Stolleis has provided a clearly written guide to a complex tradition, and his footnotes are virtually a purchase list of basic reading in early modern political and constitutional theory." . The American Historical Review

..". the first intellectual history of the ius publicum ... that] will in all likelihood become the standard work on the subject for decades to come" . The English Historical Review

..". an imposing work ... nothing comparable has been achieved in a long time ... Now a new standard has been set." . Der Staat

This study, by one of Germany's most prominent scholars of legal history, examines a period crucial for the history of constitutionalism in this century after the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in 1806. This was the era of the Congress of Vienna, of the Restoration and the constitutionalist movement, of the Revolution of 1848 and the foundation of the German Empire by Bismarck. All these developments had profound repercussions on the social and constitutional structures of central European society; they invalidated the basic principles of the previous legal system and paved the way for the changes and controversies involved in the formation of a notion of the state and public law in the nineteenth century.

But the history of public law is also marked by continuities, by long-term shits in feudal and criminal law related to the social and political conditions of the period. Integrating intellectual with political history, this book explores the constitutional movements in the literature and scholarship of public law leading to the foundation of the German Confederation, the rise of administrative law with the "German Revolution" of 1848, and the parallels between, and increased separation of, private and public spheres in the epoch of positivism that depoliticized the scholarly investigation of public law and led to the call for the purely legal construction of constitutional law that we have today."

The Purchase of all of Louisiana in 1803 brought the new American nation into contact with the French Creole population of the Lower Mississippi Basin. The Spanish called it Baja Luisiana. While the settlement in and around the city of New Orleans (the capital of the province when it was ruled by Spain) was not large, it had well established governmental and legal institutions. Which system of law would prevail in this volatile corner of the North American continent, a region that was distant and strategically vulnerable to rival European powers -- Spain, France and Great Britain - who still coveted the vast empire that was Louisiana? This was one of the most vexing problems that confronted the Administration of Thomas Jefferson. Reflecting contemporary American opinion, Jefferson did not believe that the United States would be able to incorporate Lower Louisiana into the Union on a basis of equality as a separate and independent state until the very character of its people and the institutional foundation of its culture had been thoroughly transformed. The pivotal issue that came to symbolize this conflict was the struggle between Louisiana civil law and Anglo-American common law. That Louisianians would remain committed to their civil law heritage was by no means certain. But the enactment of the Civil Law Digest by the territorial legislature in 1808 was a major event in the evolution of Louisiana's increasingly complex legal regime. Jefferson's Louisiana shows how this important moment came at a time when political forces and outside events joined together to reinforce local determination to resist total Americanization and to preserve Louisiana's established legal culture. The book reconnects a segment of American legal history to the general history of the period. In addition to official records, it also uses archival sources that demonstrate how the struggle between civil law and common law forces affected people who were either outside of, or but marginally connected to, legal and governmental structures. As stated in the Introduction to this revised edition of Jefferson's Louisiana, "The Civil Law Digest of 1808 was not only a foundational legal document but a constitutive cultural moment in historical time - an effort by the people of Louisiana to preserve language, culture, and historical memory as well as law." George Dargo grew up in Brooklyn, New York. A graduate of Erasmus Hall High School and Columbia College, he completed his Doctorate in the Department of History at Columbia University and, later, earned his law degree at Northeastern University. His previous books include Roots of the Republic, Law in the New Republic, and A History of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He now teaches law at New England Law/Boston. Along with his wife Lois, he lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. "This penetrating book, first published in 1975, has already influenced and shaped the work of a whole generation of historians and scholars. With this new revised edition published by The Lawbook Exchange, its influence will continue and increase. George Dargo's work remains the indispensable point of departure for those who wish to understand the complex and contingent historical forces at play in Louisiana's successful retention of its civilian legal heritage. A valuable feature of this revised edition is a new introductory essay from the author summarizing and evaluating in a most lucid and balanced way the various debates among scholars that have appeared or continued since the original edition. And the timing of this publication seems perfect-given the recent celebration of the Bicentennial of the Digest of 1808, which itself embodied the "clash of legal traditions." Vernon Valentine Palmer Thomas Pickles Professor of Law, Tulane University.

