The Texas Supreme Court was presented a newly published narrative history of the court on Monday in a special session in the Texas Capitol’s historic courtroom. The last book-length history of the court was written in 1917.
The narrative, “The Texas Supreme Court: A Narrative History, 1839-1986,” is written by Texas history writer James L. Haley and weaves justices’ biographies and their judicial philosophies from the Court’s beginning in the Republic of Texas and explores the Court’s rulings and the state’s history in such areas as slavery, women’s rights, Prohibition, water law and consumer protection.
The book is published by the University of Texas Press as part of the Texas Legal Studies Series sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Haley, an award-winning Western history writer from Austin who has authored seven histories and three novels, was commissioned by the historical society to write the Court’s history.