Featured Acquisitions

Featured Acquisitions - March 2005


		Shakedown: How Corporations, Government, and Trial Lawyers Abuse the Judicial Process by Robert A. Levy Washington, D.C. : Cato Institute, c2004 KF1250 .L48 2004 Balcony Baseless lawsuits encourage the notion that individuals can engage in risky behavior, then force someone else to pay for their mistakes. That’s the premise underlying litigation against manufacturers of cigarettes, guns, lead paint, fatty foods, and alcoholic beverages. Meanwhile, our antitrust laws have been co-opted by frustrated competitors who curry favor with bureaucrats to attack market leaders such as Microsoft. In effect, antitrust is now a subsidy used to promote the parochial interests of politically favored companies. In Shakedown, Robert A. Levy uncovers the worst abuses of a judicial system run amok, then offers concrete proposals to fix the problems. Here are some of the author’s hard-hitting criticisms: Tobacco. Today, the cigarette companies; tomorrow, anyone could be victimized. The rule of law has yielded to ambitious state attorneys general, social engineers, and contingency-fee trial lawyers stalking an outcast industry. Guns. To circumvent the legislature, anti-gun advocates have taken their battle to the courtroom. The courts must not entertain lawsuits based on bizarre legal theories that seek to have every “victim” compensated by corporate America. Tort Reform. Many companies believe that no matter how responsibly they behave, they’ll be held liable for the negligence of others. That problem is real, but tort law is up to the states, not Congress. Antitrust. The concept of antitrust is flawed to the core. Markets move faster than antitrust ever could. Consumers can unseat any product and any company no matter how powerful. Antitrust, if it ever was needed, is now obsolete. Shakedown is a sweeping indictment of abusive lawsuits in the United States and a blueprint for overhauling our antitrust and tort laws.
		Global Justice Reform: A Comparative Methodology by Hiram E. Chodosh New York : New York University Press, c2005 K2100 .C56 2004 Balcony Global Justice Reform provides a trenchant critique and creative conceptual reconstruction of two neglected subjects: the nature of comparison in the field of comparative law and the struggles of national judicial systems to meet global rule of law objectives. Hiram Chodosh offers a candid look at the surprisingly underdeveloped methodology of comparative legal studies, and provides a creative conceptual framework for defining and understanding the whys, whats, and hows of comparison. Additionally, Chodosh demonstrates how theories of comparative law translate into practice, using contemporary global justice reform initiatives as a case study, with a particular focus on Indonesia and India. Chodosh highlights the gap between the critical role of judicial institutions and their poor performance (for example, political interference, corruption, backlog, and delay), discussing why reform is so elusive and demonstrating the unavoidable and essential role of comparison in reform proposals. Throughout the book, Chodosh identifies several sources of comparative misunderstanding that impede successful reforms, and identifies the many predicaments reformers face, detailing a wide variety of designs, methods, and social dilemmas. In response to these seemingly insurmountable challenges, Chodosh advances some novel conceptual strategies, first by drawing on a body of non-legal scholarship on self-regulating, emergent systems, and then by identifying a series of anti-dilemma strategies that draw upon insights about the nature of comparison.
		Alienated: Immigrant Rights, the Constitution, and Equality in America by Victor C. Romero New York : New York University Press, c2005 KF4819 .R66 2005 Balcony Throughout American history, the government has used U.S. citizenship and immigration law to protect privileged groups from less privileged ones, using citizenship as a "legitimate" proxy for otherwise invidious, and often unconstitutional, discrimination on the basis of race. While racial discrimination is rarely legally acceptable today, profiling on the basis of citizenship is still largely unchecked, and has in fact arguably increased in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States. In this thoughtful examination of the intersection between American immigration and constitutional law, Victor C. Romero draws our attention to a "constitutional immigration law paradox" that reserves certain rights for U.S. citizens only, while simultaneously purporting to treat all people fairly under constitutional law regardless of citizenship. As a naturalized Filipino American, Romero brings an outsider's perspective to Alienated, forcing us to look at constitutional immigration law from the vantage point of people whose citizenship status is murky (either legally or from the viewpoint of other citizens and lawmakers), including foreign-born adoptees, undocumented immigrants, tourists, foreign students, and same-gender bi-national partners. Romero endorses an equality-based reading of the Constitution and advocates a new theoretical and practical approach that protects the individual rights of non-citizens without sacrificing their personhood.
