BURLINGTON, VT — Author and adult industry observer Frederick Lane’s fourth book, The Court and the Cross: The Religious Right’s Crusade to Reshape the Supreme Court (Beacon, 2008), has debuted.According to publication notes, the book “is a detailed look at the efforts of the Religious Right over the past 30 years to use its growing political power to influence the nomination and selection of judges to the federal bench. The book concludes with a review of various church-state issues that have come before the United States Supreme Court and an analysis of how such issues might be resolved in the future under differing presidential scenarios. The implications of increasingly conservative decisions on church-state issues in our society are profound.”

Lane said the book’s topic is particularly apropos currently, as the U.S. is in the midst of a presidential election season that could change the climate of the courts. In a recent speech at Wake Forest University, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain offered a clear standard for the Supreme Court justices he would appoint if he is elected, Lane noted. McCain is a strong admirer of justices John G. Roberts, Samuel Alito and William Rehnquist. Although neither of the Democratic contenders, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, has discussed the issue in depth, Lane said he believes future Supreme Court appointments will be a critical issue in the 2008 election.

Currently, six of the nine justices, including the entire liberal wing of the court, are over the age of 65: John Paul Stevens (88), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (75), Antonin Scalia (72), Anthony Kennedy (71), Stephen Breyer (69), and David Souter (68). There is a strong likelihood one or more will retire during the next presidential term, so whichever candidate is elected will be able to affect the court’s direction for decades to come.

Lane is an attorney who has spoken at and moderated panels for a number of adult-industry events. He admits he is fascinated with the intersection of porn, religion, law and politics.

“I am fascinated with the Religious Right’s attempts to mold the country,” he told YNOT.

The Court and the Cross has received early praise

Lane’s previous books include The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture (Prometheus Books, 2006), The Naked Employee: How Technology Is Compromising Workplace Privacy (Amacom, 2003) and Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Privacy in the Cyber Age (Routledge, 2000). He currently is working on a new manuscript tentatively entitled People in Glass Houses: American Law, Technology, and the Right to Privacy, which is scheduled for publication in spring 2009 by Beacon.