthat the book should have contained,more commentary.

But Armstrong suggested that thosetwo professors could never agree

, themselves on what the commentaryshould I}.e, and the crowd erupted inlaughter. .

The "Brethren" co-authors" ,whoI spent two hours before their Yale ap- '

pearance in an interview, said theirgoal in the book was to, make thecourt's complex operations as clear tothe general, public as possible. <

',' Woodward said he wasn't looking:.~ _ .... ' ,'. for' Watergate-type scandal 'but in-.' i . - '- .' .. .' • .' '. ' ", ,,' -",

stead was aiming at a factual. descrip-, " . . -:;.. : . o'.. . ':,1.. !: ". ~."" ':. ._"tion of t?e na~on's ~ost imp?rf1nt se-,.' > ':\--'_';,: : ~;-..,"<:,< .....(:;;. .'J' r. •••. :" •

, ~ret ileh,b~~ah~,~.::~:~:~~..!,_', .'~>.' 'l'" " ~:"(r ..c',· ,~ .~y ,,:~,:,=,~:;__:~.~::

t -'.

, By ANDREW

"The book is an.amalgam of views," Good BOOk,sees the court as "an insti- 'he said, "and there isn't anyone of tution that works." 'them that's going to say, 'yeah, that's . Compared to officials in Congressthe way I saw it.' " ' and the executive branch, the court's

"I've always felt as a journalist that personnel are very hard-working andi,fyou do a good job you have everyone passionate about duties, he said. ,

,a little unhappy with you, and every- Court deliberations have more prin-one saying ... 'Gee, that's not the way , ciples and legal reasoning than he hadI saw it (but) no, that's not inaccu- 'expected. But, Woodward said: "I'm arate,' " Woodward said. little more critical, thinking the mem-

Armstrong, an 'exuberant and rum- bers of, the court are very much an /pled man who thumbs throughhis copy average lot right now, and the countryof "The Brethren" looking' for pas- suffers for it." His midwestern twang

, sages like a preacher quoting from The reflected .his youth in Wheaton, Ill.,

...- ~.

Bob Woodward

j.

erent Tacks Taken 'in. 'f,~Traditi~~ali;ts ~ho believe the court needs se~ecy t)

" command respect/or its decisi~ns can read in "Guide to theSupreme Court" about past pews leaks.. Running accounts 0 '

the court's deliberations in the famous Dred Scott decision on' ,black rights, for example, were printed in 1857 by a New York fnewspaper that must have had a source on the court itself." ,~

The nation's highest court has so ' ':0:, . ,'-.t .,' ,', , ' .' ., ,", , :~uccessfully shrouded itself in secrecy £ ,

hat even a single news leak is a major- . . " ...' 'i' . y,;,-vent. "'accounts of the court's deliberations in Typical of the book's blunt tone lSJ;~

The veil has been-lifted from time to, the famous Dred Scott" decision on "It was not just (Burger's) intellectual' :.::;...ime,Never has it been ripped away as: black rights, for example, wereprint- inadequacies or his inability to, write'<

.ere. , ed in 1857 by a New York newspaper coherent opinions that bothered (Jus-?Washington Post newsmen Wood- that must have had a' source on the tice Lewis F,)' Powell. There was'

-ard and Armstrong bring color to the court itself. something overbearing' and offensive.ieeks of justices traditionally por- ' A major theme of Woodward and about the Chief's style," -,,~'~. s j.

.rayed as eminences hewn from mar- Armstrong is that Chief Justice War- There are countless.such remarks.tu:;,ie,In doing so, the writers use a con- ren E. Burger hasn't been regarded by and the image of every justice.is tar-, _roversial method of unnamed sources his court colleagues as having the keen nished to some extent. Yet the writing J:.o recreate dialogue. These, sources; intellect,rguired for hi~ job." much of 'the time is lesssensationalj;whose professional reputations would On a broader scale, we are told that> than sententious.vf: <"",,:,:;;';.£~:" ,t 'be severely damaged if they were. C?U~t. liberals:.becllme increasingly' "Watergate" Woodward;'whOwith"-;,identified, provide much of the basis of dispirited by Its conservatism with Armstrong was guaranteed more than:the breezy, 'all-knowing tone that per- '.~ Justice Thurgood Marshall, f~r in- 'a million dollars in, their' publishing-ades t~e ?ook. stance, pulling less than his share of contracts for wh~t became a~ immed.i. ~'

By coincidence, a tome on the court the workload. ' " ate best-seller, himself described their ~using quite dif,ferent research methods ,',' W'·" i A d th t th 'f account as "a b?ring' book i,n~,m~ny :was also published recently. Two doz- .. e a so.r ea . a e .c.ourt aces a ways," .: -:' ;,' .... f ,:'".'v '~.

