The way that small claims are dealt with has prompted enormous interest in many jurisdictions, yet the subject has been neglected by researchers in this country. We should not doubt the importance of these procedures, however. It is increasingly seen as a convenient expedient in tackling the crisis in civil justice, and with a massive increase in the small claims limit from GBP1,000 to GBP3,000 in January 1996, small claims have suddenly become big judicial business. This book (based on research conducted over a two-year period and funded by the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Office of Fair Trading and the Economic and Social Research Council) presents the most extensive empirical research analysis of small claims procedures ever undertaken in this country. The theoretical and practical implications of moves to expand the scope of 'Do-it-yourself' justice are explored. The author had privileged access to the district court judges who conduct claim hearings, and the book is the first to include lengthy extracts from tape recorded interviews with them. It also includes discussion of interviews with litigants, including many who struggled to gain payment of court judgments.

This book focuses on the most important implications of the "fair hearing" right for conducting civil proceedings. It provides a thorough and critical analysis of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (the Strasbourg Court) regarding Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It puts forward a generally applicable framework for the analysis of the various procedural issues to which the "fair hearing" right may give rise, then applies that framework to discuss a selection of specific procedural issues. The book investigates several important questions of general scope in the context of ECHR Article 6, such as: What is the relevance of case law regarding criminal proceedings when the "fair hearing" right is applied to civil proceedings? How does the Strasbourg Court actually proceed when evaluating whether specific court proceedings have been "fair"? What are the roles of fundamental concepts such as the "margin of appreciation" and proportionality in this regard? In the subsequent discussion of specific procedural issues, the focus is on the balance that must be struck between procedural safeguards and the objectives of efficiency and economy. The book considers specific procedural issues such as: When must an oral hearing be held in order for civil proceedings to be "fair"? When will a refusal of specific evidence render civil proceedings unfair? When is a civil litigant entitled to le gal aid? As such, the book not only presents current case law; it also compares various strands of the case law regarding the "fair hearing" right, and argues that the Strasbourg Court's approach to various pertinent issues needs to become more consistent. Offering an in-depth examination of the Strasbourg Court's case law regarding ECHR Article 6, this book should be consulted by anyone interested in fundamental fair trial rights.

The slaying of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1964 was a notorious event documented in Howard Ball's 2004 book Murder in Mississippi. Now Ball revisits that grisly crime to tell how, four decades later, justice finally came to Philadelphia.

Originally tried in 1967, Baptist minister and Klansman Edgar Ray Killen was set free because one juror couldn't bring herself to convict a preacher. Now Ball tells how progressive-minded state officials finally re-opened the case and, forty years after the fact, enabled Mississippians to reconcile with their tragic past.

The second trial of 80-year-old "Preacher" Killen, who was convicted by a unanimous jury, took place in June 2005, with the verdict delivered on the forty-first anniversary of the crime. Ball, himself a former civil rights activist, attended the trial and interviewed most of the participants, as well as local citizens and journalists covering the proceedings.

Ball retraces the cycle of events that led to the resurrection of this "cold case," from the attention generated by the film Mississippi Burning to a new state attorney general's quest for closure. He reviews the strategies of the prosecution and defense and examines the evidence introduced at the trial-as well as evidence that could not be presented-and also relates first-hand accounts of the proceedings, including his unnerving staring contest with Killen himself from only ten feet away.

Ball explores the legal, social, political, and pseudo-religious roots of the crime, including the culture of impunity that shielded from prosecution whites who killed blacks or "outside agitators." He also assesses the transformation in Mississippi's life and politics that allowed such a case to be tried after so long. Indeed, the trial itself was a major catalytic force for change in Mississippi, enabling Mississippians to convey a much more positive national image for their state.

Ball's gripping account illuminates all of this and shows that, despite racism's long stranglehold on the Deep South, redemption is not beyond the grasp of those who envision a more just society.

