ON POLITICS AND LAW: RECOVERING THE PRITCHETT SYNTHESIS John Brigham ABSTRACT C. Herman Pritchett saw politics in law without losing the sense that law was not simply politics. This synthesis from the 1940s was lost in the last half of the 20th century and it deserves to be brought back. In constitutional law in particular, politics has pushed law aside in the minds of scholars, journalists, and many Americans. While denial that politics matters AU :1 is a staple of Supreme Court confirmation hearings, this position is no longer credible. This makes it hard to find a place for law in the study of the Supreme Court. This paper advocates AU :2 a return to the balance that was in place over 50 years ago when we were first taught that Supreme Court decisions were political. Commentary on the decision making of justices on the Supreme Court, from the academy, particularly Political Science, to ‘‘the mainstream media,’’ is increasingly comfortable with political explanations for judicial decisions. Indeed, currently it is hard to find a place for law among serious students 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 Special Issue: The Discourse of Judging Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, Volume 58, 29–44 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1059-4337/doi:10.1108/S1059-4337(2012)0000058005 29