Featured Acquisitions - Alexander Campbell King Law Library

Featured Acquisitions - February 2008

See also: Recent Acquisitions in Selected Subject Areas


		Bill of Wrongs : The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose New York : Random House, c2007 JC599.U5 I85 2007 Basement Ivins, the scathingly funny political columnist, died in January 2007. This posthumous publication is her third with political journalist Dubose. She leaves us with her last words on George W. Bush and his gang. In eight chapters, we hear of the Bush administration's depredations of the Bill of Rights, e.g., the attacks on free speech such as Bush operatives removing protestors from presidential speeches; the disdain for secular public education; the support of "intelligent design"; the hostility to a free press by subjecting uncooperative reporters to contempt charges; the assault on privacy through implementation of the Patriot Act; scorn for the rights of the accused, and the humiliation and torture of prisoners accused of terrorist activities. The uninitiated, more than the well-informed, will get a decent education in constitutional protections, although some of the incidents the authors cover have yet to be resolved by the courts.
		Scottsboro and Its Legacy : The Cases that Challenged American Legal and Social Justice by James R. Acker Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2008 KF224 .S34 A25 2008 Balcony A vivid account of the Scottsboro Boys case-the alleged crimes, their legal aftermath, and their immediate and enduring social significance.
		The Europeanization of the World : On the Origins of Human Rights and Democracy by John M. Headley Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c2008 JC423 .H425 2008 Basement The Europeanization of the World puts forward a defense of Western civilization and the unique gifts it has bequeathed to the world - in particular, human rights and constitutional democracy - at a time when many around the globe equate the West with hubris and thinly veiled imperialism. John Headley argues that the Renaissance and the Reformation provided the effective currents for the development of two distinctive political ideas. The first is the idea of a common humanity, derived from antiquity, developed through natural law, and worked out in the new emerging global context to provide the basis for today's concept of universal human rights. The second is the idea of political dissent, first posited in the course of the Protestant Reformation and later maturing in the politics of the British monarchy. Headley traces the development and implications of this first idea from antiquity to the present. He examines the English revolution of 1688 and party government in Britain and America into the early nineteenth century. And he challenges the now-common stance in historical studies of moral posturing against the West. Headley contends that these unique ideas are Western civilization's most precious export, however presently distorted. Certainly European culture has its dark side - Auschwitz is but one example. Yet as Headley shows, no other civilization in history has bequeathed so sustained a tradition of universalizing aspirations as the West.
		Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Action : Limits Imposed by Economic and Legal Theory by Philip Bentley and Aubrey Silberston Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA : Edward Elgar, c2007 K4635 .B46 2007 Balcony This book, written by a lawyer and an economist both of whom have worked extensively in the field of international trade, offers a challenging and thought-provoking consideration of actions against dumping and export subsidies. Unlike many books in the field which simply set out the relevant international agreements and discuss their interpretation by various regulatory authorities, this book identifies numerous contradictions found in existing law and practice. Many of which, the authors argue, defy economic as well as legal logic. In light of their analysis, the authors propose a number of changes to current law and practice. Whilst they are under no illusion of the likelihood that such changes will occur in the relevant agreements in the near future, it is hoped that through compelling argument they can not only contribute to future debate, but also shape the way these issues are treated in practice. Providing a critical analysis of the commonly used trade measures against dumping and export subsidies, Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Action will be of international interest, especially to regulatory authorities, trade lawyers, trade economists and scholars and students in business schools.
		Guarding Life's Dark Secrets : Legal and Social Controls over Reputation, Propriety, and Privacy by Lawrence M. Friedman Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, c2007 KF1262 .F75 2007 Balcony This book investigates the elements that have developed as part of the definition of propriety and good behavior, and how the law has acted to protect respectable people and their reputations.