In 1987, the United States Supreme Court decided a case that could have ended the death penalty in the United States. Imprisoned by the Past: Warren McCleskey and the American Death Penalty examines the long history of the American death penalty and its connection to the case of Warren McCleskey, revealing how that case marked a turning point for the history of the death penalty. In this book, Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier explores one of the most important Supreme Court cases in history, a case that raised important questions about race and punishment, and ultimately changed the way we understand the death penalty today. McCleskey's case resulted in one of the most important Supreme Court decisions in U.S. history, where the Court confronted evidence of racial discrimination in the administration of capital punishment. The case currently marks the last time that the Supreme Court had a realistic chance of completely striking down capital punishment. As such, the case also marked a turning point in the death penalty debate in the country. Going back nearly four centuries, this book connects McCleskey's life and crime to the issues that have haunted the American death penalty debate since the first executions by early settlers through the modern twenty-first century death penalty. Imprisoned by the Past ties together three unique American stories. First, the book considers the changing American death penalty across centuries where drastic changes have occurred in the last fifty years. Second, the book discusses the role that race played in that history. And third, the book tells the story of Warren McCleskey and how his life and legal case brought together the other two narratives.

Summation. Volume IV, Trying Cases to Win. Description (3900 characters maximum): Originally published: New York: Aspen Publishers, 1995. Reprinted 2013 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. xviii, 448 pp. The trial process is the sum of its parts-opening argument, direct and cross examination, and summation. In Trying Cases to Win, nationally known trial lawyer Herbert J. Stern provides an overall blueprint for conduct in the courtroom as he guides the reader through each of these segments. Rather than a collection of anecdotal war stories from various trials, Stern outlines the nuts and bolts of the right-and wrong-approach, processes and strategies for every component needed for trial success. Each volume is also available separately.
In this volume, Summation, Stern describes how to prepare and deliver a successful summation that will provide the jury with the final points of the argument.
Contents:
1. Two Modern Views of Summation;
2. The Purpose of Summation;
3. Preparing and Delivering a Summation;
4. Edward Bennett Williams Closes;
5. Judicial Instructions;
6. Ending the Summation;
7. Organizing the Argument;
8. Applications of the Principles to a Case: Colonial, Part I;
9. Do Not Equivocate;
10. Applications of the Principles to a Case: Colonial, Part II;
11. Do Not Answer Attacks-Attack;
12. Applications of the Principles to a Case: Colonial, Part III;
13. Postscript: Colonial's Final Lesson;
14. Impermissible Arguments;
15. damages;
16. Conclusion;
Index. Author Bio (3900 characters maximum): Herbert J. Stern is a highly regarded trial lawyer and accomplished teacher of trial techniques. A partner and founding member in the New Jersey law firm of Stern & Kilcullen, Stern is a former Federal Judge, having served as United States district judge for the District of New Jersey from 1974 to 1987. He established his reputation as an advocate while serving as a trial attorney with the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice from 1965 to 1969 and as United States attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1970 to 1974 when he won a national reputation for unprecedented convictions of numerous public officials. He was founder and Co-Director of the Advocacy Institute at the University of Virginia School of Law from 1980 to the present. He was Special Counsel for Hon. Lawrence Walsh, Independent Counsel, Iran-Contra Prosecution, 1988. Judge Stern was the subject of the book, Tiger in the Court (Chicago: Playboy Press, 1973). He is the author of Judgment in Berlin (New York: Universe Books, 1984) which was made into a major motion picture with Sean Penn, and Martin Sheen playing Judge Stern; and, most recently, Diary of a DA: The True Story of the Prosecutor Who Took On the Mob, Fought Corruption, and Won (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2012). Review 1 (3900 characters maximum): ... a crowning achievement in a career devoted to helping all lawyers, from beginners to veterans, become more knowledgeable in the art of advocacy. Source: -- Arthur J. Greenbaum, Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, PC, New York, NY

The Supreme Court has final authority in determining what the Constitution means. The Court's findings have not, however, always been final. Lively focuses on several landmark dissenting opinions--resisted initially--later redefining the meaning of the Constitution. Each opinion arises from a rich historical context and involves constitutional issues of pointed significance. Vivid descriptions of some of the colorful personalities behind the opinions add appeal. Lively conveys the evolutionary and dynamic nature of the law demonstrating the relationship between present and past understanding of the Constitution. He describes the competitive nature of constitutional development and identifies the relevance of factors including subjective preference, values, vying theories, and ideologies.

The role of the Court, is addressed as are the federal government's relationship to the states and their citizens; slavery; property rights; substantive due process; freedom of speech; and the right to be left alone. This is a clearly presented and highly instructive consideration of how the Constitution's interpretation has been fashioned over time with important insights relevant to today's Court and contemporary cases.

