Benched: Abortion, Terrorists, Drones, Crooks, Supreme Court, Kennedy, Nixon, Demi Moore, and Other Tales from the Life of a Federal Judge

There are a number of books by federal judges on the work of their courts. Judge Richard Posner alone has four: “Reflections on Judging,” “How Judges Think,” “The Federal Judiciary: Strengths and Weaknesses,” and “Divergent Paths: The Academy and the Judiciary.” The late Justice Scalia wrote three: “Reading Law: The Interpretation of Text,” “A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law,” and with Bryan Garner “Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges.”Judge Jon O. Newman’s new book “Benched” does not fit within any of the above examples: it is not a traditional story-of-my-life memoir like Justice Sotomayor’s passionately written “My Beloved World” (she wrote the foreword to Judge Newman’s book), although it is structured as a memoir. The differences lie in part in their authors’ different backgrounds and personalities, revealed in a poignant aside by Judge Newman talking about his mother, who was bipolar and committed suicide. In discussing advice given to him by a nurse in how to deal with his mother’s outbursts – “You can’t let it get to you. You can’t get drawn into her outbursts. You just have to protect yourself,” Judge Newman writes: “That advice, which I took to heart perhaps excessively, has stayed with me. The result, I suspect, is that I am not given to effusive displays of emotion.”I understand the emotional toll that having to protect yourself in this manner causes. Having so protected yourself through emotional separation, there is no going back, no reconciliation. Displays of emotion are not the same as or a requirement for having compassion, though. Judge Newman is rich in compassion, as his many charitable endeavors (some of which are discussed in the book) show. In his life as a federal judge, Judge Newman has displayed all of the characteristics we want in our federal judges, including the two most often spoken of: (1) fairness (in the sense not only of the result in particular cases, but also as applied to the entire litigation system), and (2) the lack of an ideology that interferes with judging. In this last respect, Judge Posner wrote in his book “How Judges Think” that “Judge Newman has no discernible philosophy,” a comment that Judge Newman took as (and I agree should be) a compliment.Judge Newman’s strengths far exceed these two characteristics. He has a wealth of experience that uniquely suited him to his role as a judge, wholly aside from his brilliance and great intellectual curiosity: he served multiple roles in the federal government giving him a breadth of understanding that is exceeding rare: he was a law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren; he also served as a top aide to a cabinet Secretary (HEW), as a top staffer to a U.S. Senator, as a private litigator, as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut where he personally tried many cases, as a U.S. district judge, and as a Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, including serving as its Chief Judge. It doesn’t get any better than that.His book details all of these experiences, giving great insights into how our government works. In his journey, he worked closely with an amazing group of people: President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, Abraham Ribicoff (whom he served when Ribicoff was the governor of Connecticut, cabinet Secretary, and Senator), and numerous Administration officials and members of Congress.But there are also a wild collection of litigants who appeared before him as a judge: mobsters, terrorists, members of Congress caught in the the Abscam bribery sting, disputes involving J.D. Salinger, L. Ron Hubbard (the founder of Scientology), Leslie Nielsen and the Naked Gun movie, a parody of the “I Love New York” campaign by “I Love Sodom;” in short, the whole gamut of disputes that our federal courts hear. If you want to get a feel for the kaleidoscope of humanity parading before our federal courts, Judge Newman’s book is a great introduction.Throughout all of his decisions, Judge Newman has applied his brilliance and fairness. He is the model of judge we all dream of hearing our case. In a recent oral argument before a panel of the Second Circuit that was supposed to last only 24 minutes, Judge Newman and the other panel members extended the argument to over two hours, as they probed and probed the intricacies of the facts, the law, and the implications of potential rulings: talk about getting your day in court! Read the book, as you should: both to learn, and importantly, to see why an independent judiciary is the most essential part of our democracy.

While this is somewhat an unusual book, it is also an important one. It is unusual because it is a combination autobiography, accounting of 46 years on the federal bench, and one of the best accounts we have of how one becomes a federal judge. Judge Newman has written the most intimate and candid account I have read of being a federal judge, both district court and on the second circuit, and the various dimensions of that role. Federal judges in our society are somewhat remote and distant figures; here Judge Newman lifts the veil of privacy surrounding judges and lets the reader gain an inside view of this most remarkable profession.The book is divided into five sections. In the first, Newman provides an overview of how he handled a hot potato abortion case as his first case as a district judge. He frankly raises the issue of whether he is guided by his own preferences and convincingly disclaims it. In Part II, the autobiographical material appears. But the real importance of this section is that the judge is quite candid in demonstrating that the best path to the federal bench is to make the right kind of connections along the way. Specifically, Fred Rodell at Yale Law School, a Frankfurter clerk, Judge Bazelon, most importantly Senator Abe Ribicoff, and various circuit judges all helped Newman along to his eventual circuit judgeship. What also is evident from this section is how a rich and diverse political and legal background can make for an outstanding judge.Part III focuses on life on the bench. Here Newman recounts what he does as a judge and how he acquired the various skills necessary to fulfill that role. He discusses the challenges of sentencing, compares and contrasts the roles of district judges with those of the circuit, asserts that his second circuit colleagues overwhelmingly agree when serving on panels, argues the necessity for judicial independence, admits that much like judge Posner service as a chief judge can be frustrating, and again like Posner contends that circuit judges have too many clerks, which slows down the decision-making process. He also recounts what we lawyers would call "war stories" of some of his important cases, which also provides the reader with first-hand insights into the judicial process."Beyond the Bench" is the subject of the fourth section. Here the Judge recounts writing about Greek Mythology, law teaching, and serving on foreign legal advisory groups. Again, the richness of his intellectual interests stands out. The final section consists of various proposals to improve legal and judicial processes. Also important is the Epilogue with further incisive insights on the judicial role. The 256 pages of text are supported by 253 endnotes, a table of cases, and both subject and name indices. All told, an unique insight into federal judging and a fine life.