Standard Of Review: Satire At The Supreme Court In New Novel 'Tuttle In The Balance'

This new SCOTUS novel is a humorous and enjoyable read for any lawyer or law student.

Just like corporations and Soylent Green, Supreme Court justices are people too. Unbeknownst to us, the justices may get drunk, engage in regrettable sexual encounters, and doodle pictures during oral argument. This is one of the main themes of Boston University law professor Jay Wexler’s new satirical legal novel Tuttle in the Balance, which depicts a bored Supreme Court justice undergoing a midlife crisis. The novel, which is a cross between American Beauty and the works of Christopher Buckley, is a humorous and enjoyable read for any lawyer or law student.

The novel centers around Ed Tuttle, a justice in his sixties. As the novel opens, the divorced Tuttle laments the beginning of the latest Supreme Court Term, wishing that his summer – which he spent out west bedding younger women – would never end. Tuttle quickly loses interest in his job. Instead of staying up late reviewing the briefs for a complicated tax case, Tuttle leaves his office early, spending his time, inter alia, going on dates, becoming an aficionado of the writings of Chuang-tzu, adopting a cat and illegally bringing him to his chambers, learning to play the ukulele, and taking an impromptu trip to Atlantic City with his best friend right before an oral argument in a scene taken right out of Swingers.

Even though the novel is a satire, Tuttle is a well-drawn character. Tuttle is very aware that he became a Supreme Court justice seemingly by happenstance, and that he is not any smarter than his best friend Greg Bash, a law professor at Georgetown. Moreover, in one notable scene, Tuttle walks home with the Chief Justice, who is concerned about Tuttle’s erratic behavior. The two drink expensive scotch and discuss their personal lives, as Tuttle realizes that he barely knows his colleague that he spends so much time with. Although Tuttle eventually finds a way to ruin the moment, this poignant scene is a reminder that Supreme Court justices have personal lives just like ours.

Wexler clerked for Justice Ginsburg, and unsurprisingly some of the best parts of the novel involve his satirical depiction of the Court. For example, in one passage, Tuttle laments how certain justices compete to be the funniest on the Court, eschewing relevant questions for attempts at humor in an attempt to receive a “[laughter]” in the transcript of the argument. The novel explains how this Last Comic Standing competition among the justices began after a “law professor with too much time on his hands . . . wrote a ‘study’ of how many times each justice got the gallery to erupt” in laughter. Amusingly, in real life, the law professor who authored that study is Wexler himself.

Wexler also excels at describing the legal issues that Tuttle faces. The central case of the Term is the wonderfully named Texas v. Sexy Slut Magazine, a First Amendment censorship case in which the state of Texas prosecuted a magazine for publishing a plethora of penises on its cover. Wexler easily explains how the justices see the case in light of the precedent of Miller v. California, and how members of the public merely see the case as the Supreme Court attempting to ban pornography. As Tuttle’s life crisis deepens, he also wrestles with some esoteric questions about the Supreme Court, such as why the Court does not hear evidence in cases over which it has original jurisdiction, like border disputes between states. Additionally, the novel presents the debate about filming Supreme Court arguments in an evenhanded way, portraying how the justices are legitimately torn on the subject. Wexler presents these issues in an intelligent manner but does not rely too much on legalese; a non-lawyer would have no difficulty understanding the book.

The other justices besides Tuttle are thinly-veiled versions of the actual Court. Justice Tony Garabelli – an originalist hothead who frequently references his own religious beliefs to support his opinions – is clearly supposed to be Justice Scalia. And Justice Rebecca Leibowitz – a frail octogenarian who leads the Court’s liberal wing – is clearly supposed to be Justice Ginsburg. While this was amusing, part of me wishes that Wexler had just used the Justices’ real names, particularly because at one point he references the actual Justice Souter.

Moreover, while I enjoyed Wexler’s satire, there were a couple moments that went too far over the top. For example, one argument between the justices at conference turns borderline violent, and veers closer to the street fight scene in Anchorman than real life.

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Overall, Tuttle in the Balance is a funny novel that will make readers look differently at the Supreme Court. Next time I read about a Supreme Court argument, I will wonder what Justice Scalia is doodling (probably a visual depiction of whatever “argle bargle” is).

(Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book.)

Tuttle in the Balance [Amazon (affiliate link)]


Harry Graff is a litigation associate at a firm, but he spends days wishing that he was writing about film, television, literature, and pop culture instead of writing briefs. If there is a law-related movie, television show, book, or any other form of media that you would like Harry Graff to discuss, he can be reached at harrygraff19@gmail.com. Be sure to follow Harry Graff on Twitter at @harrygraff19.

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