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American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19
by John Fabian WittA concise history of how American law has shaped—and been shaped by—the experience of contagion“Contrarians and the civic-minded alike will find Witt’s legal survey a fascinating resource”—Kirkus, starred review “Professor Witt’s book is an original and thoughtful contribution to the interdisciplinary study of disease and American law. Although he covers the broad sweep of the American experience of epidemics from yellow fever to COVID-19, he is especially timely in his exploration of the legal background to the current disaster of the American response to the coronavirus. A thought-provoking, readable, and important work.”—Frank Snowden, author of Epidemics and Society From yellow fever to smallpox to polio to AIDS to COVID-19, epidemics have prompted Americans to make choices and answer questions about their basic values and their laws. In five concise chapters, historian John Fabian Witt traces the legal history of epidemics, showing how infectious disease has both shaped, and been shaped by, the law. Arguing that throughout American history legal approaches to public health have been liberal for some communities and authoritarian for others, Witt shows us how history’s answers to the major questions brought up by previous epidemics help shape our answers today: What is the relationship between individual liberty and the common good? What is the role of the federal government, and what is the role of the states? Will long-standing traditions of government and law give way to the social imperatives of an epidemic? Will we let the inequities of our mixed tradition continue?
American Corrections (Mindtap Course List)
by Todd R. Clear George F. Cole Michael D. ReisigExplore the American corrections system from the perspective of both the corrections worker and the accused person in AMERICAN CORRECTIONS, 12th Edition. You'll learn about institutional and community sanctions, aided by high-profile corrections cases taken from recent headlines to reinforce important theories. The authors "tell it like it is" with thought-provoking, unbiased examinations of such topics as assisting felons during the re-entry process, reducing recidivism, the death penalty and surveillance. You'll also get a frontline view of careers in the corrections field.
The American Court System (Criminal Justice: Contemporary Literature in Theory and Practice #5)
by Marilyn McShaneDepending on whom one talks to, today's criminal courts are either the savior or the demon of our social order. While everyone seems to have an answer about what needs to be done, the solutions are neither simple, nor within our current allocation of resources. Media hype and political posturing emotionally dilute the reality of what motivates crime and what constitutes effective punishment. The essays and research in this anthology give the reader a realistic view of complex problems affecting our juvenile and adult courts and, consequently, the rest of the criminal justice system. Topics include sentencing disparity, sentencing reform, and wrongful convictions. Some traditionally controversial issues are covered, such as the insanity defense and the death penalty as well as the more recent "three-strikes-and-you're-out" movement and mandatory minimums. This series will be of great utility to students, scholars, and others with interests in the literature of criminal justice and criminology.
American Courts: Process and Policy (6th edition)
by Lawrence BaumThis highly respected text by leading scholar Lawrence Baum provides thorough descriptions of the courts and their activities; explanations of what courts do, how people within them behave, and how they relate to the rest of the political system; and an evaluation of the courts' work. The best-seller for political science or pre-law courses in the judicial process or judicial politics, American Courts is the most comprehensive, current, and accessible text in its market.
American Courts: Process and Policy (Sixth Edition)
by Lawrence BaumFrom the preface: One goal of this book is descriptive-to show how courts operate and what they do. I look closely at the work of the various types of courts in the United States. I also examine the people and institutions that help to shape the courts' activities, including lawyers, litigants, and policy makers in the other branches of government. A second goal of the book is to explain what courts do and how they relate to the rest of the political system. To take one example, it is important to know that a high proportion of criminal cases are resolved through plea bargains, but it is also important to understand the forces that make plea bargaining so common. Throughout this book, I consider explanations for matters such as the president's choices of federal judges and the positions that Supreme Court justices take in the cases they decide. The mass media, the general public, and policy makers elsewhere in government constantly evaluate the courts. Much of that evaluation is negative. One consequence is an array of proposals to remedy what people perceive as the courts' failings. This book examines many of these proposals and shows that reforms often fail to achieve the positive effects that were sought. A third goal of the book is to help readers make informed judgments in evaluating both the current state of the courts and proposals for change.