		Playing with the Boys : Why Separate Is Not Equal in Sports by Eileen McDonagh and Laura Pappano Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2008 GV706.5 .M3673 2008 Basement In this forcefully argued book, Eileen McDonagh and Laura Pappano show in vivid detail how women have been unfairly excluded from participating in sports on an equal footing with men. Using powerful examples from the world of contemporary American athletics - girls and women trying to break through in football, ice hockey, wrestling, and baseball to name just a few - the authors show that sex differences are not sufficient to warrant women's coercive exclusion from competing with men; that some sex-group difference actually confer a sports advantage to women; and that "special rules" for women in sports do not simply reflect the "differences" between the sexes, but actively create and reinforce a view that women as a group are inherently inferior to men - even when women clearly are not. For instance, women's bodies give them a physiological advantage in endurance sports like the ultra-marathon and distance swimming. So, why do many Olympic events - from swimming to skiing to running to bike racing - have shorter races for women than men? Likewise, why are women's tennis matches limited to three sets while men's are best-of-fives? This book shows how sex-segregated sports policies, instead of reflecting sex-group differences, in fact construct them.
		American Juries : The Verdict by Neil Vidmar and Valerie P. Hans Amherst, N.Y. : Prometheus Books, 2007 KF8972 .V53 2007 Balcony This volume reviews over fifty years of empirical research on civil and criminal juries and returns a verdict that strongly supports the jury system. Rather than relying on anecdotes, authors Vidmar and Hans place the jury system in its historical and contemporary context, giving the stories behind important trials while providing fact-based answers to critical questions. How do juries make decisions and how do their verdicts compare to those of trial judges and technical experts? What roles do jury consultants play in influencing trial outcomes? Can juries understand complex expert testimony? Under which circumstances do capital juries decide to sentence a defendant to die? Are juries biased against doctors and big business? Should juries be allowed to give punitive damages? How do juries respond to the insanity defense? Do jurors ignore the law? Finally, the authors consider various suggestions for improving the way that juries are asked to carry out their duties. After briefly comparing the American jury to its counterparts in other nations, they conclude that our jury system, despite occasional problems, is, on balance, fair and democratic, and should remain an indispensable component of the judicial process for the foreseeable future.
		Redeeming American Democracy : Lessons from the Confederate Constitution by Marshall L. DeRosa Gretna, LA : Pelican Pub. Co., 2007 KFZ9002 .D475 2007 Basement This book addresses the extent to which the American rule of law can be structured to inhibit or promote governmental centralization. Southern Confederates were aware that the U.S. Constitution was somewhat deficient in constraining political centralization, so they constructed their own constitution. There are lessons to be learned from the failed Southern cause as the new world order is taking shape.
		Homo Juridicus : On the Anthropological Function of the Law by Alain Supiot London ; New York : Verso, 2007 K487.A57 S8713 2007 Balcony In this groundbreaking work, French legal scholar Alain Supiot examines the relationship of society to legal discourse. He argues that the law is how justice is implemented in secular society, but it is not simply a technique to be manipulated at will: it is also the expression of the core beliefs of the West. We must recognize its universalizing, dogmatic nature and become receptive to other interpretations from non-Western cultures to help us avoid the clash of civilizations.
		The Innocence Commission : Preventing Wrongful Convictions and Restoring the Criminal Justice System by Jon B. Gould New York : New York University Press, c2008 KFV2987 .G68 2008 Basement The Innocence Commission describes the creation and first years of the Innocence Commission for Virginia (ICVA), the second innocence commission in the nation and the first to conduct a systematic inquiry into all cases of wrongful conviction. The chair of the ICVA, Jon B. Gould, a professor of justice studies and an attorney, focuses on twelve wrongful conviction cases to show how and why wrongful convictions occur, what steps legal and state advocates took to investigate the convictions, how these prisoners were ultimately freed, and what lessons can be learned from their experiences. Free of legal jargon and written for a general audience, The Innocence Commission is instructive, informative, and highly compelling reading.
		Risk Regulation and Administrative Constitutionalism by Elizabeth Fisher Oxford ; Portland, Or. : Hart, 2007 K3400 .F57 2007 Balcony Over the last decade the regulatory evaluation of environmental and public health risks has been one of the most legally controversial areas of contemporary government activity. Much of that debate has been understood as a conflict between those promoting "democratic" approaches. This characterisation of disputes has ignored the central roles of public administration and law in technological risk evaluation. This is problematic because, as shown in this book, legal disputes over risk evaluation are disputed over administrative constitutionalism in that they are disputes over what role law should play in constituting and limiting the power of administrative risk regulators.