These studies by a group of eminent academics and judges compare the different approaches of the British, European and American courts to the questions of free speech, which lie at the heart of much debate in constitutional law. The authors of these studies adopt opposing views, some favouring the pursuit of a US-inspired approach to protecting free speech, in the belief that the political culture of British society .would be enhanced if our courts were to fashion our common law in accordance with many First Amendment principles. Others, more sceptically, reject this embrace of US legal culture, offering distinctly "Ameri-sceptic" views and arguing for a solution based on common law principles and on the jurisprudence of the European courts.

The U.S. Attorney General is forever caught between competing demands: on one side, his political duties as cabinet appointee and adviser to the president; on the other, his quasi-judicial responsibilities as chief law officer of the nation. In theory the two sets of responsibilities coexist peacefully. In reality they often clash.

"In Conflicting Loyalties," political scientist Nancy Baker provides the first comprehensive analysis of the history and structure of the office of the U.S. Attorney General, an office that legal scholars have described as "schizophrenic." Her study documents how they have differed in their responses, seeing themselves either as advocates of the president or as neutral expounders of the law. Combining historical analysis with legal and political theory, Baker shows how this implicit conflict has evolved from the earliest days of the Republic, when the attorney general was primarily an adviser, to the present day, when he administers the huge bureaucracy of the Department of Justice.

Using both archival materials and personal interviews, Baker analyzes how the seventy-five men who have held the post of attorney general have managed the conflict of loyalties. In particular, she focuses on Robert Kennedy, Edwin Meese, Elliot Richardson, Griffin Bell, Robert Jackson, Edward Levi, A. Mitchell Palmer, and Roger Taney. She also examines how the office has been affected by scandals in various administrations, including the Red scare of 1919-20, Teapot Dome, Watergate, and Iran-Contra. The book concludes with an exploration of arguments for reforming the office.

The above warning, sent to all allegedly incapacitated seniors in the state of Virginia, summarizes the nightmare that can befall senior citizens anywhere in the United States as a result of involuntary conservatorship or guardianship proceedings. Statutes originally designed to help elderly friends and relatives who are unable to look after their own personal or financial needs are now being increasingly abused by calculating heirs to direct the transfer of family assets to themselves-with the courts' blessings. Based on fifty-five cases drawn from courtrooms across America and the author's own bitter experience, The Retirement Nightmare describes what can happen to competent senior citizens when such proceedings are filed against them by relatives or other so-called protectors in the social welfare community.
Dr. Armstrong, who was forced to battle her own siblings in a million-dollar court battle to place her competent mother in an involuntary conservatorship, reveals how these arcane conservatorship and guardianship codes function in our courts today; unfortunately, as the author learned firsthand, the actual application of these codes is determined almost solely by the competence and attitudes of individual judges and investigators. She highlights the key problem areas common to the codes that should be changed and recommends ways that seniors can protect themselves to preserve their personal and financial freedom in their retirement years. She also suggests alternatives to conservatorships and guardianships that exist in every state to help the elderly with various aspects of daily living, such as balancing checkbooks, paying bills, grocery shopping, preparing meals, etc.
This breakthrough book exposes the secretive world of involuntary "protective proceedings" and more importantly gives seniors the tools they need to protect themselves from this predatory litigation.

This book reflects on constitutional balancing from the perspective of fundamental labour rights. It draws on neo-constitutional theories and builds on the assumption that fundamental labour rights, understood as rights aimed at protecting workers during their working life or after retirement, are the normative expression of founding values and can be balanced against equally axiological constitutional principles. The balancing of constitutional labour rights can be conducted by various institutional actors and by applying different techniques. This volume reviews the theoretical debates on judicial balancing and the approaches adopted by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights, to proceed with a closer assessment of Italian and Spanish judicial traditions. In particular, it addresses the main profiles of the case law of the Italian and Spanish Constitutional Courts on labour and social law reforms adopted in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis, where balancing takes place between labour rights and economic principles. The analysis is focused on four main aspects: the fundamental labour rights in the balance; the role of the Courts; the technique applied by the Judges; and the constitutional interests subject to the balancing. It ultimately reveals that the axiological nature of fundamental labour rights is preserved and the economic and financial contingencies confirm their factual character, although they are occasionally recognised a prominent role in the ratio decidendi. The book will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers working in the areas of labour law, social security law, legal theory and constitutional law.

