This book was first published in 2009. In the late-seventeenthcentury, Quakers originated a unique strain of constitutionalism,based on their theology and ecclesiology, which emphasizedconstitutional perpetuity and radical change through popularpeaceful protest. While Whigs could imagine no other means ofdrastic constitutional reform except revolution, Quakers deniedthis as a legitimate option to governmental abuse of authority andadvocated instead civil disobedience. This theory of a perpetualyet amendable constitution and its concomitant idea of popularsovereignty are things that most scholars believe did not existuntil the American Founding. The most notable advocate of thistheory was Founding Father John Dickinson, champion of Americanrights, but not revolution. His thought and action have beenmisunderstood until now, when they are placed within the Quakertradition. This theory of Quaker constitutionalism can be traced ina clear and direct line from early Quakers through Dickinson toMartin Luther King, J
This historical narrative of the Salem witch trials takesits dialogue from actual trial records but applies modernpsychiatric knowledge to the witchcraft hysteria. Starkey's senseof drama also vividly recreates the atmosphere of pity and terrorthat fostered the evil and suffering of this human tragedy.
In this 2008 book, legal scholars, philosophers, historiansand political scientists from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, theUnited Kingdom and the United States analyze the common law throughthree of its classic themes: rules, reasoning andconstitutionalism. Their essays, specially commissioned for thisvolume, provide an opportunity for thinkers from differentjurisdictions and disciplines to talk to each other and to theirwider audience within and beyond the common law world. This bookallows scholars and students to consider how these themes andconcepts relate to one another. It will initiate and sustain a moreinclusive and well-informed theoretical discussion of the commonlaw's method, process and structure. It will be valuable tolawyers, philosophers, political scientists and historiansinterested in constitutional law, comparative law, judicialprocess, legal theory, law and society, legal history, separationof powers, democratic theory, political philosophy, the courts andthe relationship of the comm
?Over 3,000 legal terms defined ?Revised edition with the most up-to-date terminology
Whether you’re fighting with a neighbor about who should payfor a fence, pursuing a charge of discrimination at work, orchasing a $5000 loan, the ABA Guide to Resolving LegalDisputes: Inside and Outside the Courtroom can help you decidewhat steps to take to resolve disputes. This book, written ineasy-to-read language with dozens of real-life examples, includestips on how to be a better negotiator. It also provides importantinformation about mediation, arbitration, small claims court, andcivil court procedures, and includes a chapter on working with alawyer, with tips on how you can save time and money.
From prosecuting (and defending) murderers in the Bronx tohandling the public and private problems of Manhattan’s elite, Mouthpiece recounts the colorful adventures of New YorkCity’s ultimate legal operator. “In the pages before us, the Counselor tells a saga’s worth oftales of the city. As the saying goes, he’s got a million ofthem.” — Tom Wolfe, from his Introduction Edward Hayes is that unusual combination: the likable lawyer, onewho could have stepped off the stages of Guys and Dolls or Chicago . Mouthpiece is his story—an irreverent,entertaining, and revealing look at the practice of law in moderntimes and a social and political anatomy of New York City. Itrecounts Hayes’s childhood in the tough Irish sections of Queensand his eventual escape to the University of Virginia and then toColumbia Law School. Not at all white-shoe-firm material, Hayesheaded to the hair-raising, crime-ridden South Bronx of themidseventies—first as a homicide prosecutor and then as a defenseattor
“We need a new idea of how to govern. The current system isbroken. Law is supposed to be a framework for humans to makechoices, not the replacement for free choice.” So notes Philip K.Howard in the new Afterword to his explosive manifesto The Deathof Common Sense . Here Howard offers nothing less than a fresh,lucid, practical operating system for modern democracy. America isdrowning—in law, lawsuits, and nearly endless red tape. Beforeacting or making a decision, we often abandon our best instincts.We pause, we worry, we equivocate, and then we divert our energyinto trying to protect ourselves. Filled with one too many examplesof bureaucratic overreach, The Death of Common Sense demonstrates how we—and our country—can at last get back ontrack.
“Law school applicants should consider this a guide toproducing a competitive, superior essay. . . . These successfulexamples speak louder than any written how-to instructions could.”–The Book Watch Each year, thousands of people apply to the most prestigious lawschools across the country, competing for an ever-smaller number ofspaces. But each applicant gets one chance to distinguish himselfor herself from the pack: the law school application essay. In theessay, you can spotlight the qualities you possess that tran*sand LSAT scores cannot reveal.
There is no more powerful, detested, misunderstood AfricanAmerican in our public life than Clarence Thomas. SupremeDiscomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas is a hauntingportrait of an isolated and complex man, savagely reviled by muchof the black community, not entirely comfortable in white society,internally wounded by his passage from a broken family and ruralpoverty in Georgia, to elite educational institutions, to thepinnacle of judicial power. His staunchly conservative positions oncrime, abortion, and, especially, affirmative action have exposedhim to charges of heartlessness and hypocrisy, in that he ishimself the product of a broken home who manifestly benefited fromracially conscious admissions policies. Supreme Discomfort is a superbly researched and reportedwork that features testimony from friends and foes alike who havenever spoken in public about Thomas before—including a candidconversation with his fellow justice and ideological ally, AntoninScalia. It offers a long-overdue windo
“The best legal read . . . in decades. A brilliantlyentertaining work, both for the lawyer and the layman.” Washington Times Robert S. Bennett has been a lawyer for more than forty years. Inthat time, he’s taken on dozens of high-pro?le and groundbreakingcases and emerged as the go-to guy for the nation’s elite. BobBennett gained international recognition as one of America’s bestlawyers for leading the defense of President Bill Clinton in thePaula Jones case. He has always fought for justice. This is hisstory. Born in Brooklyn and an amateur boxer in his youth, Bennett hasoften brought his street-?ghter’s mentality to the courtroom. Hiscase history is a who’s who of ?gures who have dominated legalheadlines: superlobbyist Tommy Corcoran, former secretaries ofdefense Clark Clifford and Caspar Weinberger, Marge Schott, and,most recently, New York Times reporter Judith Miller and formerWorld Bank president Paul Wolfowitz. Throughout the telling of his life in court, Be
The death penalty is one of the most hotly contested issues inAmerica today. Evidence continues to mount that many innocentpeople have been executed or are currently living on death row, andthat minority groups and the poor suffer from a shoddy publicdefense system and discriminatory application of capital charges.Meanwhile, the myth of deterrence has been revealed to be false,and an increasing number of Americans are beginning to questiontheir support for capital punishment. Legal Lynching offers a succinct, accessible introduction to thedebate over the death penalty's history and future, exposing achilling frequency of legal error, systemic racial and economicdiscrimination, and pervasive government misconduct. This is anessential book for readers across the political spectrum who wishto cut through the common myths and assumptions about the efficacyand morality of state-sanctioned killing.