In the U.S. Supreme Court term that ended last June, Justice Samuel Alito turned to books most often to bolster his opinions, while Justice Anthony Kennedy—the court's most influential voter—made least use of the wisdom embodied in books.

Justices cite books for a variety of reasons, Yale Law School's Linda Greenhouse, a veteran high court observer, writes in “The Books of the Justices” in the latest Michigan Law Review.

The law review has an annual issue on books and asked Greenhouse to write for it.