American Courts: Process and Policy
by Lawrence BaumThe highly respected AMERICAN COURTS: PROCESS AND POLICY, by top Courts scholar Lawrence Baum, provides clear descriptions of the courts and the activities of the various courts. The Seventh Edition explains what courts do, how people within them behave, and how they relate to the rest of the political system.
American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again
by Yuval Levin&“The most important voice in the political culture&” (Ben Shapiro) reveals the Constitution&’s remarkable power to repair our broken civic culture, rescue our malfunctioning politics, and unify a fractious America Common ground is hard to find in today&’s politics. In a society teeming with irreconcilable political perspectives, many people have grown frustrated under a system of government that constantly demands compromise. More and more on both the right and the left have come to blame the Constitution for the resulting discord. But the Constitution is not the problem we face; it is the solution. Blending engaging history with lucid analysis, conservative scholar Yuval Levin&’s American Covenant recovers the Constitution&’s true genius and reveals how it charts a path to repairing America&’s fault lines. Uncovering the framers&’ sophisticated grasp of political division, Levin showcases the Constitution&’s exceptional power to facilitate constructive disagreement, negotiate resolutions to disputes, and forge unity in a fractured society. Clear-eyed about the ways that contemporary politics have malfunctioned, Levin also offers practical solutions for reforming those aspects of the constitutional order that have gone awry. Hopeful, insightful, and rooted in the best of our political tradition, American Covenant celebrates the Constitution&’s remarkable power to bind together a diverse society, reassuring us that a less divided future is within our grasp.
American Criminal Courts: Legal Process and Social Context
by John Randolph Fuller Casey WelchAmerican Criminal Courts: Legal Process and Social Context is an introductory-level text that offers a comprehensive study of the legal processes that guide criminal courts and the social contexts that introduce variations in the activities of actors inside and outside the court. Specifically the text focuses upon: Legal Processes. U.S. criminal courts are constrained by several legal processes and organizational structures that determine how the courts operate and how laws are applied. This book explores how democratic processes develop the criminal law in the United States, the documents that define law (federal and state constitutions, legal codes, administrative policies), the organizational structure of courts at the federal and state levels, the overlapping authority of the appeals process, and the effect of legal processes such as precedent, jurisdiction, and the underlying legal philosophies of various types of courts. Although most texts on criminal courts do a credible job of describing legal processes, this text looks more deeply into the origins of criminal law, historic turning points in the criminal law, conditions that affect the decision-making of criminal justice practitioners, and the contentious political process that affects how criminal laws are considered. Social Contexts. The criminal courts are staffed by people who represent different perspectives, occupational pressures, and organizational goals. The text includes chapters on actors in the traditional courtroom workgroup (judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys), as well as those outside the court who seek to influence it, including advocacy groups, media, and politicians. It is the interplay between the court legal processes and the social actors in the courtroom that makes the application of the criminal laws so fascinating. By focusing on the tension between the law (legal processes) and the actors inside and outside the courts system (social contexts), this text demonstrates how the courts are a product of "law in action," and it presents the course content in a way that enables students to understand not only the "how" of the U.S. criminal court system but also the "why."
American Criminal Justice: An Introduction
by Frederick T. DavisAmerican criminal justice may be one of the best known - and most influential - systems of criminal justice in the world, but also the least understood: countless films and television series portray American police officers, prosecutors and lawyers, but over 95 percent of criminal matters result in guilty pleas, and trials are becoming vanishingly scarce as people accused of crime choose to strike a deal with increasingly powerful prosecutors. Sentencing 'reform' has led to a burgeoning prison population that is by far the highest among economically advanced countries. Meanwhile, American prosecutors have gained increasing (and largely unchecked) power to apply US criminal laws to worldwide corporations and individuals with little or no connection with the country. American Criminal Justice: An Introduction provides a readable, comprehensive review of the American criminal process behind these and other problems.
