Featured Acquisitions

Featured Acquisitions - March 2006


		The Morality of Conflict: Reasonable Disagreement and the Law by Samantha Besson Oxford ; Portland, Or. : Hart, 2005 K231 .B47 2005 Balcony This book explores the relationship between the law and pervasive and persistent reasonable disagreement about justice. It reveals the central moral function and creative force of reasonable disagreement in and about the law and shows why and how lawyers and legal philosophers should take reasonable conflict more seriously. Even though the law should be regarded as the primary mode of settlement of our moral conflicts, it can, and should, also be the object and the forum of further moral conflicts. There is more to the rule of law than convergence and determinacy and it is important therefore to question the importance of agreement in law and politics. By addressing in detail issues pertaining to the nature and sources of disagreement, its extent and significance, as well as the procedural, institutional and substantive responses to disagreement in the law and their legitimacy, this book suggests the value of a comprehensive approach to thinking about conflict, which until recently has been analysed in a compartmentalized way. It aims to provide a fully-fledged political morality of conflict by drawing on the analysis of topical jurisprudential questions in the new light of disagreement. Developing such a global theory of disagreement in the law should be read in the context of the broader effort of reconstructing a complete account of democratic law-making in pluralistic societies. The book will be of value not only to legal philosophers and constitutional theorists, but also to political and democratic theorists, as well as to all those interested in public decision-making in conditions of conflict.
		Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell New York : Little, Brown and Co., 2005 BF448 .G53 2005 Basement In his landmark bestseller The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant - in the blink of an eye - that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work - in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others? In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; "New Coke"; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing" - filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology and displaying all of the brilliance that made The Tipping Point a classic, Blink changes the way you understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way.
		The Language of Jury Trial: A Corpus-Aided Analysis of Legal-Lay Discourse by Chris Heffer Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2005 K213 .H44 2005 Balcony Drawing on representative corpora of transcripts from over 100 English criminal jury trials, this stimulating new book explores the nature of 'legal-lay discourse', or the language used by legal professionals before lay juries. Careful analyses of genres such as witness examination and the judge's summing-up reveal a strategic tension between a desire to persuade the jury and the need to conform to legal constraints. The book also suggests ways of managing this tension linguistically to help, not hinder, the jury.
		Witnessing Their Faith: Religious Influence on Supreme Court Justices and Their Opinions by Jay Alan Sekulow Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, c2006 KF4783 .S45 2006 Balcony When it was ratified in 1791, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States sought to protect against two distinct types of government actions that interfere with religious liberty: the establishment of a national religion and interference with individual rights to practice religion. Since that time, no question has so bedeviled the U.S. Supreme Court as finding the best way to interpret and apply the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. In this unique and timely book, Jay Sekulow examines not only the key cases and their historical context that have shaped the law concerning church-state relations, but also, for the first time, the impact of the religious faith and practices of Supreme Court Justices who have ruled in each case. Covering cases from the teaching of religion in public schools and the use of federal funds for parochial schools to today's debates about the Pledge of Allegiance and public displays of the Ten Commandments, Witnessing Their Faith is essential reading for anyone interested in the history and future of religious freedom in America.
		Pregnancy and Power: A Short History of Reproductive Politics in America by Rickie Solinger New York : New York University Press, c2005 HQ766.5.U5 S67 2005 Basement A sweeping chronicle of women's battles for reproductive freedom throughout American History, Pregnancy and Power explores the many forces—social, racial, economic, and political—that have shaped women's reproductive lives in the United States. Leading historian Rickie Solinger argues that a woman's control over her body involves much more than the right to choose an abortion. Reproductive politics were at play when slaveholders devised breeding schemes, when nineteenth-century employers restricted women's work hours, and when doctors pressed African American women to be sterilized in the 1960s. Pregnancy and Power is filled with powerful accounts of the fights various groups of women waged in this country to control their bodies and their destinies, from colonial anti-miscegenation laws to anti-contraceptive laws to the 1990s welfare reforms that punished poor women for having children. Solinger asks which women have how many children under what circumstances, and shows how reproductive experiences have been encouraged or coerced, rewarded or punished, honored or exploited over the last 250 years. Viewed in this way, the debate over reproductive rights raises questions about access to sex education and prenatal care, about housing laws, about access to citizenship, and about which women lose children to adoption and foster care. Pregnancy and Power shows that a complete understanding of reproductive politics must take into account the many players shaping public policy-lawmakers, educators, employers, clergy, physicians-as well as the consequences for women who obey and resist these policies. Tracing the diverse plotlines of women's reproductive lives throughout American history, Solinger redefines the idea of reproductive freedom, putting race and class at the center of the struggle to control sex and pregnancy in America.
