Legal systems: courts and procedures Books

Book SynopsisA Culture of Justification examines how a groundbreaking case involving undercover spies and a man’s fight for citizenship helped the Supreme Court of Canada forge a consensus on the future of one of the most important areas in Canadian law.Trade ReviewProfessor Daly successfully makes the case that Vavilov has provided significant clarity to the judicial review process. -- Ian Mackenzie, Slaw MagazineTable of ContentsIntroduction1 Why Is Administrative Law So Complicated?2 A Deep Dive into Judicial Review3 The Dunsmuir Decade4 The Big Bang5 Vavilov Hits the Road6 Unresolved Issues after VavilovConclusionNotes; Selected Bibliography; Index of Cases; Index

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Book SynopsisA Culture of Justification examines how a groundbreaking case involving undercover spies and a man’s fight for citizenship helped the Supreme Court of Canada forge a consensus on the future of one of the most important areas in Canadian law.Trade ReviewProfessor Daly successfully makes the case that Vavilov has provided significant clarity to the judicial review process. -- Ian Mackenzie, Slaw MagazineTable of ContentsIntroduction1 Why Is Administrative Law So Complicated?2 A Deep Dive into Judicial Review3 The Dunsmuir Decade4 The Big Bang5 Vavilov Hits the Road6 Unresolved Issues after VavilovConclusionNotes; Selected Bibliography; Index of Cases; Index

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Book SynopsisWhat is the role of survivor testimony in Holocaust remembrance? Today such recollections are considered among the most compelling and important historical sources we have, but this has not always been true. In The Era of the Witness, a concise...Trade Review"Wieviorka retraces the evolution of the figure of the Holocaust witness and analyzes the different, and sometimes competing, uses of Holocaust testimonies, with the rigor and clarity that perfectly suits her subject."—Le Monde"A reflection on the production of Holocaust testimonies, their evolution in time, and their part in the construction of the collective memory."—Libération"Written by one of France's leading historians of the Holocaust, The Era of the Witness is a fascinating and readable exploration of the emergence of survivor testimony into the public sphere. Annette Wieviorka's provocative yet sensitive account will be of interest to all who are concerned with the legacies of the Holocaust and other traumatic histories. Jared Stark's beautiful translation makes this essential work accessible to a new audience."—Michael Rothberg, author of Traumatic Realism: The Demands of Holocaust Representation and coeditor of The Holocaust: Theoretical Readings"This book on witnessing itself bears witness to a close, careful, and often difficult engagement with a vast array of testimonies in different genres and media. It raises the question of how empathy and unsettlement provoked by testimonies may be combined with resistance to a cult of intimacy, a confusion of empathy with identification, and an impairment of the critical perspective necessary for writing history."—Dominick LaCapra, Cornell University, author of History in Transit: Experience, Identity, Critical Theory

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Book SynopsisThis book is an authoritative history of the Federal Court of Canada. The judges' work in various areas of substantive law provides illustrations of the functioning of the Court in the adjudication of disputes.Trade Review'Anyone in need of details about the judges appointed to the Federal Court and their important decisions can find the information in this book.' -- Christopher P. Manfredi The Law and Politics Book Review

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Book SynopsisThis volume offers perspectives from political scientists, legal scholars, and practicing judges as they seek to answer the question of how much law actually has to do with judicial behavior and decision-making, and what it means for society at large.Trade Review"Geyh (associate dean for research and John F. Kimberling professor of law, Indiana Univ. School of Law) is well qualified to edit this reader about the interaction of law and politics in contemporary society. The contributors to this reader are among the very best scholars in the legal and political science realm. . . The writing is lively and easy to follow for the somewhat sophisticated reader. . . Highly recommended." -- R.A. Carp * Choice *"Professor Charles Geyh has assembled leading thinkers in law and political science for a serious engagement with the complex role of law in legal decisionmaking. Readers will find these essays fascinating, thoughtful and sometimes infuriating, as conventional disciplinary wisdom is defended, modified and refuted. The result is a terrific text for for all students of the legal process." -- Mark A. Graber * University of Maryland *"This volume pulls together an excellent cast to examine one of the most intriguing and most difficult questions in the study of law and politics today—what role does law play in the job of judging? There is a lot to learn in the these pages, and this book does a fine job of pushing the conversation forward." -- Keith Whittington * Princeton University *"That political scientists and law professors bring distinct approaches to the study of judging is inevitable. That the two are mutually informative—not mutually exclusive—is just as undeniable, as this volume admirably demonstrates. What's Law Got to To With It? is a great read for anyone and everyone interested in the role of law and politics in the U.S. legal system." -- Lee Epstein * Northwestern University School of Law *"We know that judging involves judgment and not simply mechanics, but we're not sure how to think about that obvious fact. This fascinating interdisciplinary volume explores the permeable boundaries between law, politics, and policy to produce a rich portrait of the judicial function in all its dimensions." -- Linda Greenhouse, Joseph Goldstein Lecturer in Law * Yale Law School *

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Book SynopsisThis volume offers perspectives from political scientists, legal scholars, and practicing judges as they seek to answer the question of how much law actually has to do with judicial behavior and decision-making, and what it means for society at large.Trade Review"Geyh (associate dean for research and John F. Kimberling professor of law, Indiana Univ. School of Law) is well qualified to edit this reader about the interaction of law and politics in contemporary society. The contributors to this reader are among the very best scholars in the legal and political science realm. . . The writing is lively and easy to follow for the somewhat sophisticated reader. . . Highly recommended." -- R.A. Carp * Choice *"Professor Charles Geyh has assembled leading thinkers in law and political science for a serious engagement with the complex role of law in legal decisionmaking. Readers will find these essays fascinating, thoughtful and sometimes infuriating, as conventional disciplinary wisdom is defended, modified and refuted. The result is a terrific text for for all students of the legal process." -- Mark A. Graber * University of Maryland *"This volume pulls together an excellent cast to examine one of the most intriguing and most difficult questions in the study of law and politics today—what role does law play in the job of judging? There is a lot to learn in the these pages, and this book does a fine job of pushing the conversation forward." -- Keith Whittington * Princeton University *"That political scientists and law professors bring distinct approaches to the study of judging is inevitable. That the two are mutually informative—not mutually exclusive—is just as undeniable, as this volume admirably demonstrates. What's Law Got to To With It? is a great read for anyone and everyone interested in the role of law and politics in the U.S. legal system." -- Lee Epstein * Northwestern University School of Law *"We know that judging involves judgment and not simply mechanics, but we're not sure how to think about that obvious fact. This fascinating interdisciplinary volume explores the permeable boundaries between law, politics, and policy to produce a rich portrait of the judicial function in all its dimensions." -- Linda Greenhouse, Joseph Goldstein Lecturer in Law * Yale Law School *

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive account of how the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court achieve consensus.Trade Review"The Puzzle of Unanimity is a well-written book. Its methods are clear and easily accessible to a wide audience, and the authors' findings contribute significantly to prior studies on Supreme Court decision-making . . . [the] authors provide strong and generalizable evidence consistent with their theory."—Nancy Scherer, Tulsa Law Review"The book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Supreme Court decision-making and has many strengths. Importantly, the authors are the first to systematically tackle the puzzle of unanimous decisions captured both in terms of votes and the presence of separate opinions . . . [T]his is a well-crafted book that fills an important void in legal scholarship."—Eve M. Ringsmuth, Political Science Quarterly"The heart of The Puzzle of Unanimity is an empirical study of all the unanimous and near-unanimous decisions the Supreme Court issued between 1953 and 2004 . . . And for those readers who come to this book believing that the justices arrive at consensus primarily because of determinate law or ideological convergence or strategic considerations or some other overriding causal factor, this book offers a powerful challenge to these kinds of reductionist assumptions."—Christopher Schmidt, H-Law"This is the first comprehensive account of consensus building; it is imaginative and thorough and makes an important contribution to understanding the Court's internal dynamics . . . Highly recommended."—P. Lermack, CHOICE"[A]n important empirical study on Supreme Court decision making . . . The variety of sources referenced results in a very rich bibliography . . . [T]he accessible writing and detailed explanations of the authors' methodology make this an excellent addition to an academic law library."—Tina M. Brooks, Law Library Journal"In The Puzzle of Unanimity, the authors skillfully probe the sources of consensus on the Supreme Court and provide new insights on the considerations that shape the justices' choices. Their book is an important contribution to the understanding of judicial behavior."—Lawrence Baum, Ohio State University"The Puzzle of Unanimity is sure to be the definitive treatment of unanimity on the Supreme Court. By providing a persuasive theoretical account of unanimity and subjecting it to testing with both qualitative and quantitative research methods, Corley, Steigerwalt, and Ward answer a question that has vexed scholars for decades: why are justices from varying political orientations able to put aside their differences and reach agreement on some of the most pressing issues facing society?"—Paul M. Collins, Jr., University of North Texas

