AJS members Judge M. Margaret McKeown and Judge Susan Oki Mollway put their writing talents to work and have published books that might interest you. Judge McKeown currently serves as an ex-officio member of the AJS Board of Directors, while Judge Mollway previously served as Assistant Secretary of AJS. They were both speakers at the 2021 AJS National Conference. Congratulations to Judges McKeown and Mollway on their published works!
Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of Justice William O. Douglas is the title of Judge McKeown’s book, which spotlights William O. Douglas, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Douglas still maintains the record as the longest serving Justice on the Court, having served from 1939-75. As Judge McKeown noted in the video presentation about her book, Justice Douglas was larger than life and her book tells why so many trees are still standing today as well as the back story of Justice Douglas as a citizen justice. Justice Douglas’ enduring legacy is what he did for our environment.
The First Fifteen: How Asian American Women Became Federal Judges is the name of the book written by Judge Mollway. Judge Mollway was the first Asian American woman to receive a lifetime appointment in 1998 as a federal judge. The book chronicles the stories of Asian American women who were appointed as federal judges after her. The idea for the book grew out of Judge Mollway’s thesis for her Master of Law studies at Duke University. She said the topic for her thesis had to be something that would hold her interest and spur her to complete the project, especially since the writing was done in the evenings after working at her “day job.” Since the chosen topic involved herself and others that she knew, she was confident it was the path to take.