Repugnant Laws

Repugnant Laws
Author: Keith E. Whittington
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2020-05-18
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0700630368

When the Supreme Court strikes down favored legislation, politicians cry judicial activism. When the law is one politicians oppose, the court is heroically righting a wrong. In our polarized moment of partisan fervor, the Supreme Court’s routine work of judicial review is increasingly viewed through a political lens, decried by one side or the other as judicial overreach, or “legislating from the bench.” But is this really the case? Keith E. Whittington asks in Repugnant Laws, a first-of-its-kind history of judicial review. A thorough examination of the record of judicial review requires first a comprehensive inventory of relevant cases. To this end, Whittington revises the extant catalog of cases in which the court has struck down a federal statute and adds to this, for the first time, a complete catalog of cases upholding laws of Congress against constitutional challenges. With reference to this inventory, Whittington is then able to offer a reassessment of the prevalence of judicial review, an account of how the power of judicial review has evolved over time, and a persuasive challenge to the idea of an antidemocratic, heroic court. In this analysis, it becomes apparent that that the court is political and often partisan, operating as a political ally to dominant political coalitions; vulnerable and largely unable to sustain consistent opposition to the policy priorities of empowered political majorities; and quasi-independent, actively exercising the power of judicial review to pursue the justices’ own priorities within bounds of what is politically tolerable. The court, Repugnant Laws suggests, is a political institution operating in a political environment to advance controversial principles, often with the aid of political leaders who sometimes encourage and generally tolerate the judicial nullification of federal laws because it serves their own interests to do so. In the midst of heated battles over partisan and activist Supreme Court justices, Keith Whittington’s work reminds us that, for better or for worse, the court reflects the politics of its time.

The Black Book

The Black Book
Author: Meera Kaura Patel
Publisher: Universal Law Publishing
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2011
Genre: Citation of legal authorities
ISBN: 9788175349933

We Must Not Be Afraid to Be Free

We Must Not Be Afraid to Be Free
Author: Ronald K.L. Collins
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2011-02-25
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0199792690

In a stinging dissent to a 1961 Supreme Court decision that allowed the Illinois state bar to deny admission to prospective lawyers if they refused to answer political questions, Justice Hugo Black closed with the memorable line, "We must not be afraid to be free." Black saw the First Amendment as the foundation of American freedom--the guarantor of all other Constitutional rights. Yet since free speech is by nature unruly, people fear it. The impulse to curb or limit it has been a constant danger throughout American history. In We Must Not Be Afraid to Be Free, Ron Collins and Sam Chaltain, two noted free speech scholars and activists, provide authoritative and vivid portraits of free speech in modern America. The authors offer a series of engaging accounts of landmark First Amendment cases, including bitterly contested cases concerning loyalty oaths, hate speech, flag burning, student anti-war protests, and McCarthy-era prosecutions. The book also describes the colorful people involved in each case--the judges, attorneys, and defendants--and the issues at stake. Tracing the development of free speech rights from a more restrictive era--the early twentieth century--through the Warren Court revolution of the 1960s and beyond, Collins and Chaltain not only cover the history of a cherished ideal, but also explain in accessible language how the law surrounding this ideal has changed over time. Essential for anyone interested in this most fundamental of our rights, We Must Not Be Afraid to Be Free provides a definitive and lively account of our First Amendment and the price courageous Americans have paid to secure them.

Applying Law

Applying Law
Author: Bradley J. Charles
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781594609411

Applying Law teaches students the skill of applying law to fact--the skill that determines law-school grades and effective advocacy after law school. The author explains with examples and exercises nine reasoning techniques that the justices of the United States Supreme Court primarily use. The nine reasoning techniques come from classifying arguments in every sentence from an entire year's worth of their cases. After studying this book, law students will have a tool belt full of specific reasoning techniques.

Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage

Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage
Author: Bryan A. Garner
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 1023
Release: 2011
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0195384202

A comprehensive guide to legal style and usage, with practical advice on how to write clear, jargon-free legal prose. Includes style tips as well as definitions.

Engaging with Foreign Law

Engaging with Foreign Law
Author: Basil S Markesinis
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2009-03-30
Genre: Law
ISBN: 184731497X

This book presents a developed theory of how national lawyers can approach, understand, and make use of foreign law. Its theme is pursued through a set of detailed essays which look at the courts as well as business practice and, with the help of statistics, demonstrate what type of academic work has any impact on the 'real' world. Engaging with Foreign Law thus aims to carve out a new niche for comparative law in this era of globalisation, and may also be the only book which deals in some depth with both private and public law in countries such as England, Germany, France, South Africa, and the United States.

International Human Rights and Mental Disability Law

International Human Rights and Mental Disability Law
Author: Michael L. Perlin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2012
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0195393236

Examining the mistreatment of persons with mental disabilities around the world, Michael Perlin identifies universal factors that contaminate mental disability law, including lack of comprehensive legislation and of independent counsel; inadequate care; poor or nonexistent community programming; and inhumane forensic systems.