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Book SynopsisBodies of Truth offers an intimate account of how apartheid victims deal with the long-term effects of violence, focusing on the intertwined themes of embodiment, injury, victimhood, and memory. In 2002, victims of apartheid-era violence filed suit against multinational corporations, accusing them of aiding and abetting the security forces of the apartheid regime. While the litigation made its way through the U.S. courts, thousands of victims of gross human rights violations have had to cope with painful memories of violence. They have also confronted an official discourse claiming that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the 1990s sufficiently addressed past injuries. This book shows victims'' attempts to emancipate from their experiences by participating in legal actions, but also by creating new forms of sociality among themselves and in relation to broader South African society.Rita Kesselring''s ethnography draws on long-term research with members of the viTrade Review"Bodies of Truth is essential reading for all those interested in the twenty-year aftermath of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Kesselring's innovative ethnography with victims seeking redress in the South African and U.S. Courts examines the limits of law and also makes a powerful case for the transformative potential of new forms of shared sociality. The imaginative combination of the anthropology of law and the body to understand the after-effects of violence in people's lives makes this a ground-breaking work." -- Richard Ashby Wilson * author of The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa *"Deeply serious and imaginative, Bodies of Truth connects anthropology of law and anthropology of the body. Rita Kesselring reveals that even when much is achieved legally in the struggle for transitional justice, bodily experiences of victimhood continue to haunt the victims, and endemic, systematic violence continues to shape the political sphere long after it has ended. Kesselring presents readers with ways in which liberation from habitual victimhood might be achieved." -- Paul Connerton * University of Cambridge *"In capturing the difficulty of understanding pain, Kesselring's subtle, challenging ethnography will make essential reading for any scholar trying to understand the challenges of coming to terms with victimhood and its aftermath and will be particularly important reading for scholars of apartheid and its wake." -- Nicholas Rush Smith * Anthropological Quarterly *"Bodies of Truth is essential reading for anyone interested in victims' quests for financial reparations since the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission finalized its work in 1998. Grounded in extensive transnational ethnography with a national victims' group that participated in class action lawsuits in the South African and US courts, Rita Kesselring's inventive monograph identifies the limits of law in recognizing and ameliorating harms committed by official agents of the avowedly racist apartheid government....Crucially, because Bodies of Truth integrates recent developments in the anthropology of the body with long-standing concerns about vernacular understandings of the law, this imaginative combination makes it a ground-breaking work." -- Richard Ashby Wilson * American Ethnologist *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractThe introduction provides an overview of how the political and social environment has changed for apartheid-era victims in South Africa since apartheid rule formally ended. Although the question of apartheid victimhood was prominent in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, since then, victims have experienced a stark decline in attention and support. Yet for most victims, the past lingers on in their lives and in their bodies. The chapter provides an overview of the two strands of analysis—the law and the body—through which the book examines the legacy of apartheid and the impact of the TRC on victims' social standing today. It presents the main theme of the book: how legal avenues and embodied memories of violence shape the possibility for new forms of sociality in a postconflict society. 1Apartheid Victimhood before the Courts chapter abstractThis chapter documents the emergence of a victims' subject position during the TRC hearings, in post-TRC politics, and in the legal cases filed in South African and US courts. It outlines the gradual formation of a victims' consciousness around the Khulumani Support Group, a victims' advocacy group established in the early 1990s. In contrast to the reconciliatory approach of the TRC, there has been a juridification of the issue of apartheid victimhood. In reaction to the Mbeki administration's lack of interest in matters of victimhood and its preoccupation with pardoning the perpetrators, civil society has brought victimhood back to the attention of the state and the broader society through prominent civil lawsuits. Focusing on national and international politics, the chapter details how the apartheid litigations, which allege that multinational companies aided and abetted the apartheid regime, came to be filed under the Alien Tort Statute, and evaluates their significance. 2Reparation, Representation, and Class Actions chapter abstractThis chapter looks at the actual workings of both South African and US courts hearing class actions. For plaintiffs, class actions offer the opportunity to make their claims heard as a collective. The law, however, needs to personalize an act of injury in order to adjudicate it. In South Africa, class actions are an emerging legal means. The chapter shows that both the judges and the victims who submit their shared social concerns to the courts must grapple with the tension between structural injury and individual injury. Although the law provides a discourse for articulating experiences vis-à-vis a public, drawing on the logic of the law may also break up a social collective. This force the law derives from a societal postconflict situation in which being different potentially makes one suspect and a target for accusations of witchcraft. 3Embodied Memory and the Social chapter abstractThe chapter explores the different ways in which apartheid victims seek to make their victimhood social by communicating it to others. Many victims suffer from chronic pain or injuries. Chronic pain is particular, because it becomes part of a person's habituated being. It is unpredictable, because it is a restless habit that constantly threatens to disrupt one's life. The ethnographic data suggest that there is a real risk in speaking publicly about one's experiences. Society offers victims a limited number of social roles to occupy and to claim. However, victims' experiences of pain are not always malleable enough to adapt to these roles. As a result, victims' injured personhood often turns them into suspicious subjects in the eyes of the society. Silence is thus a solution for many victims to protect their painful memories. 4The Formation of the Political chapter abstractThe TRC was a governing institution that has had lasting effects for victims and their standing in society. Ever since it completed its work victims have to relate their personhood to the strong discourses shaped by the TRC. This chapter looks at how a new discourse can emerge in a hardened political and legalized environment. Employing several ethnographic vignettes, it shows that victims have to emancipate themselves from the bodily dimension of their victimhood to some degree in order to be politically effective. When people with similar experiences recognize one another in their subjectivities, collective political action may come about. Lawyers, precisely because their professional mandate is limited, play a key role in the emergence of a critical political mass. 5Emancipation from Victimhood chapter abstractThe chapter addresses the question of how social change can happen if experiences of structural and socioeconomic violations of human rights are embodied. What kind of responses do people develop to routinized forms of suffering? It presents ethnographic data on the reconcilability of the body and outlines the social conditions that make it possible to change an injured personhood. Through new social and sensory experiences, people try to add new layers of habit memories to their subjective and social being. The tentative forms of sociality that emerge may help them to assume a new social position. Broader society needs to be receptive to these practices for them to be successful, though. 6Ethnographic Experience and Anthropological Knowledge chapter abstractThis chapter is a methodological postscript to the book. Ethnographies originate in everyday interactions with others, but anthropologists' analysis and interpretation of people's social world is often restricted to their words and identifiable actions. As is the case in every social setting, much of the knowledge we acquire during fieldwork remains unarticulated and habitual. We often lack the tools to even become aware of it, let alone to bring it into the predicated realm. Still, its existence is the only basis we have for recognizing unarticulated experiences of others. Anthropologists have become very interested in bodily experiences but have tended either to cognitively interpret the experience of others or to privilege their own experiences as a basis for ethnography. The chapter argues that we should instead use our own bodily experiences to intersubjectively recognize those of others, and proposes avenues for doing so. Conclusion: The Embodiment of Experiences of Violence as Seeds of New Forms of Sociality chapter abstractThe conclusion revises the anthropology of the law and suggests new avenues for the study of the body. In post-apartheid South Africa, ordinary victims do not have sufficiently differentiated public acknowledgment that will allow them to claim their victimhood in a positive way. As a result, there is a schism between persons who struggle to overcome their victimhood and those who have managed to reap the harvest of the "new South Africa." Legal developments in post-apartheid South Africa are manifestations of this tension. The chapter evaluates transitional justice mechanisms, which often work by proxy but fail to address lived experience. In contrast, the mundane and unspectacular practices of victims are emancipatory in the sense that they explore new forms of sociality based on lived experiences not directly related to dominant discourses.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Bodies of Truth is essential reading for all those interested in the twenty-year aftermath of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Kesselring's innovative ethnography with victims seeking redress in the South African and U.S. Courts examines the limits of law and also makes a powerful case for the transformative potential of new forms of shared sociality. The imaginative combination of the anthropology of law and the body to understand the after-effects of violence in people's lives makes this a ground-breaking work." -- Richard Ashby Wilson * author of The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa *"Deeply serious and imaginative, Bodies of Truth connects anthropology of law and anthropology of the body. Rita Kesselring reveals that even when much is achieved legally in the struggle for transitional justice, bodily experiences of victimhood continue to haunt the victims, and endemic, systematic violence continues to shape the political sphere long after it has ended. Kesselring presents readers with ways in which liberation from habitual victimhood might be achieved." -- Paul Connerton * University of Cambridge *"In capturing the difficulty of understanding pain, Kesselring's subtle, challenging ethnography will make essential reading for any scholar trying to understand the challenges of coming to terms with victimhood and its aftermath and will be particularly important reading for scholars of apartheid and its wake." -- Nicholas Rush Smith * Anthropological Quarterly *"Bodies of Truth is essential reading for anyone interested in victims' quests for financial reparations since the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission finalized its work in 1998. Grounded in extensive transnational ethnography with a national victims' group that participated in class action lawsuits in the South African and US courts, Rita Kesselring's inventive monograph identifies the limits of law in recognizing and ameliorating harms committed by official agents of the avowedly racist apartheid government....Crucially, because Bodies of Truth integrates recent developments in the anthropology of the body with long-standing concerns about vernacular understandings of the law, this imaginative combination makes it a ground-breaking work." -- Richard Ashby Wilson * American Ethnologist *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractThe introduction provides an overview of how the political and social environment has changed for apartheid-era victims in South Africa since apartheid rule formally ended. Although the question of apartheid victimhood was prominent in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, since then, victims have experienced a stark decline in attention and support. Yet for most victims, the past lingers on in their lives and in their bodies. The chapter provides an overview of the two strands of analysis—the law and the body—through which the book examines the legacy of apartheid and the impact of the TRC on victims' social standing today. It presents the main theme of the book: how legal avenues and embodied memories of violence shape the possibility for new forms of sociality in a postconflict society. 1Apartheid Victimhood before the Courts chapter abstractThis chapter documents the emergence of a victims' subject position during the TRC hearings, in post-TRC politics, and in the legal cases filed in South African and US courts. It outlines the gradual formation of a victims' consciousness around the Khulumani Support Group, a victims' advocacy group established in the early 1990s. In contrast to the reconciliatory approach of the TRC, there has been a juridification of the issue of apartheid victimhood. In reaction to the Mbeki administration's lack of interest in matters of victimhood and its preoccupation with pardoning the perpetrators, civil society has brought victimhood back to the attention of the state and the broader society through prominent civil lawsuits. Focusing on national and international politics, the chapter details how the apartheid litigations, which allege that multinational companies aided and abetted the apartheid regime, came to be filed under the Alien Tort Statute, and evaluates their significance. 2Reparation, Representation, and Class Actions chapter abstractThis chapter looks at the actual workings of both South African and US courts hearing class actions. For plaintiffs, class actions offer the opportunity to make their claims heard as a collective. The law, however, needs to personalize an act of injury in order to adjudicate it. In South Africa, class actions are an emerging legal means. The chapter shows that both the judges and the victims who submit their shared social concerns to the courts must grapple with the tension between structural injury and individual injury. Although the law provides a discourse for articulating experiences vis-à-vis a public, drawing on the logic of the law may also break up a social collective. This force the law derives from a societal postconflict situation in which being different potentially makes one suspect and a target for accusations of witchcraft. 3Embodied Memory and the Social chapter abstractThe chapter explores the different ways in which apartheid victims seek to make their victimhood social by communicating it to others. Many victims suffer from chronic pain or injuries. Chronic pain is particular, because it becomes part of a person's habituated being. It is unpredictable, because it is a restless habit that constantly threatens to disrupt one's life. The ethnographic data suggest that there is a real risk in speaking publicly about one's experiences. Society offers victims a limited number of social roles to occupy and to claim. However, victims' experiences of pain are not always malleable enough to adapt to these roles. As a result, victims' injured personhood often turns them into suspicious subjects in the eyes of the society. Silence is thus a solution for many victims to protect their painful memories. 4The Formation of the Political chapter abstractThe TRC was a governing institution that has had lasting effects for victims and their standing in society. Ever since it completed its work victims have to relate their personhood to the strong discourses shaped by the TRC. This chapter looks at how a new discourse can emerge in a hardened political and legalized environment. Employing several ethnographic vignettes, it shows that victims have to emancipate themselves from the bodily dimension of their victimhood to some degree in order to be politically effective. When people with similar experiences recognize one another in their subjectivities, collective political action may come about. Lawyers, precisely because their professional mandate is limited, play a key role in the emergence of a critical political mass. 5Emancipation from Victimhood chapter abstractThe chapter addresses the question of how social change can happen if experiences of structural and socioeconomic violations of human rights are embodied. What kind of responses do people develop to routinized forms of suffering? It presents ethnographic data on the reconcilability of the body and outlines the social conditions that make it possible to change an injured personhood. Through new social and sensory experiences, people try to add new layers of habit memories to their subjective and social being. The tentative forms of sociality that emerge may help them to assume a new social position. Broader society needs to be receptive to these practices for them to be successful, though. 6Ethnographic Experience and Anthropological Knowledge chapter abstractThis chapter is a methodological postscript to the book. Ethnographies originate in everyday interactions with others, but anthropologists' analysis and interpretation of people's social world is often restricted to their words and identifiable actions. As is the case in every social setting, much of the knowledge we acquire during fieldwork remains unarticulated and habitual. We often lack the tools to even become aware of it, let alone to bring it into the predicated realm. Still, its existence is the only basis we have for recognizing unarticulated experiences of others. Anthropologists have become very interested in bodily experiences but have tended either to cognitively interpret the experience of others or to privilege their own experiences as a basis for ethnography. The chapter argues that we should instead use our own bodily experiences to intersubjectively recognize those of others, and proposes avenues for doing so. Conclusion: The Embodiment of Experiences of Violence as Seeds of New Forms of Sociality chapter abstractThe conclusion revises the anthropology of the law and suggests new avenues for the study of the body. In post-apartheid South Africa, ordinary victims do not have sufficiently differentiated public acknowledgment that will allow them to claim their victimhood in a positive way. As a result, there is a schism between persons who struggle to overcome their victimhood and those who have managed to reap the harvest of the "new South Africa." Legal developments in post-apartheid South Africa are manifestations of this tension. The chapter evaluates transitional justice mechanisms, which often work by proxy but fail to address lived experience. In contrast, the mundane and unspectacular practices of victims are emancipatory in the sense that they explore new forms of sociality based on lived experiences not directly related to dominant discourses.