Whether federalism and subnational constitutions contribute to or undermine minority rights has long been a subject of controversy. Within the United States, the general view has been that federalism has been detrimental to minority rights. In contrast, other countries have seen federalism as crucial in safeguarding rights of ethnic and religious minorities. This volume provides the basis for a more nuanced assessment of the contributions of federalism and subnational constitutions to protecting minority rights by studying their impact in a variety of federal systems.

This work explores both mature federal systems (Switzerland, United States) systems in transition (Belgium, Bosnia, Herzegovina), both quasifederal (Italy, Spain) and well-established systems (Germany), both systems with considerable homogeneity of population (Austria) and systems with extraordinary diversity (India). It also analyses the various constitutional arrangements that federal systems have devised for safeguarding minority rights and given them a voice in political deliberations.

"Any lawyer who deals within the Black community needs to read it."
"--New York Amsterdam News"

"Within Harris's reasoned, cogent analysis lurks a legal strategy tethered to the nation's tattered and perennial traditions of white supremacy, which aims to acknowledge it, use it to explain its devastating effects on the black psyche, and provide a legal tool for some degree of amelioration. Ultimately, Black Rage Confronts the Law is more about U. S. power relations than law.
Therefore, it will be damned.
Therefore, it will be praised.
Therefore, it should be read."
"--Mumia Abu-Jamal, Author of Live from Death Row"

On a deeper and more profound level [this book] illustrates the degree to which social and economic hardship and deprivation can justify human misconduct.
"--Library Journal"

Paul Harris made an impact just two years out of law school with his innovative black rage' defense. Harris convinced the jury that, in America, unemployment for a proud and talented black man can cause . . . a kind of temporary insanity. The theory not only gained Harris's client an acquittal, it left the man's integrity intact. "--California Lawyer"

In 1971, Paul Harris pioneered the modern version of the black rage defense when he successfully defended a young black man charged with armed bank robbery. Dubbed one of the most novel criminal defenses in American history by Vanity Fair, the black rage defense is enormously controversial, frequently dismissed as irresponsible, nothing less than a harbinger of anarchy. Consider the firestorm of protest that resulted when the defense for Colin Ferguson, the gunman who murdered numerous passengers on a New York commutertrain, claimed it was considering a black rage defense.

In this thought-provoking book, Harris traces the origins of the black rage defense back through American history, recreating numerous dramatic trials along the way. For example, he recounts in vivid detail how Clarence Darrow, defense attorney in the famous Scopes Monkey trial, first introduced the notion of an environmental hardship defense in 1925 while defending a black family who shot into a drunken white mob that had encircled their home.

Emphasizing that the black rage defense must be enlisted responsibly and selectively, Harris skillfully distinguishes between applying an environmental defense and simply blaming society, in the abstract, for individual crimes. If Ferguson had invoked such a defense, in Harris's words, it would have sent a superficial, wrong-headed, blame-everything-on-racism message. Careful not to succumb to easy generalizations, Harris also addresses the possibilities of a white rage defense and the more recent phenomenon of cultural defenses. He illustrates how a person's environment can, and does, affect his or her life and actions, how even the most rational person can become criminally deranged, when bludgeoned into hopelessness by exploitation, racism, and relentless poverty.

Use this collection of over 60 primary documents to trace the evolution of trial rights from English and colonial beginnings to our contemporary understanding of their meaning. Court cases and other documents bring to life the controversies that have historically surrounded the rights of those who have been accused in the American legal system. Explanatory introductions to documents aid users in understanding the various arguments put forth and the context in which the document was written, while illuminating the significance of each document.

Students will be able to trace how the expansion of trial rights is directly correlated to historical events and social concerns. Documents are arranged chronologically to provide readers with a clear view of the long convoluted history of these rights in our country and to clearly illustrate how trial rights have grown over time to provide more protection for a growing number of individuals. A general introduction to the volume further explores the history of the concept of trial rights to provide a complete reference resource to complicated issues.

