A matter of interpretation

We are all familiar with the image of the immensely clever judge who discerns the best rule of common law for the case at hand. According to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a judge like this can maneuver through earlier cases to achieve the desired aim—“distinguishing one prior case on...

A theory of the trial

Anyone who has sat on a jury or followed a high-profile trial on television usually comes to the realization that a trial, particularly a criminal trial, is really a performance. Verdicts seem determined as much by which lawyer can best connect with the hearts and minds of the jurors as by what t...

After imprisonment

Studies in Law, Politics, and Society provides a vehicle for the publication of scholarly articles in interdisciplinary legal scholarship. This volume features a special section with papers dedicated to life after imprisonment. The chapters examine issues around offender rehabilitation, overcrimi...

Beyond the formalist-realist divide

According to conventional wisdom in American legal culture, the 1870s to 1920s was the age of legal formalism, when judges believed that the law was autonomous and logically ordered, and that they mechanically deduced right answers in cases. In the 1920s and 1930s, the story continues, the legal ...

Breaking the cycles of hatred

Violence so often begets violence. Victims respond with revenge only to inspire seemingly endless cycles of retaliation. Conflicts between nations, between ethnic groups, between strangers, and between family members differ in so many ways and yet often share this dynamic. In this powerful and ti...

Critical theory in critical times

World-renowned specialists in contemporary critical theory address the recent crises and transformations of the global political and economic order

Cultural expertise and socio-legal studies

In this special issue, socio-legal scientists with interdisciplinary backgrounds scrutinize the applicability of the notion of cultural expertise in Europe and the rest of the World. Cases include murder, female genital mutilation, earthquake claims, Islamic law, underage marriages, child custody...

Law's order

What does economics have to do with law? Suppose legislators propose that armed robbers receive life imprisonment. Editorial pages applaud them for getting tough on crime. Constitutional lawyers raise the issue of cruel and unusual punishment. Legal philosophers ponder questions of justness. An e...

License to harass

Offensive street speech--racist and sexist remarks that can make its targets feel both psychologically and physically threatened--is surprisingly common in our society. Many argue that this speech is so detestable that it should be banned under law. But is this an area covered by the First Amendm...

Natural law jurisprudence in u.s. supreme court cases since roe v. wade

A critical examination of U.S. Supreme Court cases since the Roe v. Wade decision in light of natural law reasoning and principles.  The text incisively reviews textual opinions of the various justices and attempts to discern the influence of natural law jurisprudence on modern day decisions.

Studies in law, politics, and society

Studies in Law, Politics, and Society provides a vehicle for the publication of scholarly articles within the broad parameters of interdisciplinary legal scholarship. In this latest edition of this highly successful research series, articles examine a diverse range of legal issues and their impac...

Studies in law, politics, and society

Studies in Law, Politics, and Society provides a vehicle for the publication of scholarly articles within the broad parameters of interdisciplinary legal scholarship. In this latest edition of this highly successful research series, articles examine a diverse range of legal issues and their impac...

The anthem companion to niklas luhmann

The Anthem Companion to Niklas Luhmann is a major contribution to analysing the work of one of the greatest social theorists of the twentieth century. This companion provides the latest scholarly interpretations of a thinker who revolutionised the theoretical foundation of the discipline of socio...

The new science of trial advocacy

Tough cases

“Tough Cases stands out as a genuine revelation. . . . Our most distinguished judges should follow the lead of this groundbreaking volume.”—Justin Driver, The Washington PostA rare and illuminating view of how judges decide dramatic legal cases—Law and Order from behind the bench—including the El...

When the state kills

Is capital punishment just? Does it deter people from murder? What is the risk that we will execute innocent people? These are the usual questions at the heart of the increasingly heated debate about capital punishment in America. In this bold and impassioned book, Austin Sarat seeks to change th...