		A Court Divided: The Rehnquist Court and the Future of Constitutional Law by Mark Tushnet New York : W.W. Norton Co., c2005 KF8742 .T87 2005 Balcony Many think that the Rehnquist Court's most important division is between its liberals and its conservatives, when in reality the division lies between two types of Republican conservatives. Some—Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas—are in tune with the modern post-Reagan Republican Party, while Kennedy and O'Connor, considered to be in the Court's center, represent an older Republican tradition. As a result, the Court has modestly promoted the economic agenda of today's conservatives but has regularly defeated the conservatives' agenda of social issues. One of America's finest professors of constitutional law, Mark Tushnet narrates the dramas of the Court—both intellectual and personal—with clarity and flair. In this authoritative analysis of the most important cases decided by the Rehnquist Court, he reveals how the decisions of these divided justices have left the future of the Court—and the nation—hanging in the balance with all depending on the next court appointments after the elections in November 2004.
		The Second Tree: Stem Cells, Clones, Chimeras, and Quests for Immortality by Elaine Dewar New York : Carroll & Graf, 2004 QH442 .D49 2004 Basement In the half century since Watson and Crick's discovery of the double helix, genetic scientists have grafted onto the tree of knowledge a body of new science whose growth - upward and outward - has slipped the bonds of nature and the divine. Investigative journalist Elaine Dewar chronicles the lives, the discoveries, and the feuds among these modern biologists, exploring how they have crafted the tools to alter human evolution, with unforeseeable, promising, and frightening consequences the rest of us are just beginning to glimpse.
		Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers' Rights at Wal-Mart by Liza Featherstone New York : Basic Books, 2004 HD6060.5.U5 F43 2004 Basement On television, Wal-Mart employees are smiling women delighted with their jobs. But reality is another story. In 2000, Betty Dukes, a 52-year-old black woman in Pittsburg, California, became the lead plaintiff in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, a class action representing 1.4 million women. In an explosive investigation of this historic lawsuit, journalist Liza Featherstone reveals how Wal-Mart, a self-styled "family-oriented," Christian company: Deprives women (but not men) of the training they need to advance Relegates women to lower-paying jobs, like selling baby clothes, reserving the more lucrative positions for men Inflicts punitive demotions on employees who object to discrimination Exploits Asian women in its sweatshops in Saipan, a U.S. commonwealth Featherstone reveals the creative solutions Wal-Mart workers around the country have found-like fighting for unions, living-wage ordinances, and childcare options. Selling Women Short combines the personal stories of these employees with superb investigative journalism to show why women who work low-wage jobs are getting a raw deal, and what they are doing about it.
		The Pinochet Effect: Transnational Justice in the Age of Human Rights by Naomi Roht-Arriaza Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2005 KH966.I57 R64 2005 Sohn Library The 1998 arrest of General Augusto Pinochet in London and subsequent extradition proceedings sent an electrifying wave through the international community. This legal precedent for bringing a former head of state to trial outside his home country signaled that neither the immunity of a former head of state nor legal amnesties at home could shield participants in the crimes of military governments. It also allowed victims of torture and crimes against humanity to hope that their tormentors might be brought to justice. In this meticulously researched volume, Naomi Roht-Arriaza examines the implications of the litigation against members of the Chilean and Argentine military governments and traces their effects through similar cases in Latin American and Europe. Roht-Arriaza discusses the difficulties in bringing violators of human rights to justice at home, and considers the role of transitional justice in transnational prosecutions and investigations in the national courts of countries other than those where the crimes took place. She traces the roots of the landmark Pinochet case and follows its development and those of related cases, through Spain, the United Kingdom, elsewhere in Europe, and then through Chile, Argentina, Mexico, and the United States. She situates these transnational cases within the context of an emergent International Criminal Court, as well as the effectiveness of international law and of the lawyers, judges, and activists working together across continents to make a new legal paradigm a reality. Interviews and observations help to contextualize and dramatize these compelling cases. These cases have tremendous ramifications for the prospect of universal jurisdiction and will continue to resonate for years to come. Roht-Arriaza's deft navigation of these complicated legal proceedings elucidates the paradigm shift underlying this prosecution as well as the traction gained by advocacy networks promoting universal jurisdiction in recent decades.