		Economic Liberties and the Constitution by Bernard H. Siegan New Brunswick, N.J. : Transaction Publishers, c2006 KF1600.A7 S53 2006 Balcony In this seminal work, Bernard Siegan traces the history of constitutional protection for economic liberties in the United States. He argues that the law began to change with respect to economic liberties in the late 1930s. At that time, the Supreme Court abdicated much of its authority to protect property rights, and instead condoned the expansion of state power over private property. Siegan brings the argument originally advanced in the first edition completely up to date. He explores the moral position behind capitalism and discusses why former communist countries flirting with decentralization and a free market (for instance, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos) have become more progressive and prosperous as a result. He contrasts the benefits of a free, deregulated economy with the dangers of over-regulation and moves towards socialized welfare—most specifically as happened during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency. Supporting his thesis with historical court cases, Siegan discusses the past and present status of economic liberties under the Constitution, clarifies constitutional interpretation and due process, and suggests ways of safeguarding economic liberties.
		Dark Bargain: Slavery, Profits, and the Struggle for the Constitution by Lawrence Goldstone New York : Walker & Company : Distributed by Holtzbrinck, 2005 KF4510 .G65 2005 Balcony An eye-opening examination of America’s foundation On September 17, 1787, at the State House in Philadelphia, thirty-nine men from twelve states, after months of often bitter debate, signed America’s Constitution. Yet very few of the delegates, at the start, had had any intention of creating a Constitution that would endure as a philosophical document. Most were driven more by pragmatic, regional interests than by idealistic vision. Many were meeting for the first time, others after years of contention, and the inevitable clash of personalities would be as intense as the advocacy of ideas or ideals. No issue was of greater concern to the delegates than that of slavery: it resounded through debates on the definition of treason, the disposition of the rich lands west of the Alleghenies and the admission of new states, representation and taxation, the need for a national census, and the very make-up of the legislative and executive branches of the new government. As Lawrence Goldstone provocatively makes clear in Dark Bargain, “to a significant and disquieting degree, America’s most sacred document was molded and shaped by the most notorious institution in its history.” Goldstone chronicles the forging of the Constitution through the prism of the crucial compromises made by men consumed with the needs of the slave economy. As the daily debates and backroom conferences in inns and taverns stretched through July and August of that hot summer—and as the philosophical leadership of James Madison waned—Goldstone clearly reveals how tenuous the document was, and how an agreement between unlikely collaborators— John Rutledge of South Carolina, and Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut—got the delegates past their most difficult point. Dark Bargain recounts an event as dramatic and compelling as any in our nation’s history.
		Eye for an Eye by William Ian Miller Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2006 K5103 .M49 2006 Balcony Analysing the law of the talion - an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth - William Ian Miller presents an original meditation on the concept of ‘pay back’. Miller’s unique theory of justice offers redemption through retaliation, espousing the view that revenge requires a deep commitment to balance in order to get even in a strict but fair manner. As a result we find that much of what is assumed to be justice, honour or respect is a way of providing this balance. Moreover, according to its biblical roots, the laws of the talion imply that the value of an eye can only be matched with another eye, suggesting that body parts are currency. Applying this concept to the real world, Miller looks at Shylock’s pound of flesh bargain, at blood oaths, and at other societies and cultures, comparing the ancient, and supposedly more primitive, with their modern counterparts
		Rethinking the Rule of Law after Communism edited by Adam Czarnota, Martin Krygier and Wojciech Sadurski Budapest ; New York : Central European University Press, 2005 KJC4426 .R48 2005 Annex 3rd Floor In the original euphoria that attended the virtually simultaneous demise of so many dictatorships in the late 1980s and early 90s, there was a widespread belief that problems of 'transition' basically involved shedding a known past, and replacing it with an also-known future. This volume surveys and contributes to the prolific debates that occurred in the years between the collapse of communism and the enlargement of the European Union regarding the issues of constitutionalism, dealing with the past, and the rule of law in the post-communist world. Eminent scholars explore the issue of transitional justice, highlighting the distinct roles of legal and constitutional bodies in the post-transition period. The introduction seeks to frame the work as an intervention in the discussion of communism and transition-two stable and separate points-while emphasizing the instability of the post-transition moment.