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Book SynopsisAfter a restrained 2017 term in which the Supreme Court muddled through most of its work with just eight justices, the court roared back to life with a momentous term in 2018. With Donald Trump's first appointment to the bench, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, finding his footing and swing-vote Justice Anthony Kennedy preparing for retirement at the close of the term, the Court took on a series of cases that touched on some of the most contentious issues in contemporary American life-and in almost every case gave Americans a glimpse of where the court is likely to keep shifting over the coming years: further to the right. In American Justice 2018, journalist Todd Ruger examines the most monumental of these controversial decisions-including those involving religious freedom and minority rights, partisan gerrymandering, President Trump's travel ban, privacy in the digital era, sales tax for online retailers, and apparent tensions between the First Amendment and the collection of unioTrade Review"Todd Ruger's American Justice 2018 reads like a political thriller, tracing in lively, smart writing a consequential year that included the first full term of a new Supreme Court justice and a creeping politicization that showed the Court susceptible to the same forces roiling the rest of Washington. Ruger's crisp style, deep knowledge of the Court, and gimlet eye for detail make this volume both essential and accessible." * Julie Mason, host of the Press Pool on Sirius XM's POTUS channel *"Todd Ruger comprehensively chronicles a momentous Supreme Court term that culminated in the dramatic retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. Ruger expertly illustrates how Kennedy-as the Court's pivotal vote over the last decade-cast a shadow over a year in which the Court weighed cases on hot-button issues ranging from gay rights to political gerrymandering. Ruger's detailed and engaging account fuses the human stories behind the Court's biggest disputes with clear-eyed analysis of how the rulings shaped the law and how the justices are responding to unique challenges prompted by the presidency of Donald Trump." * Lawrence Hurley, Reuters *"Todd Ruger has made sense of an important and complex term of the Supreme Court. In clear and accessible language, he ably tells the story of the Court's most important rulings while also analyzing its shifting dynamics, including the ascent of Justice Gorsuch and the departure of Justice Kennedy." * Tony Mauro, Supreme Court correspondent for the National Law Journal *

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Book SynopsisSince 1947 a modernized New Jersey Supreme Court has played an important and controversial role in the state, nation, and world. Its decisions in cutting-edge cases have confronted society’s toughest issues. Paul Tractenberg has selected ten of the court’s landmark decisions between 1960 and 2011 to illustrate its extensive involvement in major public issues, and to assess its impact.Table of ContentsForeword by Deborah T. Poritz Introduction 1. Henningsen v. Bloomfield Motors, Inc. (1960): Promoting Product Safety by Protecting Consumers of Defective Goods 2. Marini v. Ireland (1970): Protecting Low-Income Renters by Judicial Shock Therapy 3. Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Township of Mount Laurel (1975): Establishing a Right to Affordable Housing Throughout the State by Confronting the Inequality Demon 4. In Re Karen Ann Quinlan (1976): Establishing a Patient's Right to Die in Dignity 5. Right to Choose v. Byrne (1982): Establishing a State Constitutional Right to Publicly Funded Abortions 6. State v. Hunt (1982): Protecting Privacy from Unwarranted Searches amid a National Road Map to Independent State Constitutional Rights Cases 7. In the Matter of Baby M (1988): Reining in Surrogate Parenting and Defining Children's Best Interests 8. Lehmann v. Toys 'R' Us (1993): Protecting Employees from Sexual Harassment and a Hostile Work Environment 9. Doe v. Poritz and Megan's Law (1995): The Subtle Art of Judicial Deference to the Legislature 10. New Jersey's School Funding Litigation, Robinson v. Cahill and Abbott v. Burke (2011): The Epitome of the State Supreme Court as an Independent, Progressive Voice in Guaranteeing Constitutional Rights Conclusion: New Jersey's 1947 Constitution and the Creation of a Modern State Supreme Court Notes on Contributors Index

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisAn analysis of the major issues surrounding judicial elections. It presents evidence on a range of important topics, including the history of judicial elections; an understanding of the types of judicial elections; and electoral competition during races.Trade Review"This book offers a variety of insights by professors across the country on issues that are becoming increasingly important in judicial elections. . . . The collection will interest scholars and students of federalism, judicial politics and state politics in general." * Campaigns & Elections *"For anyone concerned about the independence of state court judges in the wake of recent trends and practices in judicial elections, add to your ‘must read’ list the book Running for Judge." * Election Law Journal *"Running for Judge is an important source of empirical data about judicial elections. Anyone who studies the topic should have a copy." * New York Law Journal *"The book does a wonderful job of bringing the different research projects together. All the chapters provide detailed and timely information in an effort to explain recent developments in judicial elections. . . . This is a comprehensive, well-written book." * Law and Politics Book Review *"Provides strong empirical support for that common knowledge that is gained from experience in the judicialarena. . . . A book that cannot be ignored." * Judicature *Table of ContentsList of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgments1 The Study of Judicial ElectionsMatthew J. Streb2 First Amendment Limits on Regulating Judicial Campaigns Richard L. Hasen3 The Changing Tone of Judicial Election Campaigns as a Result of White Rachel P. Cau?eld4 The Dynamics of Campaign Spending in State Supreme Court Elections Chris W. Bonneau5 Interest Group Participation in Judicial Elections Deborah Goldberg6 Partisan Involvement in Partisan and Nonpartisan Trial Court ElectionsMatthew J. Streb7 Judicial Elections in the NewsBrian F. Schaffner and Jennifer Segal Diascro8 Voter Responses to High-Visibility Judicial Campaigns Lawrence Baum and David Klein9 Competition as Accountability in State Supreme Court Elections Melinda Gann Hall10 Judicial Selection Methods and Capital Punishment in the American StatesPaul Brace and Brent D. Boyea11 Judicial Reform and the Future of Judicial Elections Matthew J. Streb and Brian FrederickBibliographyAbout the Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisBased on Supreme Court archives, the personal papers of justices and other figures at the Supreme Court, and interviews and written surveys with 150 former clerks, this title offers a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a law clerk, and how it has evolved since its nineteenth-century beginnings.Trade ReviewThe main quibble . . . with contemporary law clerks is that they wield too much influence over their justices opinion-writing. Artemus and Weiden broaden this concern to the clerks influence on the thinking of the justices about how to decide cases. * Slate.com *Helps illuminate the inner workings of an institution that is still largely shrouded in mystery. * The Wall Street Journal Online *Provides excellent insight into the inner workings of the Supreme Court, how it selects cases for review, what pressures are brought to bear on the justices, and how the final opinions are produced. Recommended for all academic libraries. * Library Journal *Ward and Weiden have produced that rare book that is both a meticulous piece of scholarship and a good read. The authors have . . . sifted through a varied and voluminous amount of archival material, winnowing out the chaff and leaving the excellent wheat for our consumption. They marry this extensive archival research with original survey data, using both to great effect. * Law and Politics Book Review *Well-written, needed, and nicely done. * Choice *Table of ContentsIllustrationsAcknowledgments Preface: Awesome Responsibility and Complete Subservience 1 Introduction: The Institutionalization of the Supreme Court Law Clerk 2 A Great Ordeal: Selecting Supreme Court Law Clerks 3 The Junior Court: Deciding to Decide 4 Decision Making: Mission-Inspired Crusaders? 5 Opinion Writing: From Research Assistants to Junior Justices 6 Conclusion: Sorcerers' Apprentices Appendix A. "Memorandum for the Law Clerks" from the Chambers of Chief Justice Earl Warren Appendix B. Letter from Stephen G. Breyer to Earl Warren, October 6, 1963 Appendix C. Letter from John Minor Wisdom to Hugo Black, October 15, 1965 Appendix D. Justice Harry A. Blackmun's Talking Points for Interviewing Prospective Law Clerks Appendix E. Memorandum from Molly McUsic to Harry A. Blackmun, re: Certiorari Petition,Planned Parenthood v. Casey, January 4, 1992 Appendix F. Memorandum from Stephanie A.Dangel to Harry A. Blackmun, June 26, 1992 Appendix G. United States Supreme CourtLaw Clerk Questionnaire Notes BibliographyIndex About the Authors

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Book SynopsisHow can court testimony be used to rebuild a cohesive national identity for the Hutus and Tutsis? And how is it that dance and theater help to move forward the cause of justice and reconciliation? This title provides a satisfying analysis of the interplay between justice, performance, narrative, and memorialization.

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Book SynopsisRecords from London's Guildhall reveal the workings of the law in the eighteenth century.For centuries, the City of London's Lord Mayor and Aldermen have headed various courts and tribunals as part of their official obligations. In the City's Guildhall, Londoners from all walks of life could appear before an aldermansitting as a magistrate in the "justice room" and initiate a criminal complaint when they were the victims of crime. But what actually happened in those initial hearings between the accuser, the accused and the magistrate has remained largely obscured to history. These records shed light on the earliest phases of a criminal prosecution and reveal the routines of criminal justice administration in the eighteenth-century metropolis. From the fragmentaryminutes of the proceedings conducted before London's aldermen, who sat for a part of every working day as Justices of the Peace, we learn of the petty squabbles of the City's poor with parish officials, the ready resort to physical violence in public and private spheres, the steady campaign against prostitution, and the growing professionalism of the parish constables who policed London before the arrival of the Metropolitan Police.The records will be ofinterest to historians of London, social historians of crime, genealogists and scholars interested in summary or pre-trial procedures in early modern England; they are presented here with introduction and explanatory notes. Greg T. Smith is Associate Professor of History at the University of Manitoba.Trade ReviewThis book makes a major contribution to our knowledge of both the era's criminal justice system and also daily life in the wider eighteenth-century metropolis. It will be quite invaluable to legal and social historians of the period. * ARCHIVES *Offers a tantalizing insight into the working world of the City justices. As such, it is a valuable addition to the published literature. * ARCHIVES AND RECORDS *Table of ContentsIntroduction Minute Books of the Guildhall Justice Room 1752-1781