American Criminal Justice Policy
by Daniel P. MearsAmerican Criminal Justice Policy examines many of the most prominent criminal justice policies on the American landscape and finds that they fall well short of achieving the accountability and effectiveness that policymakers have advocated and that the public expects. The policies include mass incarceration, sex offender laws, supermax prisons, faith-based prisoner reentry programs, transfer of juveniles to adult court, domestic violence mandatory arrest laws, drug courts, gun laws, community policing, private prisons, and others. Optimistically, Daniel P. Mears argues that this situation can be changed through systematic incorporation of evaluation research into policy development, monitoring, and assessment. To this end, the book provides a clear and accessible discussion of five types of evaluation - needs, theory, implementation or process, outcome and impact, and cost-efficiency. It identifies how these can be used both to hold the criminal justice system accountable and to increase the effectiveness of crime control and crime prevention efforts.
American Criminal Law: Its People, Principles, and Evolution
by Paul H. Robinson Sarah M. RobinsonThis coursebook offers an exciting new approach to teaching criminal law to graduate and undergraduate students, and indeed to the general public. Each well-organized and student-friendly chapter offers historical context, tells the story of a principal historic case, provides a modern case that contrasts with the historic, explains the legal issue at the heart of both cases, includes a unique mapping feature describing the range of positions on the issue among the states today, examines a key policy question on the topic, and provides an aftermath that reports the final chapter to the historic and modern case stories. By embedding sophisticated legal doctrine and analysis in real-world storytelling, the book provides a uniquely effective approach to teaching American criminal law in programs on criminal justice, political science, public policy, history, philosophy, and a range of other fields.
American Criminal Procedure: Cases and Commentary (10th Edition)
by Stephen A. Saltzburg Daniel J. CapraThis new edition of the classic casebook contains detailed and authoritative commentary, extensive discussion of practical problems, highlighted treatment of selected recent lower-court cases, full consideration of Supreme Court cases, and questions that challenge the conceptions and analytical powers of law students. New features include the addition of more headnotes; full case treatment of important new Supreme Court cases; and consideration of how Bill of Rights protections have been affected and limited in the aftermath of 9/11. The new edition also includes additional scholarly commentary on such topics as the exclusionary rule, Miranda, and jury nullification. The authors have made a concerted attempt to make the book as lean and as user-friendly as possible, without sacrificing content that will challenge both the student and the professor.
American Criminal Procedure, Investigative: Cases And Commentary (American Casebook Series)
by Stephen Saltzburg Daniel CapraThis book is a complete, unchanged reprint of Chapters 1–6 of Saltzburg & Capra, American Criminal Procedure (11th ed. 2018). The new edition of the hardcover text contains detailed commentary, highlighted treatment of selected lower court cases, and full consideration of Supreme Court cases.
American Cultural Pluralism and Law (Second Edition)
by Jill Norgren Serena NandaAn important text for courses in American Government, society and the law, cultural studies, and civil rights. - Back Cover
An American Dilemma
by Mary Welek AtwellAn American Dilemma examines the issue of capital punishment in the United States as it conflicts with the nation's obligations under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. In a number of high profile cases, foreign nationals have been executed after being denied their rights under the Vienna Convention. The International Court of Justice has ruled against the United States, but individual states have chosen to defy international law. The Supreme Court has not resolved the question of legal remedies for such breaches.
The American Disease
by David F. MustoThe American Disease is a classic study of the development of drug laws in the United States.
American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush
by Kevin PhillipsThe Bushes are the family nobody really knows, says Kevin Phillips. This popular lack of acquaintance—nurtured by gauzy imagery of Maine summer cottages, gray-haired national grandmothers, July Fourth sparklers, and cowboy boots—has let national politics create a dynasticized presidency that would have horrified America’s founding fathers. They, after all, had led a revolution against a succession of royal Georges. In this devastating book, onetime Republican strategist Phillips reveals how four generations of Bushes have ascended the ladder of national power since World War One, becoming entrenched within the American establishment—Yale, Wall Street, the Senate, the CIA, the vice presidency, and the presidency—through a recurrent flair for old-boy networking, national security involvement, and political deception. By uncovering relationships and connecting facts with new clarity, Phillips comes to a stunning conclusion: The Bush family has systematically used its financial and social empire—its "aristocracy"—to gain the White House, thereby subverting the very core of American democracy. In their ambition, the Bushes ultimately reinvented themselves with brilliant timing, twisting and turning from silver spoon Yankees to born-again evangelical Texans. As America—and the world—holds its breath for the 2004 presidential election, American Dynasty explains how it happened and what it all means.