		A Common Law for Europe by Gian Antonio Benacchio and Barbara Pasa Budapest ; New York : Central European University Press, 2005 KJE960 .B4613 2005 Annex 3rd floor An essential guide for lawmakers, scholars, and students of law, this work takes on the formidable task of providing a detailed overview of the harmonization of law in the European Union. Skillfully researched, the authors seek to approach this topic with an eye to the recent enlargement process. In highlighting the most recent actions of the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance, the book seeks to analyze the future strengths and pitfalls of EU Common Law. Court rulings are quoted at length, and work in conjunction with text inserts in providing a format that breaks down complex information. This open style of the book gives researchers the ability to quickly locate useful information and cite statements from EU institutions. In outlining the sources and institutions of Community Law, and the challenges in harmonizing national and supra-national law-books, A Common Law for Europe has done a tremendous service for academics and future leaders of the European Union.
		The Class Action in Common Law Legal Systems: A Comparative Perspective by Rachael Mulheron Oxford ; Portland, Or. : Hart, 2004 K2243 .M85 2004 Balcony Multi-party litigation is a world-wide legal process, and the class action device is one of its best-known manifestations. As a means of providing access to justice and achieving judicial economies, the class action is gaining increasing endorsement—particularly given the prevalence of mass consumerism of goods and services, and the extent to which the activities and decisions of corporations and government bodies can affect large numbers of people. The primary purpose of this book is to compare and contrast the class action models that apply under the federal regimes of Australia and the United States and the provincial regimes of Ontario and British Columbia in Canada. While the United States model is the most longstanding, there have now been sufficient judicial determinations under each of the studied jurisdictions to provide a constructive basis for comparison. In the context of the drafting and application of a workable class action framework, it is apparent that similar problems have been confronted across these jurisdictions, which in turn promotes a search for assistance in the experience and legal analysis of others. The book is presented in three Parts. The first Part deals with the class action concept and its alternatives, and also discusses and critiques the stance of England where the introduction of the opt-out class action model has been opposed. The second Part focuses upon the various criteria and factors governing commencement of a class action (encompassing matters such as commonality, superiority, suitability, and the class representative). Part 3 examines matters pertaining to conduct of the action itself (such as becoming a class member, notice requirements, settlement, judgments, and costs and fees). The book is written to have practical utility for a wide range of legal practitioners and professionals, such as: academics and students of comparative civil procedure and multi-party litigation; litigation lawyers who may use the reference materials cited to the benefit of their own class action clients; and those charged with law reform who look to adopt the most workable (and avoid the unworkable) features in class action models elsewhere.
		Law and Mental Health: A Case-Based Approach by Robert G. Meyer and Christopher M. Weaver New York, NY : Guilford Press, c2006 KF480.A7 M49 2006 Balcony This volume presents classic and contemporary legal cases that have set important precedents related to psychological and mental health issues in criminal and civil proceedings; the role of practitioners as expert witnesses and forensic consultants; and legal concerns in general clinical practice. Engagingly written, the book brings to life the details of each case and the personal stories involved, while also providing a solid introduction to foundational issues in the field. Forensic and clinical professionals will find this a highly informative resource, and it will also be useful for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses and professional training.
		The Money Lawyers: The No-Holds-Barred World of Today's Richest and Most Powerful Lawyers by Joseph C. Goulden New York : Truman Talley/St. Martin's Press, c2006 KF372 .G68 2006 Balcony The Money Lawyers vividly describes how lawyering has become a money-driven business, not just a profession. It explores the lucrative world of class-action litigation, where plaintiff lawyers - "The Class-Action Club" - garner billions of dollars in damages and fees through suits against manufacturers of items such as breast implants, asbestos, and diet pills
		Labour Law, Work and Family edited by Joanne Conaghan and Kerry Rittich Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005 K1820 .L33 2005 Balcony In recent years, gender has emerged as an important focus of attention in discourse in and around labour law. Gender is gradually moving from the margin to the mainstream of labour law debate, particularly with the development of a 'family-friendly' policy agenda. This book consists of a series of essays from an international selection of leading legal scholars exploring the shifting boundary between work and family from a labour law perspective. The object is to assess the global implications for labour law and policy of women's changing role in paid and unpaid work. The approaches adopted by the contributors' are diverse, both conceptually and geographically, encompassing analyses from Australia, North America, Canada, the UK, Europe and Japan, and including national and supra-national perspectives. Key themes informing the collection as a whole are the re-positioning of unpaid care work as integral to the performance and structure of productive activity; and consideration of the implications of recognizing the interdependence of work and family activities. In this way, the book seeks to develop a central theme from the previously published 'Labour Law in an Era of Globalization' (Conaghan, Fischl and Klare, eds. OUP), as part of an ongoing exploration into the distributive implications of economic and political globalization.