Better Judgment

The weakening of the federal courts—and how they can restore their power and Americans’ access to justice—told through the lives of three remarkable judges.

Despite the outsize public attention paid to the Supreme Court, federal trial courts are at the heart of US democracy. Through the stories of Jed Rakoff, Martha Vázquez, and Carlton Reeves, lawyer and acclaimed journalist Reynolds Holding recounts how the erosion of federal court power and people’s ability to seek…