		Public Employment Services and European Law by Mark Freedland et al. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007 KJC3195 .P83 2007 Annex 3rd Floor This book examines the developing legal regimes and regulation of public services in the UK and other European countries. Public services are examined though a case-study of the complex area of public employment services. These are job-placement and vocational training services which aim to maximize employment and minimize unemployment within EU Member States' Active Labour Marker policies. Employment services are at the centre of a complex web of rules in both hard and soft forms of law deriving from the EU, national public law, and from private, and at times contractual, agreements. They also lie at the crossroads of a series of trends in regulation, and priorities have been inspired by an array of conflicting policy rationales. These policy rationales include the establishment of an open and competitive European internal market, the establishment of an efficient welfare state, the scaling down of state administrative: machinery, the fulfilment of core public service responsibilities, and the creation of public-private partnerships. Public employment services provide a highly informative and novel case study of the interaction and conflict between the economic and social aims of the EU and between regulation at national and supranational levels, and the changing forms which this regulation has taken.
		Slavery on Trial : Race, Class, and Criminal Justice in Antebellum Richmond, Virginia by James M. Campbell Gainesville, FL : University Press of Florida, c2007 HV9955.V8 C36 2007 Basement By the mid-nineteenth century, Richmond was one of the preeminent industrial centers in the South, with a level of criminal activity that reflected its size. Slavery on Trial examines more than 7,000 criminal cases recorded between 1830 and 1860, ranging from sensational murders to minor misdemeanors.
		The Starfish and the Spider : The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom New York : Portfolio, 2006 HD50 .B73 2006 Basement After five years of groundbreaking research, Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom share some gripping stories. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional "spiders," which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary "starfish," which rely on the power of peer relationships. This book explores what happens when starfish take on spiders (such as the music industry vs. Napster, Kazaa, and the P2P services that followed). It reveals how established companies and institutions, from IBM to Intuit to the U.S. government, are also learning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success.
		International Law by Vaughan Lowe Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007 KZ1242 .L69 2007 Basement In the established tradition of the Clarendon Law Series, International Law is both an introduction to the subject and a critical consideration of its central themes and debates. Of all legal subjects, international law is at once the most closely connected to related disciplines such as economics and politics, and arguably the least understood, even by lawyers. For the past two decades it has been the focus of intense analysis and comment by legal philosophers, international relations specialists, linguists, professional lawyers, historians, economists, and political scientists, as well as those who study, teach, and practice the discipline. This book explains how through the organizing concepts of territory, sovereignty, and jurisdiction international law seeks to establish a set of principles by which the authority to make and enforce policies is distributed among States. The opening chapters of the book explain how international law underpins the international political and economic system by establishing the basic principle of the independence of States, and their right to choose their own political, economic, and cultural systems. Subsequent chapters focus on the principles that limit independence and freedom of choice; in particular, the principles of international human rights law and the frameworks for addressing global and economic issues. Two final chapters look at the international law principles applicable to the use of force and action against 'terrorism', and at the processes for the prevention and settlement of international disputes.
		Trying Leviathan : The Nineteenth-Century New York Court Case that Put the Whale on Trial and Challenged the Order of Nature by D. Graham Burnett Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2007 KF228.M38 B87 2007 Balcony In Moby-Dick, Ishmael declares, "Be it known that, waiving all argument, I take the good old fashioned ground that a whale is a fish, and call upon holy Jonah to back me." Few readers today know just how much argument Ishmael is waiving aside. In fact, Melville's antihero here takes sides in one of the great controversies of the early nineteenth century - one that ultimately had to be resolved in the courts of New York City. In Trying Leviathan, D. Graham Burnett recovers the strange story of Maurice v. Judd, an 1818 trial that pitted the new sciences of taxonomy against the then-popular - and biblically sanctioned - view that the whale was a fish. The immediate dispute was mundane: whether whale oil was fish oil and therefore subject to state inspection. But the trial fueled a sensational public debate in which nothing less than the order of nature - and how we know it - was at stake.