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1970. This is a study of one of the most highly respected tribunals in the history of the English-speaking worldthe United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Situated in Manhattan, the Second Circuit Court, serving New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, is the most important commercial court in the country. But, like other inferior courts, it has never been studied in depth. Marvin Schick provides a comprehensive analysis. From 1941 to 1951, Learned Hand presided over the Second Circuit as chief judge, and the court bore his stamp. But on its bench sat other men of great competence, judges Thomas W. Swan, August N. Hand, and Harrie B. Chase, as well as Charles E. Clark and Jerome N. Frank, whose constant disagreement characterized much of the court's work. Schick studies the Second Circuit Court from several angles: historical, biographical, behavioral, and case analytical. He tells a history of the court from its origins in 1789. He provides biograTable of ContentsList of TablesList of AbbreviationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1. Learned Hand's CourtChapter 2. A Brief HistoryChapter 3. The Decision-Making ProcessChapter 4. Judicial RelationsChapter 5. The Obedient JudgeChapter 6. Three Quiet and Sometimes Conservative JudgesChapter 7. The Battling New DealersChapter 8. Judges Frank and Clark and the Law of the Second CircuitChapter 9. The Business of the CourtChapter 10. The Second Circuit and the Supreme Court: 1942-51Chapter 11. The Stature of a CourtBibliographyIndexIndex of Cases

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Book SynopsisThis book reviews the research on evidence provided by child eyewitnesses. It describes interviewing techniques to facilitate accurate recall and lineup techniques to facilitate accurate recognition.Trade ReviewWhat is particularly impressive about this book is that Pozzulo successfully makes the complex field of young eyewitness memory accessible to all readers while not short-shrifting the technical complexities. * PsycCRITIQUES *Pozzulo introduces this work in a straightforward and convincing manner—there are no gaps in following her logic. The reader is left with a clear sense of the problem, a firm appreciation for why the problem must be addressed, and, most importantly, absolute certainty that accuracy can be improved. * Choice *Table of ContentsIntroduction Overview of Forensic Concepts Ability of Young Eyewitnesses to Describe a Person Techniques to Improve the Amount and Accuracy of Recall Information Effects of Lineup Construction and Procedures Other Factors Influencing the Young Eyewitness' Identification Accuracy Why Recall and Identification Abilities Differ Between Young and Adult Eyewitnesses Relation Between Describing the Perpetrator and Identifying the Perpetrator Jurors' Perceptions of the Young Eyewitness Policy Implications Future Directions for Young Eyewitness Research References Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisThis volume summarizes what is known about the psychology of juries and offers a robust research agenda to keep scholars busy in years to come.Trade ReviewOverall, this excellent book has renewed my confidence in the future of jury research and is highly recommended for advanced students, legal practitioners, and new and current jury researchers. * PsycCRITIQUES *A seminal and informative work of impressive scholarship. * Midwest Book Review *Table of Contents Contributors Preface Introduction: An OverviewMargaret Bull KoveraPart I: Important but Understudied Topics in Jury Research Chapter 1: Integrating Individual and Group Models of Juror Decision MakingLora M. Levett and Dennis Devine Chapter 2: The Effects of Collaborative Remembering on Trial VerdictsWilliam Hirst and Charles B. Stone Chapter 3: Integrating Concepts of Trial Advocacy Into Juror Decision-Making ResearchChristina A. Studebaker Chapter 4: Studying the Effects of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture on Jury BehaviorJennifer S. Hunt Chapter 5: Juries Compared With What? The Need for a Baseline and Attention to Real World ComplexityJennifer K. Robbennolt and Theodore Eisenberg Chapter 6: Global Juries: A Plan for ResearchValerie P. Hans, Hiroshi Fukurai, Sanja Kutnjak Ivković, and Jaihyun ParkPart II: Validity and Trial Simulation Methodology Chapter 7: Jury Simulation GoalsJonathan J. Koehler and John B. Meixner, Jr. Chapter 8: Managing Different Aspects of Validity in Trial Simulation ResearchDaniel A. Krauss and Joel D. Lieberman Chapter 9: Jury Simulation Research: Pros, Cons, Trends, and AlternativesBrian H. Bornstein Chapter 10: How Typical is Lockhart v. McCree? Ecological Validity Concerns in Court OpinionsMary R. RosePart III: Synthesis and Future Directions Chapter 11: Suggested Do's and Don'ts for Future Jury Research: A Swan SongNorbert L. Kerr Conclusion: The Future of Jury ResearchMargaret Bull Kovera Index About the Editor

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Book SynopsisIn their timely and topical book, Reimagining Courts, Victor Flango and Thomas Clarke argue that courts are a victim of their own success. Disputes that once were resolved either informally in the family or within the community are now handled mainly by courts, which strains government agency resources. The authors offer provocative suggestions for a thorough overhaul of American state and local courts, one that better fits the needs of a twenty-first century legal system. Reimagining Courts recommends a triage process based upon case characteristics, litigant goals, and resolution processes. Courts must fundamentally reorganize their business processes around the concept of the litigant as a customer. Each adjudication process that the authors propose requires a different case management process and different amounts of judicial, staff, and facility resources. Reimagining Courts should spark much-needed debate. This book will be of significant interest to lawyers, judges, and profeTrade ReviewThe idea of completely re-organizing court functions according to "whether a court is the right forum" for the matter and according to issues raised and whether they require adversarial adjudication - as opposed to current court functioning which takes all cases and organizes them by type - is groundbreaking. The authors are obviously very well-versed in the major approaches to this problem and are in an excellent position to envision the alternatives. --Candice McCoy"[A]n important book discussing needed reforms in our American judicial system, written by two individuals who have been privy to the inner workings of state court systems for a number of years.... The crux and most important part of the book is the problem-solving process and the implications thereof.... All in all, Flango and Clarke present a thought-provoking compilation of ideas for court reform."--Judicature

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Book SynopsisIn their timely and topical book, Reimagining Courts, Victor Flango and Thomas Clarke argue that courts are a victim of their own success. Disputes that once were resolved either informally in the family or within the community are now handled mainly by courts, which strains government agency resources. The authors offer provocative suggestions for a thorough overhaul of American state and local courts, one that better fits the needs of a twenty-first century legal system. Reimagining Courts recommends a triage process based upon case characteristics, litigant goals, and resolution processes. Courts must fundamentally reorganize their business processes around the concept of the litigant as a customer. Each adjudication process that the authors propose requires a different case management process and different amounts of judicial, staff, and facility resources. Reimagining Courts should spark much-needed debate. This book will be of significant interest to lawyers, judges, and profeTrade ReviewThe idea of completely re-organizing court functions according to "whether a court is the right forum" for the matter and according to issues raised and whether they require adversarial adjudication - as opposed to current court functioning which takes all cases and organizes them by type - is groundbreaking. The authors are obviously very well-versed in the major approaches to this problem and are in an excellent position to envision the alternatives. --Candice McCoy"[A]n important book discussing needed reforms in our American judicial system, written by two individuals who have been privy to the inner workings of state court systems for a number of years.... The crux and most important part of the book is the problem-solving process and the implications thereof.... All in all, Flango and Clarke present a thought-provoking compilation of ideas for court reform."--Judicature

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Book SynopsisCommunity Courts are designed to handle a city's low-level offenses and quality-of-life crimes, such as littering, loitering, or public drunkenness. Court advocates maintain that these largely victimless crimes jeopardize the well-being of residents, businesses, and visitors. Whereas traditional courts might dismiss such cases or administer a small fine, community courts aim to meaningfully punish offenders to avoid disorder escalating to apocalyptic decline. Courting the Community is a fascinating ethnography that goes behind the scenes to explore how quality-of-life discourses are translated into court practices that marry therapeutic and rehabilitative ideas. Christine Zozula shows how residents and businesses participate in meting out justicesuch as through community service, treatment, or other sanctionsmaking it more emotional, less detached, and more legitimate in the eyes of stakeholders. She also examines both impact panels, in which offenders, residents, and business owners m

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Book SynopsisCommunity Courts are designed to handle a city's low-level offenses and quality-of-life crimes, such as littering, loitering, or public drunkenness. Court advocates maintain that these largely victimless crimes jeopardize the well-being of residents, businesses, and visitors. Whereas traditional courts might dismiss such cases or administer a small fine, community courts aim to meaningfully punish offenders to avoid disorder escalating to apocalyptic decline. Courting the Community is a fascinating ethnography that goes behind the scenes to explore how quality-of-life discourses are translated into court practices that marry therapeutic and rehabilitative ideas. Christine Zozula shows how residents and businesses participate in meting out justicesuch as through community service, treatment, or other sanctionsmaking it more emotional, less detached, and more legitimate in the eyes of stakeholders. She also examines both impact panels, in which offenders, residents, and business owners m

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Book SynopsisThe United States Supreme Court has numbered nine justices for the past 150 years. But that number is not fixed. With the Democrats controlling the House and Senate during the Biden presidency, they could add justices to the Supreme Court. But would court packing destroy the Court as an apolitical judicial institution? This is the crucial question Stephen Feldman addresses in his provocative book, Pack the Court! He uses a historical, analytical, and political argument to justify court-packing in general and Democratic court-packing more specifically. Republicans and Democrats alike profess to worry that court-packing will destroy the legitimacy of the Supreme Court as a judicial institution by injecting politics into a purely legal adjudicative process. But as Feldman's insightful book shows, law and politics are forever connected in judicial interpretation and decision making. Pack the Court! insists that court packing is not the threat to the Supreme Court's institutional legitimaTrade Review“Stephen Feldman offers a full-throated defense of the proposition that Democrats should pack the Supreme Court when they get the chance. But Pack the Court! is far more than a policy brief. It develops a clear and cogent argument, accessible to nonspecialists, that law and politics always interact with constitutional law, both in the large—as when justices are appointed—and in the small—as in every decision interpreting the Constitution. Feldman shows court packing wouldn’t politicize a nonpolitical institution devoted solely to ‘law,’ but would respond to the form that politicization has taken on the Roberts Court. This book is an important contribution to public debate and the understanding of our Constitution and the Supreme Court.” —Mark Tushnet, Professor Emeritus of Harvard University Law School, and coauthor of Power to the People: Constitutionalism after Populism“Feldman offers a superb overview of the issues surrounding ‘court packing,’ the expansion of the Supreme Court. Not only demonstrating that knowledge of American political history is a necessity, Feldman also emphasizes that one must grapple as well with some basic jurisprudential issues—particularly the ostensible separation of ‘law’ from ‘politics.’ They are, he shows, inextricably intertwined in what he calls the ‘law-politics dynamic.’ I cannot think of a better, or more timely, introduction to the ongoing debate about the U.S. Supreme Court and its future.” —Sanford Levinson, Professor at the University of Texas Law School and Department of Government, and coauthor of Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today

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Book SynopsisThe United States Supreme Court has numbered nine justices for the past 150 years. But that number is not fixed. With the Democrats controlling the House and Senate during the Biden presidency, they could add justices to the Supreme Court. But would court packing destroy the Court as an apolitical judicial institution? This is the crucial question Stephen Feldman addresses in his provocative book, Pack the Court! He uses a historical, analytical, and political argument to justify court-packing in general and Democratic court-packing more specifically. Republicans and Democrats alike profess to worry that court-packing will destroy the legitimacy of the Supreme Court as a judicial institution by injecting politics into a purely legal adjudicative process. But as Feldman's insightful book shows, law and politics are forever connected in judicial interpretation and decision making. Pack the Court! insists that court packing is not the threat to the Supreme Court's institutional legitimaTrade Review“Stephen Feldman offers a full-throated defense of the proposition that Democrats should pack the Supreme Court when they get the chance. But Pack the Court! is far more than a policy brief. It develops a clear and cogent argument, accessible to nonspecialists, that law and politics always interact with constitutional law, both in the large—as when justices are appointed—and in the small—as in every decision interpreting the Constitution. Feldman shows court packing wouldn’t politicize a nonpolitical institution devoted solely to ‘law,’ but would respond to the form that politicization has taken on the Roberts Court. This book is an important contribution to public debate and the understanding of our Constitution and the Supreme Court.” —Mark Tushnet, Professor Emeritus of Harvard University Law School, and coauthor of Power to the People: Constitutionalism after Populism“Feldman offers a superb overview of the issues surrounding ‘court packing,’ the expansion of the Supreme Court. Not only demonstrating that knowledge of American political history is a necessity, Feldman also emphasizes that one must grapple as well with some basic jurisprudential issues—particularly the ostensible separation of ‘law’ from ‘politics.’ They are, he shows, inextricably intertwined in what he calls the ‘law-politics dynamic.’ I cannot think of a better, or more timely, introduction to the ongoing debate about the U.S. Supreme Court and its future.” —Sanford Levinson, Professor at the University of Texas Law School and Department of Government, and coauthor of Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today

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Book SynopsisThough often taken for granted, the modern American public defender has a surprisingly contentious history - one that offers insights not only about the carceral state, but also about the contours and compromises of twentieth-century liberalism.