		The Limits of International Law by Jack L. Goldsmith and Eric A. Posner Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005 KZ3160.P67 A38 2005 Basement International law is much debated and discussed, but poorly understood. Does international law matter, or do states regularly violate it with impunity? If international law is of no importance, then why do states devote so much energy to negotiating treaties and providing legal defenses for their actions? In turn, if international law does matter, why does it reflect the interests of powerful states, why does it change so often, and why are violations of international law usually not punished? In this book, Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner argue that international law matters but that it is less powerful and less significant than public officials, legal experts, and the media believe. International law, they contend, is simply a product of states pursuing their interests on the international stage. It does not pull states towards compliance contrary to their interests, and the possibilities for what it can achieve are limited. It follows that many global problems are simply unsolvable. The book has important implications for debates about the role of international law in the foreign policy of the United States and other nations. The authors see international law as an instrument for advancing national policy, but one that is precarious and delicate, constantly changing in unpredictable ways based on non-legal changes in international politics. They believe that efforts to replace international politics with international law rest on unjustified about optimism international law's past accomplishments and present capacities.
		Brand Name Bullies: The Quest to Own and Control Culture by David Bollier Hoboken, N.J. : J. Wiley, c2005 KF2979 .B64 2005 Balcony An impassioned, darkly amusing look at how corporations misuse copyright law to stifle creativity and free speech If you want to make fun of Mickey or Barbie on your Web site, you may be hearing from some corporate lawyers. You should also think twice about calling something "fair and balanced" or publicly using Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. It may be illegal. Or it may be entirely legal, but the distinction doesn't matter if you can't afford a lawyer. More and more, corporations are grabbing and asserting rights over every idea and creation in our world, regardless of the law's intent or the public interest. But beyond the humorous absurdity of all this, there lies a darker problem, as David Bollier shows in this important new book. Lawsuits and legal bullying clearly prevent the creation of legitimate new software, new art and music, new literature, new businesses, and worst of all, new scientific and medical research.
		Compliance with Decisions of the International Court of Justice by Constanze Shulte Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004 KZ6275 .S38 2004 Basement This book examines the compliance record of states parties to proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial body of the United Nations. It undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the follow-up of the ICJ's judgments and interim measures from the Court's creation in 1945 until the present day. ICJ judgments and provisional measures from the Corfu Channel case in the late 1940s to the Arrest Warrant Case decided in 2002 are examined, with particular focus on state practice. After explaining the legal bases for the obligation of compliance and the enforcement of ICJ decisions, the author analyses all decisions that gave rise to an obligation of compliance. The analysis is contextual, taking into account the history of the dispute, the underlying political interests, the parties' attitudes towards involvement of the ICJ, and the substance of the applicable law. This analysis reveals that the compliance record for judgments is generally satisfactory, whereas that for provisional measures is at first sight rather poor. Yet the record for provisional measures must be understood in a more nuanced light. In several cases, the applicant gained at least a certain benefit from the decision even though it was not (or was not fully) implemented. The author examines the reasons for the difference in the track records of judgments and provisional measures and explores mechanisms that could be conducive to enhanced compliance.
		The Thirteenth Amendment and American Freedom: A Legal History by Alexander Tsesis New York : New York University Press, c2004 KF4545.S5 T74 2004 Balcony In this narrative history and contextual analysis of the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery and freedom take center stage. Alexander Tsesis demonstrates how entrenched slavery was in pre-Civil War America, how central it was to the political events that resulted in the Civil War, and how it was the driving force that led to the adoption of an amendment that ultimately provided a substantive assurance of freedom for all American citizens. The story of how Supreme Court justices have interpreted the Thirteenth Amendment, first through racist lenses after Reconstruction and later influenced by the modern civil rights movement, provides insight into the tremendous impact the Thirteenth Amendment has had on the Constitution and American culture. Importantly, Tsesis also explains why the Thirteenth Amendment is essential to contemporary America, offering fresh analysis on the role the Amendment has played regarding civil rights legislation and personal liberty case decisions, and an original explanation of the substantive guarantees of freedom for today's society that the Reconstruction Congress envisioned over a century ago.
		Marriage in Medieval England: Law, Literature and Practice by Conor McCarthy1 Woodbridge, Suffolk ; Rochester, NY : Boydell Press, 2004 HQ615 .M38 2004 Basement Medieval marriage has been widely discussed, and this book gives a brief and accessible overview of an important subject. It covers the entire medieval period, and engages with a wide range of primary sources, both legal and literary. It draws particular attention to local English legislation and practice, and offers some new readings of medieval English literary texts, including Beowulf, the works of Chaucer, Langland's Piers Plowman, the Book of Margery Kempe and the Paston Letters. Focusing on a number of key themes important across the period, individual chapters discuss the themes of consent, property, alliance, love, sex, family, divorce and widowhood.