This monograph addresses a contested but under-discussed question in the field of criminal sentencing: should an offender's remorse affect the sentence he or she receives? Answering this question involves tackling a series of others: is it possible to justify mitigation for remorse within a retributive sentencing framework? Precisely how should remorse enter into the sentencing equation? How should the mitigating weight of remorse interact with other aggravating and mitigating factors? Are there some offence or offender characteristics that preclude remorse-based mitigation? Remorse is recognised as a legitimate mitigating factor in many sentencing regimes around the world, with powerful effects on sentence severity. Although there has been some discussion of whether this practice can be justified within the literature on sentencing and penal theory, this monograph provides the first comprehensive and in-depth study of possible theoretical justifications. Whilst the emphasis here is on theoretical justification, the monograph also offers analysis of how normative conclusions would play out in the broader context of sentencing decisions and the guidance intended to structure them. The conclusions reached have relevance for sentencing systems around the world.

This book presents a scholarly examination of some of the most popular psychiatric disorders, psychological syndromes, trauma disorders, addictions, and emotional injury claims in an attempt to determine if these are merely forms of malingering being used to achieve financial gain through litigation, or as a means of escaping criminal or civil responsibility. The book also examines unreliable and unsubstantiated treatment and assessment methods used by the mental health industry which find their way into the courtroom. There has been a significant amount of research (and anecdotal evidence) recently presented in the scientific literature regarding many of the above-mentioned topics. In addition, there is a seemingly neverending parade of legal cases in the media which are examples of some of the topics of this book (e.g., the Andrea Yates case and others). What distinguishes this edited book from others is (1) it does not shy away from confronting the unusual and even bizarre psychological phenomena which the legal profession must deal with; (2) it provides a solid theoretical review from renown psychologists, psychiatrists, and lawyers; (3) it provides the latest psychological research findings relating to various questionable disorders and methods; (4) it presents real-life experiences from the courtroom; and (5) relevant case law is discussed. This book will be of monumental use to practicing attorneys and law students, practicing psychologists and psychiatrists, and students in mental health and criminal justice. The book will allow for a clear understanding of "syndrome" evidence, its uses and abuses, malingering, phony and bogus "diseases" and "addictions," and how patients, clients, and defendants (as well as psychiatrists, psychologists, and lawyers) abuse the mental health and legal systems in order to escape criminal culpability, attain benefits, or make a case.

Because of its eclectic nature, criminal justice can be a difficult discipline to research. This readable guide should help students through the maze of data. "Choice"

Lutzker and Ferrall skillfully introduce the student, professor, or researcher to the sources in the field and suggest logical ways of approaching them when doing research. "Reference Books Journal"

Are appointment politics and court decisions linked? Do presidents use judicial appointments to shape their policy agendas? C. K. Rowland and Robert Carp provide definitive answers to these questions and, in the process, provide a new paradigm for the study of federal jurisprudence.

As the authors remind us, since the Judiciary Act of 1789, federal trial judges have been politically appointed, a process frequently the object of partisan scorn. Marshall's famous "Marbury v. Madison" case was triggered by the highly politicized appointment of William Marbury. FDR tried to protect his New Deal programs by choosing judges sympathetic to his political philosophy. Nixon and Carter were accused of nominating judges on the basis of ideological "litmus tests." And Reagan attracted relentless criticism to his own district-court appointments.

From Woodrow Wilson to George Bush, Rowland and Carp examine the voting patterns of these presidentially appointed trial judges. Working from attorney interviews and more than 45,000 court rulings from 1933 to 1988-the largest and most current database available-they document the undeniable link between politics and jurisprudence in the federal lower courts.

Rejecting the outmoded and reductionist attitudinal (or behavioral) model for a new one based on cognitive psychology, the authors argue that federal trial judges' decisions do not automatically reflect the policies and ideologies of that judge's presidential appointer. They show, instead, that ideology influences but does not predetermine or control judicial decision-making. They demonstrate further that, while the attitudinal model can help us understand judicial behavior at the appellate and Supreme Court level, it's simply incompatible with fact-finding, the primary duty of trial judges.

In an era of expanding power and influence for federal trial judges, declining faith in our legal system, and increasingly divisive partisan politics the federal judiciary and its appointed judges will remain the focus of intense public scrutiny. This book shows us just how such analysis should be conducted.