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Book SynopsisExamines the outsized influence of jurors on prosecutorial discretion Thanks to television and popular media, the jury is deeply embedded in the American public's imagination of the legal system. For the country's federal prosecutors, however, jurors have become an increasingly rare sight. Today, in fact, less than 2% of their cases will proceed to an actual jury trial. And yet, when federal prosecutors describe their jobs and what the profession means to them, the jury is a central theme. Anna Offit's The Imagined Juror examines the counterintuitive importance of jurors in federal prosecutors' work at a moment when jury trials are statistically in decline. Drawing on extensive field research among federal prosecutors, the book represents the first ethnographic study of US attorneys, according to legal scholar Annelise Riles. It describes a world of legal practice in which jurors are frequently summonedas make-believe audiences for proposed arguments, hypothetical evaluators of evidencTrade Review"A must-read for anyone concerned about the state of the US justice system. The Imagined Juror makes a compelling case for the continued importance of juries, even in the age of the disappearing trial." -- William Garriott, Drake University"Offit’s extraordinary access to the workings of federal prosecutors as well as to public proceedings reveals the pervasive influence of juries on criminal cases, both direct and indirect. This book argues convincingly that the infrequency of trials is not a valid indicator of the impact of the jury on our criminal justice system." -- David Engel, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, University at Buffalo School of Law"Provides an original and indispensable vantage point from which to view criminal procedure in the US, with implications for questions of power and the origins of mass incarceration." -- Ronald Niezen, author of #HumanRights: The Technologies and Politics of Justice Claims in Practice"...an unquestionably valuable contribution to the literature on prosecutors. Offit opens a window into the inner workings of a federal prosecutor’s office at a time when interest in prosecutors is at its height. The Imagined Juror answers the important question of what prosecutors do and why." * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books *"Drawing on extensive field research, Offit (law, Southern Methodist Univ.) performs an ethnographic study of US attorneys to reveal an a priori truth about how federal prosecutors use hypothetical juries to navigate the many conflicts they encounter within criminal proceedings…As a criminal defense attorney, this reviewer sees her personal experiences reflected in Offit's writings, authenticating how hypothetical juries influence prosecutors and, ultimately, impact the criminal justice system writ large." -- A. A. Walden, Elmira College * CHOICE *"Drawing on extensive field research among US federal prosecutors, Offit describes a world in which even the question of moving forward with a prosecution often hinges on how federal prosecutors assume a jury will react—an exercise where the perspectives of the public are imagined and incorporated into every stage of trial preparation. " * Law & Social Inquiry *

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Book SynopsisExamines the outsized influence of jurors on prosecutorial discretion Thanks to television and popular media, the jury is deeply embedded in the American public's imagination of the legal system. For the country's federal prosecutors, however, jurors have become an increasingly rare sight. Today, in fact, less than 2% of their cases will proceed to an actual jury trial. And yet, when federal prosecutors describe their jobs and what the profession means to them, the jury is a central theme. Anna Offit's The Imagined Juror examines the counterintuitive importance of jurors in federal prosecutors' work at a moment when jury trials are statistically in decline. Drawing on extensive field research among federal prosecutors, the book represents the first ethnographic study of US attorneys, according to legal scholar Annelise Riles. It describes a world of legal practice in which jurors are frequently summonedas make-believe audiences for proposed arguments, hypothetical evaluators of evidencTrade Review"A must-read for anyone concerned about the state of the US justice system. The Imagined Juror makes a compelling case for the continued importance of juries, even in the age of the disappearing trial." -- William Garriott, Drake University"Offit’s extraordinary access to the workings of federal prosecutors as well as to public proceedings reveals the pervasive influence of juries on criminal cases, both direct and indirect. This book argues convincingly that the infrequency of trials is not a valid indicator of the impact of the jury on our criminal justice system." -- David Engel, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, University at Buffalo School of Law"Provides an original and indispensable vantage point from which to view criminal procedure in the US, with implications for questions of power and the origins of mass incarceration." -- Ronald Niezen, author of #HumanRights: The Technologies and Politics of Justice Claims in Practice"...an unquestionably valuable contribution to the literature on prosecutors. Offit opens a window into the inner workings of a federal prosecutor’s office at a time when interest in prosecutors is at its height. The Imagined Juror answers the important question of what prosecutors do and why." * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books *"Drawing on extensive field research, Offit (law, Southern Methodist Univ.) performs an ethnographic study of US attorneys to reveal an a priori truth about how federal prosecutors use hypothetical juries to navigate the many conflicts they encounter within criminal proceedings…As a criminal defense attorney, this reviewer sees her personal experiences reflected in Offit's writings, authenticating how hypothetical juries influence prosecutors and, ultimately, impact the criminal justice system writ large." -- A. A. Walden, Elmira College * CHOICE *"Drawing on extensive field research among US federal prosecutors, Offit describes a world in which even the question of moving forward with a prosecution often hinges on how federal prosecutors assume a jury will react—an exercise where the perspectives of the public are imagined and incorporated into every stage of trial preparation. " * Law & Social Inquiry *

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Book SynopsisWinner, Next Generation Indie Book Awards - Women's NonfictionBest Book of 2020, National Law JournalThe inspiring and previously untold history of the women consideredbut not selectedfor the US Supreme CourtIn 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court after centuries of male appointments, a watershed moment in the long struggle for gender equality. Yet few know about the remarkable women considered in the decades before her triumph. Shortlisted tells the overlooked stories of nine extraordinary womena cohort large enough to seat the entire Supreme Courtwho appeared on presidential lists dating back to the 1930s. Florence Allen, the first female judge on the highest court in Ohio, was named repeatedly in those early years. Eight more followed, including Amalya Kearse, a federal appellate judge who was the first African American woman viewed as a potential Supreme Court nominee. Award-winning scholars Renee Knake Jefferson and Hannah Trade Review"Written with lawyerly precision and clarity of thought, Shortlisted offers a comprehensive yet succinct look at the history of women in the Supreme Court with implications for women and minorities everywhere. … Straddling many disciplines, this book is well-researched, well-organized and well-argued. I rule in its favor." * The Observer *"[Shortlisted] tells the political and personal sagas of women publicly considered for appointment to the Supreme Court but never actually nominated by a president... With fresh research, the authors effectively humanize the women who never received the nominations they deserved." * Kirkus Reviews *"Accessible and engagingly written, Shortlisted makes a significant contribution to understanding how justices are nominated and the hurdles women face when they strive to reach the highest levels of the legal profession ... The book presents a polished narrative. It is concise and well researched." * Law.com *"Piecing together their personal papers and archives, as well as relevant news coverage, Johnson and Jefferson introduce readers to the ambitious women who built influential legal careers and advanced a female presence in the federal courts, especially the Supreme Court...The authors compellingly argue that representation of diverse women in leadership positions is in everybody’s best interest. An excellent contribution...and essential for anyone who values diversity." * Library Journal *"[F]ascinating and painstakingly researched...Shortlisted is a wake-up call about the persistence of gender inequality. This book represents an important step beyond shortlisting and tokenism toward true selection." * Texas Bar Journal *"Shortlisted is a fascinating read for observers of the Supreme Court, and anyone concerned about diversity and inclusion in the judiciary, our profession, and society. The stories of the remarkable, but mostly unknown, women shortlisted for our highest court fill an important historical gap." * NAELA Journal Online *"This eloquently written and captivating story of the not insignificant number of women once considered to fill vacancies dating back to the 1930s on the U.S. Supreme Court aims to achieve not only the filling of the major gap in history of those women who ‘could have been’, but also offers strategies for changing the future course of “her-story” by acknowledging these women’s contributions in the struggle for gender equality ... While many scholarly works leave us yearning for more, Shortlisted follows through on its promise to provide practical advice for mechanisms of change and hope for the future." * Law and Politics Book Review *"Legal scholarship that creates new avenues of inquiry is inherently appealing, but when it also reveals obscured narratives of power in American society, you have the makings of a truly important contribution. Shortlisted is all that and an engaging read besides." * Legal Profession Jotwell *"T]imely and provocative...[A] fascinating examination of the ‘herstories’ of the ‘shortlisted sisters’." * Law and Society *"Shortlisted is remarkable not only for what it tells us about the women who made the presidential shortlists of potential Supreme Court nominees but for what it tells us about how our nation then and now continues to struggle with understanding equality. May the stories of these extraordinary women and the demonstrated leadership of the women who have made it to the pinnacle of the legal profession through service on our highest court drive us each to realize the great potential of our country that still awaits us." -- Judy Perry Martinez, American Bar Association President"Stunningly original in its focus and its careful research, Shortlisted is beautifully written and an important addition to the literature about the Supreme Court, the process of nominating justices, and the role of gender in American law." -- Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law"This is a major contribution to the story of women lawyers. The authors study women whose trajectories were never before systematically examined - women shortlisted for the Supreme Court. What they describe is all the more remarkable because it involves remarkable women – portraying women in gendered and unfavorable ways; emphasizing diversity by putting women on shortlists, but not selecting them; saving a seat for certain groups but not for women. It sounds so familiar in other contexts, but it is shocking in this one. The message is clear and troubling: If women who are the elite of the profession can be treated shabbily, we have much more to do." -- Hon. Nancy Gertner, U.S.D.Ct. Judge (Ret.)"Masterfully tells the story of the women who were considered for nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is a must read." -- Carla Pratt, Dean of Washburn University School of Law and former Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, North Dakota"This fascinating book reconstructs a chapter of women's history that has been hiding in plain sight: the numerous qualified women whose names were floated for the Supreme Court but who never got there. Just as they were overlooked, so have their individual stories been—until now." -- Linda Greenhouse, New York Times contributing columnist"A well written, logically organized, and thoroughly researched exploration ... a significant contribution to the sociolegal literature on the judicial selection process." * Law and Society Review *