American Exception: Empire and the Deep State
by Aaron GoodAmerican Exception seeks to explain the breakdown of US democracy. In particular, how we can understand the uncanny continuity of American foreign policy, the breakdown of the rule of law, and the extreme concentration of wealth and power into an overworld of the corporate rich. To trace the evolution of the American state, the author takes a deep politics approach, shedding light on those political practices that are typically repressed in &“mainstream&” discourse. In its long history before World War II, the US had a deep political system—a system of governance in which decision-making and enforcement were carried out within—and outside of—public institutions. It was a system that always included some degree of secretive collusion and law-breaking. After World War II, US elites decided to pursue global dominance over the international capitalist system. Setting aside the liberal rhetoric, this project was pursued in a manner that was by and large imperialistic rather than progressive. To administer this covert empire, US elites created a massive national security state characterized by unprecedented levels of secrecy and lawlessness. The &“Global Communist Conspiracy&” provided a pretext for exceptionism—an endless &“exception&” to the rule of law. What gradually emerged after World War II was a tripartite state system of governance. The open democratic state and the authoritarian security state were both increasingly dominated by an American deep state. The term deep state was badly misappropriated during the Trump era. In the simplest sense, it herein refers to all those institutions that collectively exercise undemocratic power over state and society. To trace how we arrived at this point, American Exception explores various deep state institutions and history-making interventions. Key institutions involve the relationships between the overworld of the corporate rich, the underworld of organized crime, and the national security actors that mediate between them. History-making interventions include the toppling of foreign governments, the launching of aggressive wars, and the political assassinations of the 1960s. The book concludes by assessing the prospects for a revival of US democracy.
American Exceptionalism and Human Rights
by Michael IgnatieffWith the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, the most controversial question in world politics fast became whether the United States stands within the order of international law or outside it. Does America still play by the rules it helped create? American Exceptionalism and Human Rights addresses this question as it applies to U.S. behavior in relation to international human rights. With essays by eleven leading experts in such fields as international relations and international law, it seeks to show and explain how America's approach to human rights differs from that of most other Western nations. In his introduction, Michael Ignatieff identifies three main types of exceptionalism: exemptionalism (supporting treaties as long as Americans are exempt from them); double standards (criticizing "others for not heeding the findings of international human rights bodies, but ignoring what these bodies say of the United States); and legal isolationism (the tendency of American judges to ignore other jurisdictions). The contributors use Ignatieff's essay as a jumping-off point to discuss specific types of exceptionalism--America's approach to capital punishment and to free speech, for example--or to explore the social, cultural, and institutional roots of exceptionalism. These essays--most of which appear in print here for the first time, and all of which have been revised or updated since being presented in a year-long lecture series on American exceptionalism at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government--are by Stanley Hoffmann, Paul Kahn, Harold Koh, Frank Michelman, Andrew Moravcsik, John Ruggie, Frederick Schauer, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Carol Steiker, and Cass Sunstein.
The American Experience in Bioethics
by Lisa NewtonThis volume tracks the development in the United States of the field of Bioethics, Ethics applied to the disciplines of medicine, nursing, and health care in general, including medical research and the complex economic and political problems surrounding the provision of medical and nursing care. It explains how the United States developed, case by case, the central rules and principles of ER ethics in the Health Care System. The discussion includes the controversies centering on birth, death, clinical research, experimental procedures (cloning, reproductive technology, organ transplants), and ends with a substantial suggestion on the provision of health care for all.
The American Experience in Environmental Protection
by Lisa NewtonThis book tracks the growth of environmental awareness and conservation in the United States through the major trends of the 20th century, and establishes a philosophical ground for protection of the environment. It records a major cultural shift in the thinking of this nation, and provides guidelines for its continuation.