Cross-Examination. Volume III, Trying Cases to Win. Description (3900 characters maximum): Originally published: New York: Aspen Publishers, 1993. Reprinted 2013 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. xviii, 450 pp. The trial process is the sum of its parts-opening argument, direct and cross examination, and summation. In Trying Cases to Win, nationally known trial lawyer Herbert J. Stern provides an overall blueprint for conduct in the courtroom as he guides the reader through each of these segments. Rather than a collection of anecdotal war stories from various trials, Stern outlines the nuts and bolts of the right-and wrong-approach, processes and strategies for every component needed for trial success. Each volume is available separately.
In this volume, Cross-Examination, Stern shows how to argue a case through opposition witnesses, convert the information provided on direct examination to the benefit of the cross-examiner's case, and limit the direct testimony so it is not detrimental.
Contents:
1. Introduction;
2. The Methods of Cross-Examination;
3. The Three Techniques of Cross-Examination;
4. Controlling the Witness under Cross-Examination;
5. The First Great Tool of Cross-Examination-Impeaching Material;
6. Applications of the Principles to Cases;
7. United State v. Weber;
8. The Second Great Tool of Cross-Examination-The Rules and Laws of Probability;
9. The Case of Queen Caroline;
10. Cross-Examination Should Not Avoid the Central Issue of the Case;
11. Edward Bennett Williams Cross-Examines;
12. Credibility Attacks;
13. The Order and Organization of Cross-Examination;
14. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Case;
15. Conclusion;
Index. Author Bio (3900 characters maximum): Herbert J. Stern is a highly regarded trial lawyer and accomplished teacher of trial techniques. A partner and founding member in the New Jersey law firm of Stern & Kilcullen, Stern is a former Federal Judge, having served as United States district judge for the District of New Jersey from 1974 to 1987. He established his reputation as an advocate while serving as a trial attorney with the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice from 1965 to 1969 and as United States attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1970 to 1974 when he won a national reputation for unprecedented convictions of numerous public officials. He was founder and Co-Director of the Advocacy Institute at the University of Virginia School of Law from 1980 to the present. He was Special Counsel for Hon. Lawrence Walsh, Independent Counsel, Iran-Contra Prosecution, 1988. Judge Stern was the subject of the book, Tiger in the Court (Chicago: Playboy Press, 1973). He is the author of Judgment in Berlin (New York: Universe Books, 1984) which was made into a major motion picture with Sean Penn, and Martin Sheen playing Judge Stern; and, most recently, Diary of a DA: The True Story of the Prosecutor Who Took On the Mob, Fought Corruption, and Won (New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2012). Review 1 (3900 characters maximum): ... a crowning achievement in a career devoted to helping all lawyers, from beginners to veterans, become more knowledgeable in the art of advocacy. Source: -- Arthur J. Greenbaum, Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, PC, New York, NY

How the Courts Work provides a plain English, straightforward explanation of the American court system. The authors take the reader step by step through both a civil and a criminal trial, revealing what actually happens in a courtroom from the perspective of the lawyers, the parties, and the judge. Along the way, the reader will learn the difference between federal and state courts, and between the work of trial judges and appellate judges such as those on the Supreme Court. The authors explain how judges get their jobs, basic constitutional rights that apply in criminal cases, plea bargaining, significant pre-trial procedures, and the difference between criminal and civil law issues. Importantly, this book eliminates much of the mystery of courtroom proceedings. It is an invaluable guide for anyone who has a case, or is thinking about having a case, in our courts. The book provides an overview of the entire litigation process, and so meets an urgent need for law students, paralegals, and new lawyers who have never handled a case from beginning to end. About the Author: Marilyn Englander received her bachelors degree from Harvard University, where she met co-author Curtis Karnow. She went on to complete an interdisciplinary PhD in history, anthropology and religious studies at University of California, Santa Barbara. After 25 years of teaching humanities courses at middle school through university-level, she established her own school, REAL School Marin, in Marin County, California. Her teenage students focus on personal and civic responsibility as well as global citizenship through studying American history, government and conflict resolution. Curtis Karnow is a judge on the SanFrancisco Superior Court. He is the author of FUTURE CODES: ESSAYS IN ADVANCED COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY AND THE LAW (Artech House), contributory co-author of E-BUSINESS AND INSURANCE (CCH) (chapters on Internet security, copyright, trademarks and trade dress, indirect liability on the internet), INTERNATIONAL E-COMMERCE (CCH) (privacy & security), NETWORK SECURITY: THE COMPLETE REFERENCE (McGraw-Hill), and CYBERCRIME: DIGITAL COPS IN A NETWORKED ENVIRONMENT (NYU Press). He is consulting editor on ACTION GUIDE: HANDLING EXPERT WITNESSES IN CALIFORNIA COURTS (CEB); and CALIFORNIA CIVIL DISCOVERY PRACTICE (CEB). Topics of his law review articles range from artificial intelligence to summary judgment and game theory. Judge Karnow is married to the other author of this book, and together they have two children, Benjamin and Jean.