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Book SynopsisProvides a sweeping overview of Justice Ginsburg's jurisprudenceThe passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September of 2020 marked a grim day for women and the broader progressive legal community. In her twenty-seven years on the Supreme Court and thirteen years on the Court of Appeals, she was most known for her trailblazing work on gender equality; however, she also influenced the direction of a multitude of legal subject areas during her long tenure. The Jurisprudential Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a critical examination of Justice Ginsburg's remarkable career, with a focus on the common themes and approaches underscoring her many rulings.In this edited volume, Ryan Vacca and Ann Bartow bring together leading scholars of American law to analyze Justice Ginsburg's voting patterns and written opinions from the perspectives of subject matter experts. Each essay highlights areas of the law in which Justice Ginsburg had an outsized interest orTrade ReviewA comprehensive examination of RBG’s legal philosophy, featuring a vibrant community of highly regarded scholars. The first of its kind, this book adds important context to her legacy, illustrating the outsized impact she had on areas of the law far beyond issues of gender equality. -- Renee Knake Jefferson, co-author of Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme CourtThis collection makes a valuable contribution to the ongoing assessment of Justice Ginsburg’s judicial legacy. It examines her opinions within a broadly diverse set of legal subject areas and reveals the common themes and values animating her life as a lawyer and judge. In addition, the inclusion of a chapter on teaching a law school course on her life and work, along with an extensive bibliography, provide terrific resources to those in the academy. -- Mary L. Heen, Professor of Law Emerita, University of RichmondThe distinguished contributors in this compelling volume make this comprehensive overview of the legal legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg an invaluable resource. The work collected here shows the breadth of Justice Ginsburg’s impact on American law. It is both admiring and yet critical and filled with fascinating insights throughout. This book is, quite simply, really good. -- Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

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Book SynopsisAsked if the country was governed by a republic or a monarchy, Benjamin Franklin replied, A republic, if you can keep it.Since its founding, Americans have worked hard to nurture and protect their hard-won democracy. And yet few consider the role of constitutional law in America's survival. In Unfit for Democracy, Stephen Gottlieb argues that constitutional law without a focus on the future of democratic government is incoherentillogical and contradictory. Approaching the decisions of the Roberts Court from political science, historical, comparative, and legal perspectives, Gottlieb highlights the dangers the court presents by neglecting to interpret the law with an eye towards preserving democracy. A senior scholar of constitutional law, Gottlieb brings a pioneering will to his theoretical and comparative criticism of the Roberts Court. The Roberts Court decisions are not examined in a vacuum but instead viewed in light of constitutional politics in India, South Africa, emerging EasTrade Review"Gottlieb provides a worthy contribution to the scholarly literature on the role of courts in the US." * Choice *"In this passionate, copiously footnoted volume, law professor Stephen Gottlieb ambitiously combines methods of history, political science and legal analysis to assess the state of American democracy." * Law and Politics Book Review *"Almost unique in its intellectual and global scope and ambition. . . . Gottlieb is an outstanding constitutional lawyer, and it is clear that he commands the relevant political science as well." -- H. Jefferson Powell,Duke University"Gottlieb has written a stunning book about democracy, focusing on the Supreme Court through history and today, but also looking comparatively at the experience of other countries. This is a work about law, political science, and history and is filled with important insights about what causes democracies to succeed or fail. The book culminates in a forceful critique of the Roberts Court and how it has damaged American democracy. This is an important book, impressive in its scope and its analysis, and the cautions it offers for the future of democracy in the United States." -- Erwin Chemerinsky,Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine, School of Law"The richness of the book is in its comprehensiveness and almost encyclopedic approach to discussing Supreme Court jurisprudence and in also providing a broader discussion of the conditions essential or at least associated with democracy." -- David Schultz,Hamline University

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The book is a case study of one of many complex and obscure tasks that government performs." * Choice *"Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in contemporary vaccine hesitancy and refusal, and, more broadly, in questions about the intersection of science, law, and public policy in democratic societies." * Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences *"Vaccine Court provides historical, political, and social context to our countrys unprecedented attempt to resolve the conflict between those certain of vaccine harms and the science that may or may not support their claims. In a compelling and sympathetic manner, Kirkland explores the murky netherworld between science, where truths are often determined by decades of study, and court, where truths are determined after a few weeks of testimony." -- Paul A. Offit, MD,author of Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All"In her highly original and meticulously researched book, Anna Kirkland takes us into the little-known but highly contested federal court system responsible for not just compensating individuals and families injured by vaccines, but also adjudicating competing claims of risk, science, and expertise. Vaccine Court exposes the myriad ways law must simultaneously build consensus and create dissent. Skillfully presented with detailed analysis and compelling examples, this book is a powerful vindication of the state as imperfect, indispensable to efforts to ensure public health, and in dire need of new ways to create greater access and equity for all." -- Jennifer Reich,University of Denver"Drawing on rich original data, Kirkland examines how the specialized vaccine court addresses enduring tensions between science and law, popular beliefs and expertise, and fair process and desired outcomes, and how the right to sue is both an inspiration and a constraint on social movements. Vaccine Court is timely, fascinating, and important." -- Charles Epp,The University of Kansas

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Book SynopsisWinner, Next Generation Indie Book Awards - Women's NonfictionBest Book of 2020, National Law JournalThe inspiring and previously untold history of the women consideredbut not selectedfor the US Supreme CourtIn 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court after centuries of male appointments, a watershed moment in the long struggle for gender equality. Yet few know about the remarkable women considered in the decades before her triumph. Shortlisted tells the overlooked stories of nine extraordinary womena cohort large enough to seat the entire Supreme Courtwho appeared on presidential lists dating back to the 1930s. Florence Allen, the first female judge on the highest court in Ohio, was named repeatedly in those early years. Eight more followed, including Amalya Kearse, a federal appellate judge who was the first African American woman viewed as a potential Supreme Court nominee. Award-winning scholars Renee Knake Jefferson and Hannah Trade Review"Written with lawyerly precision and clarity of thought, Shortlisted offers a comprehensive yet succinct look at the history of women in the Supreme Court with implications for women and minorities everywhere. … Straddling many disciplines, this book is well-researched, well-organized and well-argued. I rule in its favor." * The Observer *"[Shortlisted] tells the political and personal sagas of women publicly considered for appointment to the Supreme Court but never actually nominated by a president... With fresh research, the authors effectively humanize the women who never received the nominations they deserved." * Kirkus Reviews *"Accessible and engagingly written, Shortlisted makes a significant contribution to understanding how justices are nominated and the hurdles women face when they strive to reach the highest levels of the legal profession ... The book presents a polished narrative. It is concise and well researched." * Law.com *"Piecing together their personal papers and archives, as well as relevant news coverage, Johnson and Jefferson introduce readers to the ambitious women who built influential legal careers and advanced a female presence in the federal courts, especially the Supreme Court...The authors compellingly argue that representation of diverse women in leadership positions is in everybody’s best interest. An excellent contribution...and essential for anyone who values diversity." * Library Journal *"[F]ascinating and painstakingly researched...Shortlisted is a wake-up call about the persistence of gender inequality. This book represents an important step beyond shortlisting and tokenism toward true selection." * Texas Bar Journal *"Shortlisted is a fascinating read for observers of the Supreme Court, and anyone concerned about diversity and inclusion in the judiciary, our profession, and society. The stories of the remarkable, but mostly unknown, women shortlisted for our highest court fill an important historical gap." * NAELA Journal Online *"This eloquently written and captivating story of the not insignificant number of women once considered to fill vacancies dating back to the 1930s on the U.S. Supreme Court aims to achieve not only the filling of the major gap in history of those women who ‘could have been’, but also offers strategies for changing the future course of “her-story” by acknowledging these women’s contributions in the struggle for gender equality ... While many scholarly works leave us yearning for more, Shortlisted follows through on its promise to provide practical advice for mechanisms of change and hope for the future." * Law and Politics Book Review *"Legal scholarship that creates new avenues of inquiry is inherently appealing, but when it also reveals obscured narratives of power in American society, you have the makings of a truly important contribution. Shortlisted is all that and an engaging read besides." * Legal Profession Jotwell *"T]imely and provocative...[A] fascinating examination of the ‘herstories’ of the ‘shortlisted sisters’." * Law and Society *"Shortlisted is remarkable not only for what it tells us about the women who made the presidential shortlists of potential Supreme Court nominees but for what it tells us about how our nation then and now continues to struggle with understanding equality. May the stories of these extraordinary women and the demonstrated leadership of the women who have made it to the pinnacle of the legal profession through service on our highest court drive us each to realize the great potential of our country that still awaits us." -- Judy Perry Martinez, American Bar Association President"Stunningly original in its focus and its careful research, Shortlisted is beautifully written and an important addition to the literature about the Supreme Court, the process of nominating justices, and the role of gender in American law." -- Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law"This is a major contribution to the story of women lawyers. The authors study women whose trajectories were never before systematically examined - women shortlisted for the Supreme Court. What they describe is all the more remarkable because it involves remarkable women – portraying women in gendered and unfavorable ways; emphasizing diversity by putting women on shortlists, but not selecting them; saving a seat for certain groups but not for women. It sounds so familiar in other contexts, but it is shocking in this one. The message is clear and troubling: If women who are the elite of the profession can be treated shabbily, we have much more to do." -- Hon. Nancy Gertner, U.S.D.Ct. Judge (Ret.)"Masterfully tells the story of the women who were considered for nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is a must read." -- Carla Pratt, Dean of Washburn University School of Law and former Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, North Dakota"This fascinating book reconstructs a chapter of women's history that has been hiding in plain sight: the numerous qualified women whose names were floated for the Supreme Court but who never got there. Just as they were overlooked, so have their individual stories been—until now." -- Linda Greenhouse, New York Times contributing columnist"A well written, logically organized, and thoroughly researched exploration ... a significant contribution to the sociolegal literature on the judicial selection process." * Law and Society Review *

