Justice Powell's Former Law Clerk Calls January 1973 "Terrific"

Justice Lewis Powell had a defining hand in shaping the outcome in Roe v Wade, issued by the Supreme Court in January 1973.  Powell was assisted in his work on Roe by his law clerk at the time, Larry Hammond.

I show in the book January 1973 that Hammond played a key role in suggesting the "viability" standard that remains the law of the land--holding that states cannot prohibit abortions before roughly the end of the 6th month, based on the life or potential life of the fetus.

This week, Larry Hammond sent me a letter about the book.  He wrote:

"The book is simply terrific.  The scholarship and care that went into this story are both obvious and extremely impressive.  Weaving the major themes of January 1973 together is itself an extraordinary accomplishment.  Accomplishing all of this with occasional spikes of sarcasm and humor, made the book even more entertaining.

"There is much in the White House tapes that I had not encountered; there are even parts of the Roe v Wade story that I do not think I ever knew.  It was a great education all the way around."

Sanford Levinson Reviews January 1973

Renowned Scholar, Author, Professor of Law at the University of Texas Law School recently reviewed January 1973 for the History Book Club

“I confess that I was originally put off by the subtitle of the book and the grandiose claims for the importance of January 1973, and I took note of the fact as well that Robenalt is a lawyer rather than an academic historian. But he has written a truly first-rate book, based on new sources, especially recently-released tapes of conversations at the Nixon White House, and provides genuine illumination about all of the issues he discusses. There is no reader who can’t benefit from Robenalt’s research, presented in vivid and arresting (and always well-documented) prose.”

— Sanford Levinson

Read full review here.