Building the UK's New Supreme Court is a collection of essays by academics and legal practitioners on questions relating to the institutional and procedural design of the UK's proposed new top-level court. They consider the interrelationships between the work of the Law Lords and courts in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Court of Appeal, the European Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights. Other essays examine the scope for lesson-learning from the experiences of top courts outside the UK - the US Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the German and Spanish constitutional courts.

Much research is devoted to the decision-making power and precedent set by the Supreme Court. Less attention, however, is given to the strategic behavior during case selection. This book argues that case selection is done strategically, and by means of various criteria - influencing its constitutional position and importance.

Using New York City as a research model, this study explores the organizational, tactical, and ethical challenges of providing zealous advocacy for every convicted indigent wishing to appeal. David Wasserman, a former staff attorney with New York's Legal Aid Society, examines the unique form of representation that has emerged since the Supreme Court recognized the right to free appellate counsel, and details the conflict between the role of assigned appellate counsel and the demands of an overcrowded and underfunded criminal justice system. As the first study of indigent criminal appellate representation in the United States, this work brings a neglected form of legal service into the mainstream of criminal justice policy analysis.

The book is divided into three parts. Through the use of existing research and commentary, Part I analyzes the impact of the Supreme Court's Douglas v. California decision on the appellate courts and representation and on the organization of defense services. Part II offers an empirical study of criminal appeals in New York City, addressing such issues as the quality and impact of appellate defenders and the division of the indigent caseload. In Part III, Wasserman discusses the implications of this research in relation to the analysis of indigent defense developed in Part I, and considers measures for improving the quality of assigned appellate counsel. The work concludes with an appendix listing suggestions for further reading. This study, which provides the only available information on criminal appellate dispositions in New York City, will be an important resource for courses in law and social science, criminal justice, and appellate or trial practice. It will also be useful to the criminal justice community, particularly to public defender and legal aid groups, and appellate judges and their staffs.

This volume takes a historical approach in analyzing all of the major United States Supreme Court cases relevant to the conflict between a free press and fair trial. Campbell's thorough analysis, which relates 30 primary cases to each other and to nearly 70 associated supporting cases, consists of five parts: (1) legal backgrounds; (2) immediate historical circumstances giving rise to the cases; (3) complete summaries of all court opinions, concurring opinions, and dissenting opinions, often using the Justices' own words; (4) the Court's ruling; and (5) analysis of the significance of the cases.

This book is a contributed volume published by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the occasion of its 60th anniversary. It provides an insight to the 60 years of case-law of the Court of Justice and its role in the progress of European Integration. The book includes contributions from eminent jurists from almost all the EU Member States. All the main areas of European Union are covered in a systematic way. The contributions are regrouped in four chapters dedicated respectively to the role of the Court of Justice and the Judicial Architecture of the European Union, the Constitutional Order of the European Union, the Area of EU Citizens and the European Union in the World. The topics covered remain of interest for several years to come. This unique book, a "must-have" reference work for Judges and Courts of all EU Members States and candidate countries, and academics and legal professionals who are active in the field of EU law, is also valuable for Law Libraries and Law Schools in Europe, the United States of America, Latin America, Asia and Africa and law students who focus their research and studies in EU law.

Is life without parole the perfect compromise to the death penalty? Or is it as ethically fraught as capital punishment? This comprehensive, interdisciplinary anthology treats life without parole as "the new death penalty." Editors Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. and Austin Sarat bring together original work by prominent scholars in an effort to better understand the growth of life without parole and its social, cultural, political, and legal meanings. What justifies the turn to life imprisonment? How should we understand the fact that this penalty is used disproportionately against racial minorities? What are the most promising avenues for limiting, reforming, or eliminating life without parole sentences in the United States? Contributors explore the structure of life without parole sentences and the impact they have on prisoners, where the penalty fits in modern theories of punishment, and prospects for (as well as challenges to) reform.