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Book SynopsisThroughout its existencethe Federal District Court of Nebraska has echoed the dynamics of its time, reflecting the concerns, interests, and passions of the people who have made this statetheir home.Echo of Its Timeexplores the court's development, from its inception in 1867 through 1933, tracing the careers of its first four judges:Elmer Dundy, William Munger, Thomas Munger (no relation), and Joseph Woodrough,whose rulings addressed an array of issues and controversies echoing macro-level developments within the state, nation, and world. Echo of Its Time both informs and entertains while using the court's operations as a unique and accessible prism through which to explore broader themes in the history of the state and the nation. The book explores the inner workings of the court through Thomas Munger's personal correspondence, as well as the court's origins and growing influence under the direction of its legendary first judge, Elmer Dundy.Dundy handled many notable and controversial Trade Review"One test of a good history book is whether it increases one's desire to read further on the subjects it covers. Echo of Its Time is a book that makes me want to read more."—Troy Johnson, Annals of Wyoming"This well-researched and written study should appeal to lawyers; those interested in the advance of justice in our state; those wishing to know the influence of various economic or political forces from early railroad days to the end of Prohibition; historians in general; and anyone with an interest in the struggle of our federal courts to balance the national economic and political interests with the interests of the common man, whether small farmers, laborers, or Native Americans."—John A. Gale, Nebraska History"[A] well-written new book."—Omaha World-Herald“Echo of Its Time makes an important contribution to the sometimes clouded working of the federal courts. Because much Great Plains legal history has focused on the nineteenth century, this book is especially welcome, delving as it does into the often neglected twentieth century. I have taught Nebraska history for almost twenty years but I still learned a great deal about the state’s federal judges and the types of cases that ended up in federal court.”—Mark R. Ellis, professor of history at the University of Nebraska Kearney and author of Law and Order in Buffalo Bill’s Country: Legal Culture and Community on the Great Plains, 1867–1910“Echo of Its Time is an excellent title for a book which shows how the judges of the Federal District Court of Nebraska addressed major issues as the Great Plains frontier jurisdiction evolved into an early twentieth-century rural-urban Midwestern society. . . . Wunder and Scherer have done an excellent job in showing us how our courts, their judges, and other officers are at the heart of the American experience.”—Harl Dalstrom, professor of history emeritus at the University of Nebraska OmahaTable of ContentsContents List of Illustrations Introduction 1. In the Beginning 2. The Dundy Years 3. Native Americans and Judge Dundy 4. Railroads and the Ermine of the Bench 5. The Politics of Transition 6. The “One Munger” Court 7. The Cattle Barons Cases 8. The “Two Munger” Court 9. The Early Munger-Woodrough Years 10. Prohibition and the Dennison Trial Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWith the enactment in 1891 of the Evarts Act, a court of appeals was created in each of the nation''s nine circuits. What is now called the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit began as a three-judge court covering New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, expanding over time to thirteen active judges. Over the past 125 years, the Second Circuit has adjudicated thousands upon thousands of cases, and with its tradition of oral argument, it is open to litigants regardless of status, economic or otherwise. Planned as part of the celebration of the Second Circuit''s 125th anniversary, this volume contains biographies of all 74 judges who have sat on the Second Circuit, from Lewis Bartholomew Woodruff (18091875), who presided over the pre-Evarts Circuit Courts, to Sonia Sotomayor, who left the Second Circuit in 2009 to serve as a Justice on the Supreme Court. Also included are essays on the life and career of William Maxwell Evarts Act and on the story of the Second Circuit itself.

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Book SynopsisThe Moral Witness is the first cultural history of the witness to genocide in the West. Carolyn J. Dean shows how the witness became a protagonist of twentieth-century moral culture by tracing the emergence of this figure in courtroom battles from the 1920s to the 1960scovering the Armenian genocide, the Ukrainian pogroms, the Soviet Gulag, and the trial of Adolf Eichmann. In these trials, witness testimonies differentiated the crime of genocide from war crimes and began to form our understanding of modern political and cultural murder.By the turn of the twentieth century, the witness to genocide became a pervasive icon of suffering humanity and a symbol of western moral conscience. Dean sheds new light on the recent global focus on survivors'' trauma. Only by placing the moral witness in a longer historical trajectory, she demonstrates, can we understand how the stories we tell about survivor testimony have shaped both our past and contemporary moral culture.Trade ReviewDean has provided a sophisticated and nuanced analysis of the emergence of "the witness" as a moral symbol and pervasive icon of suffering and surviving genocide and mass atrocities.... The book will be valuable to students and scholars who study genocide, testimony, victimhood, and social and cultural trauma in the aftermath of mass atrocities. * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books *Carolyn Dean traces the paths by which victims, survivors, and witnesses of mass atrocities moved from the culture's sidelines to its moral center... convincingly show[ing] that the figure of the witness has become the barometer of moral consciousness across the West.... [Its] global lens and longue durée perspective have considerable value. * AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW *Carolyn Dean's painstakingly researched, rigorously argued reconstruction of the cultural icon of the moral witness exemplifies the ascendant genre of the succinct, historical essay-book. * Journal of Modern History *

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Book SynopsisThe Moral Witness is the first cultural history of the witness to genocide in the West. Carolyn J. Dean shows how the witness became a protagonist of twentieth-century moral culture by tracing the emergence of this figure in courtroom battles from the 1920s to the 1960scovering the Armenian genocide, the Ukrainian pogroms, the Soviet Gulag, and the trial of Adolf Eichmann. In these trials, witness testimonies differentiated the crime of genocide from war crimes and began to form our understanding of modern political and cultural murder.By the turn of the twentieth century, the witness to genocide became a pervasive icon of suffering humanity and a symbol of western moral conscience. Dean sheds new light on the recent global focus on survivors'' trauma. Only by placing the moral witness in a longer historical trajectory, she demonstrates, can we understand how the stories we tell about survivor testimony have shaped both our past and contemporary moral culture.Trade ReviewDean has provided a sophisticated and nuanced analysis of the emergence of "the witness" as a moral symbol and pervasive icon of suffering and surviving genocide and mass atrocities.... The book will be valuable to students and scholars who study genocide, testimony, victimhood, and social and cultural trauma in the aftermath of mass atrocities. * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books *Carolyn Dean traces the paths by which victims, survivors, and witnesses of mass atrocities moved from the culture's sidelines to its moral center... convincingly show[ing] that the figure of the witness has become the barometer of moral consciousness across the West.... [Its] global lens and longue durée perspective have considerable value. * AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW *Carolyn Dean's painstakingly researched, rigorously argued reconstruction of the cultural icon of the moral witness exemplifies the ascendant genre of the succinct, historical essay-book. * Journal of Modern History *

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Book SynopsisChina after Mao has undergone vast transformations, including massive rural-to-urban migration, rising divorce rates, and the steady expansion of the country's legal system. Today, divorce may appear a private concern, when in fact it is a profoundly political matter—especially in a national context where marriage was and has continued to be a key vehicle for nation-state building. Marriage Unbound focuses on the politics of divorce cases in contemporary China, following a group of women seeking judicial remedies for conjugal grievances and disputes. Drawing on extensive archival and ethnographic data, paired with unprecedented access to rural Chinese courtrooms, Ke Li presents not only a stirring portrayal of how these women navigate divorce litigation, but also a uniquely in-depth account of the modern Chinese legal system. With sensitive and fluid prose, Li reveals the struggles between the powerful and the powerless at the front lines of dispute management; the complex interplay between culture and the state; and insidious statecraft that far too often sacrifices women's rights and interests. Ultimately, this book shows how women's legal mobilization and rights contention can forge new ground for our understanding of law, politics, and inequality in an authoritarian regime.Trade Review"Ke Li's sophisticated multi-disciplinary analytic framing and explicit critique of received wisdom engage debates over the role of courts, legal professionals, and black-letter law beyond those of China or of authoritarian states. One of the most analytically original and theoretically informed investigations of divorce I have ever read."—Deborah Davis, Yale University"An instant landmark work. Li seamlessly fuses extensive firsthand interviews with a masterful analysis of Chinese legal developments to illustrate the harsh realities confronting migrant women seeking divorce. A must-read for anyone interested in law, society, and gender in China today."—Carl Minzner, Fordham Law School"Li's book presents an illuminating look at the changing social institution of marriage in contemporary China. Highly recommended."—S. K. Ma, CHOICE March"Ke Li's analysis is more than a superb ethnographic and historical account of changes in the Chinese court system and its effect on women. It is also a sustained effort to place the historical changes within an analytical framework that explores how cultural beliefs shape governmental policy and, thus, the resolution of a divorce case."—William Jankowiak, NAN Nü"Based on more than 10 years' in-depth field research in two rural townships in Sichuan Province, Li provides a vivid picture of how rural women struggle in strained marriage, and how they mobilize state law to fight for their freedom and rights in intimate relationships, and how the judicial institutions respond to these women's claims.... Li sees through the gendered outcomes in different individual divorce cases to make a big story that links state law, power, and inequality together."—Mengni Chen, Social ForcesTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Audiences, Theoretical Objectives, and Arguments 2. Marriage on the Move 3. Disputation as a State Enterprise 4. The Rise and Fall of Legal Workers 5. Judging Divorce in the People's Courts 6. Onstage and Offstage 7. Issues and Nonissues Epilogue

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Book SynopsisThe idea that wealthy people use their money to influence things, including politics, law, and media will surprise very few people. However, as Michael S. Kang and Joanna Shepherd argue in this readable and rich study of the state judiciary, the effect of money on judicial outcomes should disturb and anger everyone. In the current system that elects state judges, the rich and powerful can spend money to elect and re-elect judges who decide cases the way they want. Free to Judge is about how and why money increasingly affects the dispensation of justice in our legal system, and what can be done to stop it. One of the barriers to action in the past has been an inability to prove that campaign donations influence state judicial decision-making. In this book, Kang and Shepherd answer that challenge for the first time, with a rigorous empirical study of campaign finance and judicial decision-making data. Pairing this with interviews of past and present judges, they create a compelling and persuasive account of people like Marsha Ternus, the first Iowa state supreme court justice to be voted out of office after her decision in a same-sex marriage case. The threat of such an outcome, and the desire to win reelection, results in judges demonstrably leaning towards the interests and preferences of their campaign donors across all cases. Free to Judge is thus able to identify the pieces of our current system that invite bias, such as judicial reelection, and what reforms should focus on. This thoughtful and compellingly written book will be required reading for anybody who cares about creating a more just legal system. Trade Review"State judiciaries receive short shrift in much of legal education and scholarship, which is a great pity given how important and interesting they are. In this wonderful and path breaking new book, two of the most creative and clear thinkers about courts apply their considerable theoretical and empirical skills to study the impact of money on state judicial elections. This book is going to change the way many of us think and teach about the judiciary."—Mitu Gulati, University of Virginia"Professors Shepherd and Kang thoughtfully address an issue toxic to our democracy: the influence of campaign money in state judicial elections. As their research shows, this money pushes judges away from the rule of law and makes judges pawns of their donors. Fortunately, Shepherd and Kang also suggest a feasible and effective reform."—Marsha Ternus, former chief justice Iowa Supreme Court"An original approach to an important topic, this book is written in an engaging and accessibly way. The unique empirical analysis allows the authors to make a compelling case about the effects of campaign finance on judicial behavior."—Erwin Chemerinsky, author of Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism"Ingeniously blending data science and legal analysis, this is an innovative and accessible program for justice system reform."—Publishers Weekly starred reviewTable of Contents1. The Modern Era of Big Money Judicial Elections 2. The Rise of Judicial Elections: How We Got Where We Are 3. The Crocodile in the Bathtub: How Elections and Money Influence Judges 4. Why Money Matters 5. How to Fix Judicial Elections and Campaign Finance