An American Family: A Memoir Of Hope And Sacrifice
by Khizr Khan'Khan's aspirational memoir reminds us all why Americans should welcome newcomers from all lands' Kirkus ReviewsIn fewer than three hundred words, Khizr Khan electrified viewers around the world when he took the stage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. And when he offered to lend Donald Trump his own much-read and dog-eared pocket Constitution, his gesture perfectly encapsulated the feelings of millions. But who was that man, standing beside his wife, extolling the promises and virtues of the U.S. Constitution?In this urgent and timeless immigrant story, we learn that Khizr Khan has been many things. He was the oldest of ten children born to farmers in Pakistan, and a curious and thoughtful boy who listened rapt as his grandfather recited Rumi beneath the moonlight. He was a university student who read the Declaration of Independence and was awestruck by what might be possible in life. He was a hopeful suitor, trying to win the heart of a woman far out of his league. He was a brilliant and diligent young family man who worked two jobs to save enough money to put himself through Harvard Law School. He was a loving father who tragically lost his son, an Army captain killed while protecting his base camp in Iraq. He was and is a patriot, and a fierce advocate for the rights, dignities and values enshrined in the American system.An American Family shows us who Khizr Khan and millions of other American immigrants are, and why-especially in these tumultuous times-we must not be afraid to step forward for what we believe in when it matters most.
American Family: A Novel
by Catherine Marshall-SmithRichard and Michael, both three years sober, have just decided to celebrate their love by moving in together when Richard—driven by the desire to do the right thing for his ten-year-old-daughter, Brady, whom he has never met—impulsively calls his former father-in-law to connect with her. With that phone call, he jeopardizes the one good thing he has—his relationship with Michael—and also threatens the world of the fundamentalist Christian grandparents who love Brady and see her as payback from God for the alcohol-related death of her mother. Unable to reach an agreement, the two parties hire lawyers who have agendas far beyond the interests of the families—and Brady is initially trusted into Richard and Michael&’s care. But when the judge learns that the young girl was present when a questionable act took place while in their custody, she returns Brady to her grandparents. Ultimately, it&’s not until further tragedy strikes that both families are finally motivated to actually act in the &“best interests of the child.&”
American Foreign Policy Ideology and the International Rule of Law: Contesting Power through the International Criminal Court
by Malcolm JorgensenAmerican engagement with international law has long been framed by commitment to the 'international rule of law', which persists even across divergent political and historical eras. Yet, despite appeals to legal ideals, American international law policy is consistently criticised as fraught with contradiction and distorted by beliefs in 'exceptionalism'. These contested claims of fidelity to law are the subject of this book: what does the 'international rule of law' mean for American legal policymakers even as they advocate competing commitments to international legal order? Answers are found in extensive evidence that American policymakers receive international law through established foreign policy ideologies, which correspond with divisions in both legal scholarship and diplomatic history. Using the case of the International Criminal Court, the book demonstrates that the very meaning of the international rule of law is structured by competing ideological beliefs; between American policymakers and global counterparts, and among American policymakers themselves.
American Founding Son: John Bingham and the Invention of the Fourteenth Amendment
by Gerard N. MaglioccaJohn Bingham was the architect of the rebirth of the United States following the Civil War. A leading antislavery lawyer and congressman from Ohio, Bingham wrote the most important part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees fundamental rights and equality to all Americans. He was also at the center of two of the greatest trials in history, giving the closing argument in the military prosecution of John Wilkes Booth's co-conspirators for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and in the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. And more than any other man, Bingham played the key role in shaping the Union's policy towards the occupied ex-Confederate States, with consequences that still haunt our politics. American Founding Son provides the most complete portrait yet of this remarkable statesman. Drawing on his personal letters and speeches, the book traces Bingham's life from his humble roots in Pennsylvania through his career as a leader of the Republican Party. Gerard N. Magliocca argues that Bingham and his congressional colleagues transformed the Constitution that the Founding Fathers created, and did so with the same ingenuity that their forbears used to create a more perfect union in the 1780s. In this book, Magliocca restores Bingham to his rightful place as one of our great leaders.