Joan Biskupic’s Nine Black Robes presents a portrait of a United States Supreme Court, ideologically divided and deeply affected by former President Donald Trump and his appointees. It is a perspective from a writer who has spent much of her life covering the Supreme Court, both as a reporter and a biographer.

Ms. Biskupic has written books on four justices of the nation’s highest court, and as a journalist she has worked for Congressional Quarterly, The Washington Post and CNN, among many others. She earned her law degree from Georgetown University at night while working as a reporter, and took the bar just after covering Justice Stephen Breyer’s confirmation hearing.

Her first biography was about Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female associate justice on the Supreme Court.

“I truly enjoyed taking on a single life and looking at how one of the justice’s lives intersected with the law and national events,” Ms. Biskupic said. “Her life was so interesting and she wielded such great influence on the Supreme Court that I continued my taste for straight biography.”

She followed that book up with biographies of Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia, Sonia Sotomayor and John Roberts.

After her 2019 biography of Chief Justice John Roberts, Ms. Biskupic wasn’t sure what to do next.

“I was looking around to see who would be next and there was no natural next subject, but it was at the same time I was seeing the Trump effect on the Supreme Court,” she said. “I was learning about how they were maneuvering differently behind the scenes because of pressures from then-President Trump.”

She decided her next book would be a biography of the court itself.

“I thought, I’m going to do a group portrait, and I’ll bring all of them to life,” Ms. Biskupic said.

Joan Biskupic has spent her career writing about the Supreme Court.

There were 12 justices total over the period she chose, and she set out to provide a look at how they interact with each other and the relationships that impact their decisions. With many years of experience reporting on the court, she knew she needed one main thing to achieve it.

“My overall approach to my journalism and to these books, but especially to these books, is patience,” she said. “Eventually I get the people I needed to talk to me.”

Ms. Biskupic’s patience and journalistic approach to her writing means that she is friendly with many of the justices, not just ones who adhere to a specific ideology.

“There’s only nine justices, so you’re necessarily limited in the sources you can build,” she said.

After completing the majority of her research and writing and her publisher’s deadline was nearing, Ms. Biskupic realized there was a new story that couldn’t be left out. The court was about to rule on abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson, so she asked her publisher for an extension. She knew she had to include the case and its decision.

“I cannot finish this book until we know how they rule in it,” Ms. Biskupic recalled saying. “And my editor said, ‘Of course, I understand fully.’”

After the decision was handed down in June 2022, she wrote an epilogue for the book, and it went to print later that year.

For Ms. Biskupic, writing about the justices and the courts is exciting — especially when they make interesting rulings.

“The truth is that I actually love it. It’s addictive. I love learning more about the court and understanding what went into its rulings,” she said. “I love the chase of learning more about the court.”

Ms. Biskupic has always been on the same beat. Over nearly three decades as a reporter, editor and writer, it has always been about the Supreme Court.

Now having painted a portrait of the whole court, she said she has to think very carefully about her next subject.

“A writer gives up a lot when working on a book — I travel, I skip family visits, I skip parties, I skip first-run movies,” she said. “I just sort of hunker down. So I have to really want to write about the subject I choose.”

Ms. Biskupic is considering some ideas but hasn’t focused on one yet. But she said the court is doing many unusual things these days.

“We’ll see how this term shakes out,” she said.

Joan Biskupic will take part in a panel discussion at 11:30 p.m. on August 5, and a conversation with Richard Lazarus at 12:30 p.m. on August 6.