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Book SynopsisEvery Supreme Court transition presents an opportunity for a shift in the balance of the third branch of American government, but the replacement of Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas in 1991 proved particularly momentous. Not only did it shift the ideological balance on the Court; it was inextricably entangled with the persistent American dilemma of race. In The Transition, this most significant transition is explored through the lives and writings of the first two African American justices on Court, touching on the lasting consequences for understandings of American citizenship as well as the central currents of Black political thought over the past century. In their lives, Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas experienced the challenge of living and learning in a world that had enslaved their relatives and that continued to subjugate members of their racial group. On the Court, their judicial writings—often in concurrences or dissents—richly illustrate the ways in which these two individuals embodied these crucial American (and African American) debates—on the balance between state and federal authority, on the government's responsibility to protect its citizens against discrimination, and on the best strategies for pursuing justice. The gap between Justices Marshall and Thomas on these questions cannot be overstated, and it reveals an extraordinary range of thought that has yet to be fully appreciated. The 1991 transition from Justice Marshall to Justice Thomas has had consequences that are still unfolding at the Court and in society. Arguing that the importance of this transition has been obscured by the relegation of these Justices to the sidelines of Supreme Court history, Daniel Kiel shows that it is their unique perspective as Black justices – the lives they have lived as African Americans and the rooting of their judicial philosophies in the relationship of government to African Americans – that makes this succession echo across generations. Trade Review"[A]n intriguing examination. Kiel reveals some surprising similarities between [Marshall and Thomas], including a shared distrust of institutional authority, while never losing sight of their fundamental differences. The result is an enriching and nuanced study of the debates over how best to promote racial progress in America."—Publishers Weekly"As the country continues to search for the true meaning of equality, this compelling dual portrait of the first two Black Supreme Court justices shows how what was a noble vision for one became a bitter burden for the other. There is irony and even tragedy in Daniel Kiel's account of the transition not only from one justice to another but to a new and troubled chapter of the American story."—Linda Greenhouse, author of Justice on the Brink"Beautifully written, expertly argued, carefully considered, The Transition forces us to evaluate Justices Marshall and Thomas on their own terms and in the process nudges us to acknowledge our biases. The world and its most important issues, race so often foremost among them, are never so simple as headlines or judicial holdings would make them. The Transition helps us see the ways in which both men were trapped by and transcended their experiences."—Derek Black, author of Schoolhouse Burning"Daniel Kiel has told a compelling story about how the schooling of these two figures and the schools' cases that they've worked on as justices reflect foundational tensions within the American experiment. Readers will better understand the forces that shaped these two lives and the ways those forces continue to impact the interpretation of the constitution today."—Kimberly Jenkins Robinson, editor of A Federal Right to Education"Thurgood Marshall desegregated the U.S. Supreme Court; the successor to his seat—Clarence Thomas—used his position to reject view after view advanced by Marshall. How these two historic figures came to their roles and their views and what their work means for America, law, and justice receive needed illumination in Daniel Kiel's valuable and fascinating account."—Martha Minow, author of In Brown's Wake: Legacies of America's Educational Landmark"Kiel draws on the writings and life experiences of the two justices to flesh out the scope of their disparate approaches, and explores the difference that Thomas has made in education cases, the constitutional area in which race is most salient. Kiel paints a clear picture of how the Court handles legal and personal variables in this important field.... Recommended."—P. Lermack, CHOICETable of ContentsIntroduction: Race, Schools, and the Justices of the Supreme Court 1. Brethren, of a Sort 2. Mr. Civil Rights 3. Separate and Unequal 4. Living a Post-Brown Reality 5. Pioneering at a Price 6. To Enter a Burning House 7. Stigmatic Injury 8. In Defense of Black Institutions 9. Cycles of Expansion and Backlash 10. Stepping Backwards 11. Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle 12. Quotas 13. Getting Somebody In, Keeping Somebody Out 14. Fixed or Flexible 15. Colorblindness Ascendant Conclusion: The Rule of Law

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Book SynopsisChina after Mao has undergone vast transformations, including massive rural-to-urban migration, rising divorce rates, and the steady expansion of the country's legal system. Today, divorce may appear a private concern, when in fact it is a profoundly political matter—especially in a national context where marriage was and has continued to be a key vehicle for nation-state building. Marriage Unbound focuses on the politics of divorce cases in contemporary China, following a group of women seeking judicial remedies for conjugal grievances and disputes. Drawing on extensive archival and ethnographic data, paired with unprecedented access to rural Chinese courtrooms, Ke Li presents not only a stirring portrayal of how these women navigate divorce litigation, but also a uniquely in-depth account of the modern Chinese legal system. With sensitive and fluid prose, Li reveals the struggles between the powerful and the powerless at the front lines of dispute management; the complex interplay between culture and the state; and insidious statecraft that far too often sacrifices women's rights and interests. Ultimately, this book shows how women's legal mobilization and rights contention can forge new ground for our understanding of law, politics, and inequality in an authoritarian regime.Trade Review"Ke Li's sophisticated multi-disciplinary analytic framing and explicit critique of received wisdom engage debates over the role of courts, legal professionals, and black-letter law beyond those of China or of authoritarian states. One of the most analytically original and theoretically informed investigations of divorce I have ever read."—Deborah Davis, Yale University"An instant landmark work. Li seamlessly fuses extensive firsthand interviews with a masterful analysis of Chinese legal developments to illustrate the harsh realities confronting migrant women seeking divorce. A must-read for anyone interested in law, society, and gender in China today."—Carl Minzner, Fordham Law School"Li's book presents an illuminating look at the changing social institution of marriage in contemporary China. Highly recommended."—S. K. Ma, CHOICE March"Ke Li's analysis is more than a superb ethnographic and historical account of changes in the Chinese court system and its effect on women. It is also a sustained effort to place the historical changes within an analytical framework that explores how cultural beliefs shape governmental policy and, thus, the resolution of a divorce case."—William Jankowiak, NAN Nü"Based on more than 10 years' in-depth field research in two rural townships in Sichuan Province, Li provides a vivid picture of how rural women struggle in strained marriage, and how they mobilize state law to fight for their freedom and rights in intimate relationships, and how the judicial institutions respond to these women's claims.... Li sees through the gendered outcomes in different individual divorce cases to make a big story that links state law, power, and inequality together."—Mengni Chen, Social Forces"Well-written and insightful, Li's work on divorce litigation sheds significant new light on the law, politics, and inequality in an authoritarian state."—Soo-Yeon Yoon, Contemporary SociologyTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Audiences, Theoretical Objectives, and Arguments 2. Marriage on the Move 3. Disputation as a State Enterprise 4. The Rise and Fall of Legal Workers 5. Judging Divorce in the People's Courts 6. Onstage and Offstage 7. Issues and Nonissues Epilogue

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Book SynopsisIn Supreme Bias, Christina L. Boyd, Paul M. Collins, Jr., and Lori A. Ringhand present for the first time a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of race and gender at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Drawing on their deep knowledge of the confirmation hearings, as well as rich new qualitative and quantitative evidence, the authors highlight how the women and people of color who have sat before the Committee have faced a significantly different confirmation process than their white male colleagues. Despite being among the most qualified and well-credentialed lawyers of their respective generations, female nominees and nominees of color face more skepticism of their professional competence, are subjected to stereotype-based questioning, are more frequently interrupted, and are described in less-positive terms by senators. In addition to revealing the disturbing extent to which race and gender bias exist even at the highest echelon of U.S. legal power, this book also provides concrete suggestions for how that bias can be reduced in the future.Trade Review"Supreme Bias is an important book. The research is vital, timely, and innovative as it is the first book to comprehensively focus on gender and racial biases during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings. Collins, Ringhand, and Boyd present novel qualitative and quantitative data and find that female nominees and nominees of color face very different confirmation hearings than white male nominees. The work is theoretically rich, and the scope and depth of the book is remarkable. In short, Supreme Bias will transform how scholars study Supreme Court confirmation hearings."—Jennifer Bowie, University of Richmond"Supreme Bias deepens our understanding of the way the U.S. Senate exercises its advice and consent power. Boyd, Collins, and Ringhand leverage the most comprehensive and sophisticated dataset of U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings to systematically assess the dynamics of senator-nominee interactions, illuminating how senators' treatment of nominees is shaped by gender, race, and partisanship."—Eve Ringsmuth, Oklahoma State University"In this excellent and timely book, Boyd, Collins, and Ringhand provide compelling evidence that confirmation hearings play out in a context in which a nominee's race and gender are relevant to how hearings unfold. They also demonstrate that potential improvements, such as by increasing diversity on the Senate Judiciary Committee, are unlikely to eliminate in full the racial and gender bias often on display. This thorough analysis provides an important contribution to our understanding of the collision between efforts to diversify the Supreme Court and how nominees are treated in the most public part of the appointment process."—Lisa M. Holmes, University of Vermont"Supreme Bias describes how race, gender, and partisanship interact to produce a two-tiered confirmation process for individuals nominated to the Supreme Court. Drawing on theoretical literature on in-groups and out-groups, the authors mine an 'original data set' gleaned from Judiciary Committee hearings that took place between 1939 and 2022. The results are stark.... Essential reading for students of the Court."—P. Watkins, CHOICE

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Book SynopsisIn Supreme Bias, Christina L. Boyd, Paul M. Collins, Jr., and Lori A. Ringhand present for the first time a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of race and gender at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Drawing on their deep knowledge of the confirmation hearings, as well as rich new qualitative and quantitative evidence, the authors highlight how the women and people of color who have sat before the Committee have faced a significantly different confirmation process than their white male colleagues. Despite being among the most qualified and well-credentialed lawyers of their respective generations, female nominees and nominees of color face more skepticism of their professional competence, are subjected to stereotype-based questioning, are more frequently interrupted, and are described in less-positive terms by senators. In addition to revealing the disturbing extent to which race and gender bias exist even at the highest echelon of U.S. legal power, this book also provides concrete suggestions for how that bias can be reduced in the future.Trade Review"Supreme Bias is an important book. The research is vital, timely, and innovative as it is the first book to comprehensively focus on gender and racial biases during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings. Collins, Ringhand, and Boyd present novel qualitative and quantitative data and find that female nominees and nominees of color face very different confirmation hearings than white male nominees. The work is theoretically rich, and the scope and depth of the book is remarkable. In short, Supreme Bias will transform how scholars study Supreme Court confirmation hearings."—Jennifer Bowie, University of Richmond"Supreme Bias deepens our understanding of the way the U.S. Senate exercises its advice and consent power. Boyd, Collins, and Ringhand leverage the most comprehensive and sophisticated dataset of U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings to systematically assess the dynamics of senator-nominee interactions, illuminating how senators' treatment of nominees is shaped by gender, race, and partisanship."—Eve Ringsmuth, Oklahoma State University"In this excellent and timely book, Boyd, Collins, and Ringhand provide compelling evidence that confirmation hearings play out in a context in which a nominee's race and gender are relevant to how hearings unfold. They also demonstrate that potential improvements, such as by increasing diversity on the Senate Judiciary Committee, are unlikely to eliminate in full the racial and gender bias often on display. This thorough analysis provides an important contribution to our understanding of the collision between efforts to diversify the Supreme Court and how nominees are treated in the most public part of the appointment process."—Lisa M. Holmes, University of Vermont"Supreme Bias describes how race, gender, and partisanship interact to produce a two-tiered confirmation process for individuals nominated to the Supreme Court. Drawing on theoretical literature on in-groups and out-groups, the authors mine an 'original data set' gleaned from Judiciary Committee hearings that took place between 1939 and 2022. The results are stark.... Essential reading for students of the Court."—P. Watkins, CHOICE

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Book SynopsisA summary and analysis of the Supreme Court's impact on American law and government during the tenureship of Warren Burger. Earl M. Maltz contends that in many areas of constitutional law the Burger Court produced the most liberal jurisprudence in history.

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