Ruth Kelly's Judiciary Novel

Frankfurter Dilemma (a suspense novel) by Ruth (Dowling) Kelly

(a review and Q &A by Gale Picard Dorion)

I want to recommend a great read.....Frankfurter Dilemma by Ruth Kelly ....... our SHS '58 classmate, Ruth Dowling Kelly

With the process so fresh in our minds of appointing Sonja Sotomayor as the newest Supreme Court Justice - Ruth's novel is extraordinarily timely.

Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution states that the President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... Judges of the Supreme Court." The President has the sole prerogative to nominate, but the power to confirm (or not) is the Senate's. And in Ruth's novel this is the scrutiny that Will Burleigh, his family, friends, and associates go through as Will is grilled, literally and figuratively, in the process of his nomination and confirmation (or not!) to the Supreme Court.

There is plenty of mayhem and murder along the way to please devotees of adventure and intrigue. There is also a touching and meaningful development of character of Sarah and Will Burleigh and all the others who people this book. I cared about them. And, I cared about the eye-opening insight into the priorities, responsibilities, privileges and conundrums of the Executive Branch, the Supreme Court, the Congress.

There are actually three dilemmas played out in Ruth's book: Justice Felix Frankfurter's judicial dilemma; the dilemma of private life versus public service; the dilemma of sustaining a friendship in a time of agonizing crisis.

Ruth's fast-paced novel is intelligently, skillfully, and beautifully written.

About Ruth

Ruth Kelly served as a senior advisor to a former New Mexico governor, and resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her husband, a Federal Judge.
And my personal comment as a Taos, New Mexican, is that Ruth brought wisdom and vision to her recommendations to our former governor.

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This past August 2009, Ruth and I relaxed over coffee at the colorful La Fonda Hotel on the Plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I posed some questions about her writing process of the Frankfurter Dilemma.

Gale: How did you choose to write about the Advise and Consent process for appointing a Justice to the Supreme Court?

Ruth: No one has written from the inside of the Federal Judiciary, about the frustration of the Judiciary with the Congress. There's a quiet frustration.

Gale: What prepared you to write so informatively about the selection process for Justice of the Supreme Court?

Ruth: Between my husband and myself we've served in all three Branches of the government. Paul in the Legislative and Judicial, and I in the Executive Branch as Adviser to a New Mexico Governor for appointments to Boards and Commissions. I guided the appointees through the confirmation process. I am so familiar with this process that I could write about it from the inside. I have passionate feelings and real time experiences which are the foundation for the dramas that I could express fictionally.

Gale: Your novel came out a few months before the choice of Sonja Sotomayor for Justice of the Supreme Court. During her Advise and Consent process we've seen some of the same challenges as your fictional appointee Will Burleigh faced. What advice would you give future appointees?

Ruth: The broader 'Judicial' message of my book -- There is an overriding position to keep in mind during Judicial appointments and confirmations. You cannot take a position on how you are going to rule in the future - no forecasting - which would mean that you have already made up your mind before all the evidence, all the facts, have been presented.

Gale: This is the first novel that you have written. How did you know that you could write?

Ruth: I didn't. I was a math major - not a novelist. I just always wanted to write -something-!

Gale: I see - it's your natural ability to put 2 + 2 together and out came this enlightening and engrossing suspense novel. Is there another novel formulating (def. of formulating: inventing or contriving an idea and formulating it mentally) in your imagination?

Ruth: I'm thinking about it. I want another unique topic, so we'll see...........!!!!