Featured Acquisitions - November 2005


		Mercy on Trial: What It Means to Stop an Execution by Austin Sarat Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c2005 KFI1785 .S27 2005 Basement On January 11, 2003, Illinois Governor George Ryan--a Republican on record as saying that "some crimes are so horrendous . . . that society has a right to demand the ultimate penalty"--commuted the capital sentences of all 167 prisoners on his state's death row. Critics demonized Ryan. For opponents of capital punishment, however, Ryan became an instant hero whose decision was seen as a signal moment in the "new abolitionist" politics to end killing by the state. In this compelling and timely work, Austin Sarat provides the first book-length work on executive clemency. He turns our focus from questions of guilt and innocence to the very meaning of mercy. Starting from Ryan's controversial decision, Mercy on Trial uses the lens of executive clemency in capital cases to discuss the fraught condition of mercy in American political life. Most pointedly, Sarat argues that mercy itself is on trial. Although it has always had a problematic position as a form of "lawful lawlessness," it has come under much more intense popular pressure and criticism in recent decades. This has yielded a radical decline in the use of the power of chief executives to stop executions. From the history of capital clemency in the twentieth century to surrounding legal controversies and philosophical debates about when (if ever) mercy should be extended, Sarat examines the issue comprehensively. In the end, he acknowledges the risks associated with mercy--but, he argues, those risks are worth taking.
		Freeing the Presses : the First Amendment in Action edited by Timothy E. Cook Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, c2005 KF4774 .F745 2005 Balcony Most Americans consider a free press essential to democratic society—either as an independent watchdog against governmental abuse of power or as a wide-open marketplace of ideas. But few understand that far-reaching public policies have shaped the news citizens receive. In an age when mass communication ranges from independent cable channels to the Internet, it is essential to assess these policies and their effects if we want the media to continue fulfilling its role. Freeing the Presses offers a path-breaking inquiry into the theory and practice of freedom of the press at a critical time in the growing overlap between modern media and political discussion. Six political communication scholars draw upon history, sociology, political science, legal philosophy, and journalism to investigate whether the freedoms and privileges given to the news media and to reporters actually produce the results we expect. Their discussion covers past, present, and future media performance and engages a wide range of provocative questions: What understanding did the founders of the Constitution have of the press? Does the legal protection given to the press actually produce more free-wheeling news? Just how independent are the news media from political and other power centers? Must we accept a scurrilous, “unlovable” press if we are to have such independence? How will freedom of the press be changed by the new heady mix of mass-, middle-, and micro-media, and of citizen news-producers? Answers to these questions receive added perspective in an introductory essay by Timothy E. Cook and commentaries by four First Amendment experts. A book that will be welcomed by scholars, students, and anyone who relies on the freedom of the press in practice, Freeing the Presses addresses the important question of how best to pursue a media system that fulfills the demands of a democratic polity.
		Closing Arguments : Clarence Darrow on Religion, Law, and Society edited by S.T. Joshi Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press, c2005 KF213.D3 J67 2005 Balcony Clarence Darrow, son of a village undertaker and coffinmaker, rose to become one of America’s greatest attorneys—and surely its most famous. The Ohio native gained renown for his central role in momentous trials, including his 1924 defense of Leopold and Loeb and his defense of Darwinian principles in the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial.” Some have traced Darrow’s lifelong campaign against capital punishment to his boyhood terror at seeing a Civil War soldier buried—and no client of Darrow’s was ever executed, not even black men who were accused of murder for killing members of a white mob. Closing Arguments: Clarence Darrow on Religion, Law, and Society collects, for the first time, Darrow’s thoughts on his three main preoccupations, revealing a carefully conceived philosophy expressed with delightful pungency and clarity. His thoughts on social issues, especially on the dangers of religious fundamentalism, are uncannily prescient. A dry humor infuses his essays, and his reflections on himself and his philosophy reveal a quiet dignity at the core of a man better known for provoking Americans during an era of unprecedented tumult. From the wry “Is the Human Race Getting Anywhere?” to the scornful “Patriotism” and his elegiac summing up, “At Seventy-two,” Darrow’s writing still stimulates, pleases and challenges. A rebel who always sided intellectually and emotionally with the minority, Darrow remains a figure to contend with sixty-seven years after his death. “Inside every lawyer is the wreck of a poet,” Darrow once said. Closing Arguments demonstrates that, in his case, that statement is true.