en Congressional Quarterly research-' :' difficult time I~ tr.ansItI.on b~c~use" "The Brethren's" backbone is itsde- "ers, writers and editors spent two some .enfeebled Jus!lces like WIlham scription of the not-so-fraternalsecret ,vears assembling an unprecedented, O. pou~las. have tn~d to hang on ~~ debates on. the court's biggest cases S:,:;uide to the court's history and oper-. :, t.heI~ lIfetlme. appointments. ~he~r .::' ..from!,1969-1976.\£ ."~''';::': ~:"ations. Based in large part up<!n th~",. passlO.nate de~Ire to s~ay on the Job ~s~~:,. We: are told,Ao~ insta~, .;.0 a~. the J.court's official documents, 'the" .Con~.:.' both, Impress lye , t~stlm~ny. to. thelr~!;. court seven years ago almo§t~dopte4 '~~gressional Quarterly book: has ?-,IC!ng~,,,sense of duty al.l;dd~st~rbI.~g eVld.enc~!;L.the principles?f. the Eq\al:~ Ri~h.~' t:;''ootnotes at the end of every. chapter' ~f: subst~ndard Just~ce;~~,_ . " ~;'.,,~~,Amendment; WhIChwould ~ave elimi- ~~'

'!.t, is an important, readable ~!Id~.. We read that one justice; John M.·;~:.-.natedthe amendment's- t9rJu.9u~ path~a;~to-use reference book whose ap> ~:; Harlan, wanted to remain so free from ~'~hrbugh the state legislatures-;~By"con-" .oearance perfectly complements "The.> politics" that he refused' to vote 'In '1, trast; the Congressionalj-Ouarterly "~~rethren." ',_ .' ",: :,"" Presidential elections, whereas Burg: : guide does not mention li'ntco~r~ ma- ;~

Traditionalists, wh'o believe .the , er consulted with President Nixon on ' . neuvering on the matter. ''1.\ :~,' " ,

court needs secrecy to commari('re-~ .. court appontments and may have tried. 4;;, The co-authors say their~core'.do{!.!1- ',"spect for its decisions, can read ill·the, to delaya decision to prevent embar-? ,mentation was thousands-of pages of ~

uide about past news leaks. Run'ning assment to the president.' , , ., ,'.lnter:nal' court documents, extensive .

, HE BRETHREN Inside the SupremeCourt by Bob Woodward and ScottArmstrong, Simon and Schuster,$13:95; 467 pp, .

;U1D~ TO THE SUPREME COURT,Congressional Quarterlj'; $65;'i,022~p. .,' ,

Reviewed byANDREW KREIG

\

woSupremeC rt Portraits

~'';::- ." ', ;..:~; ~'~' .•"- ":"'_-"~ ," " •....• -; s- -:~._ ~ : ••. ~•••.••..•. .;:.1. -=-':_~-' .,w.' '~" _ .

Vintage lithograph of a u.s. Supreme Court session from, "Guide to the Supreme Court. "~' ,,' , "" , :' , , ";' " . . j'

~:personal diaries. of Justice William J. ' :,or four reliable sources in the' cham- ously it might have been done b,,'Brennan and interviews with "several .bers of each justice for-each of the sev- Myown informal and extrem: justices, mor~ than 170 former law .: el1 years we have covered." e "~, scientific poll 'of three Iorrn

clerks, and several dozen former em- ,,~ But 1 wonder whether the harshestpreme Court law clerks showployes of the court." ,_ - : ...critics of "The Brethren," 'in implying each quibbles to some degree wi

:<l'·.:r~~a~f~ors have, been' se,v~rely~, .th~t~here is no re~l achievement ~e~e, tain techniques or, conclusions iicriticized .in some, quarters' OIL the" aren, t ?ne-uppers in the style of British Brethren;" with most of the crit

."'gr.oundso{magnifying their sourcmg: humor:s! Stephen Potter. ~' ;"-~: focusing on the authors' omnit: Yes,they~ouldhave'beenmo;e,spe- ,Potter,'that p~rceptive and. fun~y. tone, . -': ~,.;;.lcific about just how.many justices)nd, rnan who c~romcled••endeavors ,m , Yet WoodwardandAmrstr~~g, how many law clerks they used, a!1d.,; Gamesmanship and ~ne-upm~nshIp: on the whole, done a remarkable> possibly which information came from ,•._on~eadvised b,oo,kreviewers this way. pentrating ,thenation's most impcwhat kind,of source, " '~' ",;'"-' , Show that It ISreally you yourself secret institution, and in illurnin

_ And there is a self-serving, aggran-:;":,who s~ould have .written ,the, book the subject for a wide audiencedizing tendency when the authors say•. ~-(eyen" Rhododen~ron Hunting ,m the Andre1fl KTf4ia 'cOvers the fr:

~"Invirtually eyery instance, we had at, ,/~'An~es ) , " and-since you hadnt, you , courts tn Connecticut for"least one, usually two and often three" are glad someone has, although' obvi-_CoUnl'l1,L_

•