		Jurisprudence or Legal Science?: A Debate About the Nature of Legal Theory edited by Sean Coyle and George Pavlakos Oxford ; Portland, Or. : Hart Publishing, 2005 K237.A6 J87 2005 Balcony Modern jurisprudence embodies two distinct traditions of thought about the nature of law. The first adopts a scientific approach which assumes that all legal phenomena possess universal characteristics that may be used in the analysis of any type of legal system. The main task of the legal philosopher is to disclose and understand such characteristics, which are thought to be capable of establishment independently of any moral or political values which the law might promote, and of any other context-dependent features of legal systems. Another form of jurisprudential reflection views the law as a complex form of moral arrangement which can only be analysed from within a system of reflective moral and political practices. Rather than conducting a search for neutral standpoints or criteria, this second form of theorising suggests that we uncover the nature and purpose of the law by reflecting on the dynamic properties of legal practice. Can legal philosophy aspire to scientific values of reasoning and truth? Is the idea of neutral standpoints an illusion? Should legal theorising be limited to the analysis of particular practices? Are the scientific and juristic approaches in the end as rigidly distinct from one another as some have claimed? In a series of important new essays the authors of Jurisprudence or Legal Science? attempt to answer these and other questions about the nature of jurisprudential thinking, whilst emphasising the connection of such ‘methodological’ concerns to the substantive legal issues which have traditionally defined the core of jurisprudential speculation. The list of contributors includes R. Alexy, S. Coyle, J. Gorman, C. Heidemann, P. Leith, J. Morison, G. Pavlakos and V. Rodriguez-Blanco.
		Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions edited by Cass R. Sunstein and Martha C. Nussbaum Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004 HV4708 .A56 2004 Basement Millions of people live with cats, dogs, and other pets, which they treat as members of their families. But through their daily behavior, people who love those pets, and greatly care about their welfare, help ensure short and painful lives for millions, even billions of animals that cannot easily be distinguished from dogs and cats. Today, the overwhelming percentage of animals with whom Westerners interact are raised for food. Countless animals endure lives of relentless misery and die often torturous deaths. The use of animals by human beings, often for important human purposes, has forced uncomfortable questions to center stage: Should people change their behavior? Should the law promote animal welfare? Should animals have legal rights? Should animals continue to be counted as "property"? What reforms make sense? Cass Sunstein and Martha Nussbaum bring together an all-star cast of contributors to explore the legal and political issues that underlie the campaign for animal rights and the opposition to it. Addressing ethical questions about ownership, protection against unjustified suffering, and the ability of animals to make their own choices free from human control, the authors offer numerous different perspectives on animal rights and animal welfare. They show that whatever one's ultimate conclusions, the relationship between human beings and nonhuman animals is being fundamentally rethought. This book offers a state-of-the-art treatment of that rethinking.
		National Minority Rights in Europe by Rove H. Malloy Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005 KJC5144.M56 M35 2005 Annex - 3rd floor Separatism is a highly topical and controversial legal and political issue. The conflicts in the Balkans of the 1990s have revived the unresolved issue of national minority self-determination in international law and also, in European politics, the issues of how to deal with sub-state nationalisms and group recognition, and how to enable the political inclusion of national minorities. This book reviews the European inter-governmental approach in international law and politics through analysis of issues related to the moral recognition and ethical acceptance of national minorities. Examining issues of sub-state nationalisms, group recognition, identity, and political participation, Malloy reveals assumptions in international law and politics about state sovereignty, collective rights, loyalty, and political inclusion. Employing both theoretical analysis and practical examples, Malloy provides a new framework for the accommodation of national minorities in Europe, which aims to address the problems that have emerged from both international law and European relations since 1989. Part I examines the emerging national minority rights scheme since 1989 and explores concepts of the nature and scope of national minority rights. Malloy suggests that these rights have perhaps been mis-categorized and under-explored. Part II examines the discourse in the light of contemporary political theory on nationalism and multiculturalism, and the politics of identity, difference, and recognition as well as discursive approaches to democracy. Based upon these analyses, she develops an alternative framework for national minority accommodation based upon multiple loyalties, critical citizenship, and discursive justice. This alternative model overcomes the dichotomies of individualism-collectivism and universalism-particularism, contending that minority rights should be seen as collective political autonomy rights rather than as individual cultural human rights. Using this model, Part III examines the assumptions underlying the politics of democratization, taking as examples the work of the Council of Europe and the politics of European Union integration. Malloy questions the ability of the national minority rights discourse to inform international law in its efforts to protect national minorities in an ethical manner. Instead, she contends that the complex processes of constitutionalism in the realm of European integration might provide a better way to accommodate national minorities.
		Objection: How High-Priced Defense Attorneys, Celebrity Defendants, and 24/7 Media Have Hijacked Our Criminal Justice System by Nancy Grace with Diane Clehane New York : Hyperion, c2005 KF220 .G73 2005 Balcony A compelling and gutsy read, Objection! captures Nancy Grace’s inimitable voice which has become a favorite of millions of television viewers and radio listeners around the country. In Objection!, Nancy makes very clear her views on the imbalance of fairness in today’s judicial system. In an arena where celebrities are released without just punishment and innocent victims are vilified by power-hungry defense attorneys, Nancy seeks to even the scales with her unique, passionate approach. Behind-the-scenes details from the cases: -Scott Peterson -Martha Stewart -Kobe Bryant -Jason Williams -Phil Spector -Robert Blake
		America's Changing Coasts: Private Rights and Public Trust edited by Diana M. Whitelaw and Gerald R. Visgilio Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA : E. Elgar, c2005 HT392 .A759 2005 Basement Following a comprehensive overview by the editors, this volume’s expert contributors provide detailed discussion of important legal, ecological and social issues associated with coastal resource management, as well as the most significant challenges confronting land use planners and resource managers in coastal communities. Using an interdisciplinary approach to perplexing questions surrounding the issue of development versus protection, the volume presents a broad approach to coastal issues involving private rights and public trust.
		Conquest by Law: How the Discovery of America Dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of Their Lands by Lindsay G. Robertson Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005 KF228.U5 R63 2005 Balcony In 1823, Chief Justice John Marshall, a Revolutionary War veteran, former Virginia legislator, and a well known land speculator handed down a Supreme Court decision of monumental importance in defining the rights of indigenous peoples throughout the English-speaking world. The case was Johnson v. M'Intosh, and at the heart of the decision was a "discovery doctrine" that gave rights of ownership to the European sovereigns who "discovered" the land and converted the indigenous owners into tenants. Though its meaning and intention has been fiercely disputed, more than 175 years later, this doctrine remains the law of the land and indigenous peoples all over the world have been dispossessed of their property as a result. In 1991, while investigating the discovery doctrine's historical origins Lindsay Robertson made a startling find. In the basement of a Pennsylvania furniture-maker Robertson discovered a trunk with the complete corporate records, some in code, of the Illinois and Wabash Land Companies, the plaintiffs in Johnson v. M'Intosh. This book provides, for the first time, the complete and troubling account of the European "discovery" of the Americas. The tale the documents tell is unsettling. Johnson v. M'Intosh was a collusive case, an attempt to buy off many of the leading figures of the early republic, and sought to take advantage of loopholes in the early federal judicial system to win a favorable decision from the Supreme Court. This is a gripping tale of political collusion and unintended consequences. It is a story of how a spurious claim gave rise to a doctrine--intended to be of limited application--which itself gave rise to a massive displacement of persons and the creation of a law that governs indigenous people and their lands to this day.
		Governing the Corporation: Regulation and Corporate Governance in an Age of Scandal and Global Markets edited by Justin O'Brien Chichester, West Sussex, England ; Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, c2005 K1327 .G68 2005 Balcony Governing the Corporation is a unique forum combining the insights of some of the most influential minds involved in the governance of global financial markets with internationally recognised academics and practitioners. Divided into three sections, the book first examines changes to the regulation of markets and assesses the global implications of the export of Sarbanes-Oxley for financial sector governance. The second section examines the challenges facing the professions with critical analysis from leading lawyers and accountants. The final section calculates the effectiveness of state and self-regulatory policy and posits the importance of institutionalising an ethical framework tied to incentives. Each section of the book features contributions from regulators, practitioners and academics from a range of disciplines, including finance, political science, criminology, law and philosophy.
		Freedom of Expression: Overzelous Copyright Bozos and Other Enemies of Creativity by Kembrew McLeod New York : Doubleday KF2979 .M348 2005 Balcony Drop that quotation/sample/collage, sir! An enlightening, amusing, and frightening look at how the growth of intellectual property law is making us all less free to say and think what we want. In 1998 university professor and professional art prankster Kembrew McLeod trademarked the phrase "freedom of expression" as a joke, an amusing if dark way to comment on how intellectual property law is increasingly being used to fence off the culture and restrict the way we're allowed to express ideas. But what's happened in recent years to intellectual property law is no joke and has had repercussions on our culture and our everyday lives. The trend toward privatization of—melodies, genes, public space, the English language—means an inevitable clash of economic values against the value of free speech, creativity, and shared resources. Our irreplaceable cultural commons is being sectioned up and sold off to the highest bidders and the most aggressive litigators. In Freedom of Expression, Kembrew McLeod gathers topics as diverse as hip-hop music and digital sampling, the patenting of seeds and human genes, folk and blues music, visual collage art, electronic voting, the Internet and computer software. In doing so, he connects this rapidly accelerating push to pin down everything as a piece of private property to its effects on music, art and science. In much the same way Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation tied together disparate topics to paint an alarming picture of the food industry, and written in a witty style that brings to mind media pranksters like Al Franken, Ken Kesey, and Abbie Hoffman, Freedom of Expression uses intellectual property law as the focal point to show how economic concerns are seriously eroding creativity and free speech. It’s later than we know.
		The Failure of the Founding Fathers: Jefferson, Marshall, and the Rise of Presidential Democracy by Bruce Ackerman Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005 E331 .A15 2005 Basement The ink was barely dry on the Constitution when it was almost destroyed by the rise of political parties in the United States. As Bruce Ackerman shows, the Framers had not anticipated the two-party system, and when Republicans battled Federalists for the presidency in 1800, the rules laid down by the Constitution exacerbated the crisis. With Republican militias preparing to march on Washington, the House of Representatives deadlocked between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Based on seven years of archival research, the book describes previously unknown aspects of the electoral college crisis. Ackerman shows how Thomas Jefferson counted his Federalist rivals out of the House runoff, and how the Federalists threatened to place John Marshall in the presidential chair. Nevertheless, the Constitution managed to survive through acts of statesmanship and luck. Despite the intentions of the Framers, the presidency had become a plebiscitarian office. Thomas Jefferson gained office as the People's choice and acted vigorously to fulfill his popular mandate. This transformation of the presidency serves as the basis for a new look at Marbury v. Madison, the case that first asserted the Supreme Court's power of judicial review. Ackerman shows that Marbury is best seen in combination with another case, Stuart v. Laird, as part of a retreat by the Court in the face of the plebiscitarian presidency. This "switch in time" proved crucial to the Court's survival, allowing it to integrate Federalist and Republican themes into the living Constitution of the early republic. Ackerman presents a revised understanding of the early days of two great institutions that continue to have a major impact on American history: the plebiscitarian presidency and a Supreme Court that struggles to put the presidency's claims of a popular mandate into constitutional perspective.
		Non-State Actors and Human Rights edited by Philip Alston Oxford [England] ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005 K3240 .N66 2005 Balcony Can transnational corporations ignore human rights as long as governments don't hold them accountable? If the UN is put in charge of a territory, is it bound by human rights law? Does that body of law apply to private security contractors who use torture to achieve their goals? Does the right to freedom of speech apply in a private shopping mall which has become the modern-day town centre? Under traditional approaches to human rights, non-State actors are beyond the direct reach of international human rights law. They cannot be parties to the relevant treaties and so they are only bound to the extent that obligations accepted by States can be applied to them by governments. The result is that entities including Non-Governmental Organizations such as the UN and the IMF, private security contractors, and transnational corporations, along with many others, are generally considered not to be bound directly by human rights law. This situation threatens to make a mockery of much of the international system of accountability for human rights violations. As privatization, outsourcing, and downsizing place ever more public or governmental functions into the hands of private actors, the human rights regime must adapt if it is to maintain its relevance. The contributors to this volume examine the different approaches that might be taken in order to ensure some degree of accountability. Making space in the legal regime to take account of the role of non-State actors is one of the biggest and most critical challenges facing international law today.
		Representing Sacco and Vanzetti edited by Jerome H. Delamater and Mary Anne Trasciatti New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2005 KF224.S2 R47 2005 Balcony The contributors to this volume, from a range of academic disciplines and artistic traditions, illuminate previously unexplored aspects of the internationally renowned Sacco and Vanzetti case. Rather than take up the question of whether the two Italian immigrant anarchists were guilty, the essays in this book analyze literary-, artistic-, and mass-mediated representations of Sacco and Vanzetti, linking them to stereotypes of so-called "foreigners" and "others" that prevailed in the 1920s, and interrogating those images that prevail in our own age.

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