Constitutional law in the United States and around the world now operates within an increasingly transnational legal environment of international treaties, customary international law, supranational infrastructures of human rights and trade law, and growing comparative judicial awareness. This new environment is reflected in increasing cross-national references in constitutional court decisions around the world. The constellation of legal orders in which established constitutional regimes operate has changed - there are more bodies generating law, more international legal sources, and more multi-national interactions that bring into view various legal orders. How do these transnational phenomena affect our understanding of the role of constitutions and of courts in deciding constitutional cases? Constitutional Engagement in a Transnational Era explores this question, looking at constitutional court decisions from around the world, and identifying postures of resistance, convergence or engagement with international and foreign law. For the United States, the book argues for cautious engagement by the Supreme Court with transnational sources of law in interpreting the national constitution.
Constitutional Engagement in a Transnational Era offers law school students and professors an authoritative study of comparative constitutional law by one of the most important scholars of domestic and comparative constitutional law. The book defines how international comparative experiences are relevant to constitutional analysis and discusses in detail the multiple possible connections between international law and constitutional law including a comparative overview of constitutional law in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Israel, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

This book examines the far-reaching changes made to the constitution in the United Kingdom in recent decades. It considers the way these reforms have fragmented power, once held centrally through the Crown-in-Parliament, by means of devolution, referendums, and judicial reform. It examines the reshaping of the balance of power between the executive, legislature, and the way that prerogative powers have been curtailed by statute and judicial ruling. It focuses on the Human Rights Act and the creation of the UK Supreme Court, which emboldened the judiciary to limit executive action and even to challenge Parliament, and argues that many of these symbolised an attempt to shift the 'political' constitution to a 'legal' one. Many virtues have been ascribed to these reforms. To the extent that criticism exists, it is often to argue that these reforms do not go far enough. An elected upper chamber, regional English parliaments, further electoral reform, and a codified constitution are common tonics prescribed by commentators from this point of view. This volume adopts a different approach. It provides a critical evaluation of these far-reaching reforms, drawing from the expertise of highly respected academics and experienced political figures from both the left and right. The book is an invaluable source of academic expertise and practical insights for the interested public, students, policymakers, and journalists, who too often are only exposed to the 'further reform' position.

A "competent and effective lawyer," according to the Conference of Chief Justices, must understand "both the federal Constitution and state constitutional law." The Texas Constitution in State and Nation: Comparative State Constitutional Law in the Federal System is designed to provide that understanding. Its melding of edited cases and extensive commentary on comparative constitutionalism creates not only an ideal primary or supplemental text for Texas law school or graduate courses on state constitutional law and government, but also a useful resource for Texas practitioners and judges. This book initially outlines the development of state constitutions in Texas and other states, describes the interrelationship of state and federal constitutionalism, and details federal influences on state constitutional law. It then proceeds to examine state judicial power, unique and dually protected state constitutional individual rights, separation of powers principles under state constitutions, and the roles of the state legislative and executive branches of government. The introductory materials in each chapter and the notes accompanying the edited cases integrate doctrine, practice, and theory, highlighting additional Texas authorities, comparative decisions from other states, and relevant legal theory from judges, practitioners, and scholars. The resulting combination of traditional casebook materials and perceptive commentary is both a valuable reference work and a dynamic teaching tool. Charles W. "Rocky" Rhodes is the Vinson & Elkins Research Professor and Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law in Houston. He has coauthored two other books on constitutional law and authored more than twenty journal articles and book chapters on a variety of constitutional and procedural issues. Before joining academia, he served as a briefing attorney for Justice Raul Gonzalez and a staff attorney for Justice Greg Abbott at the Supreme Court of Texas, practiced in the appellate section of Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP (now Locke Lord LLP), and obtained his board certification in Civil Appellate Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude while on a National Merit Scholarship at Baylor University before enrolling at Baylor Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Baylor Law Review and valedictorian of his graduating law school class. During his career, he has participated as an attorney or an expert consultant in numerous proceedings addressing state constitutional issues.

Miller proposes that we focus our energies on the question of how the Constitution is to function in an era of rapid and fundamental social change. He introduces this provocative collection of essays with the observation that American constitutional theory has arrived at a dead-end, largely because it has been perceived as "constitutional law" rather than a form of political theory. He puts this view into sharp perspective by looking at what are in effect, three constitutions--the political, the economic, and the emergent corporate instrument. He analyzes important issues that confront the Supreme Court, policymakers, and theorists, such as the expansion of government control, the Court as a political mechanism, the power of corporations, politics and the First Amendment, the challenge of nuclear weapons, and questions relating to social justice, including equal protection and the right to employment.

For most of the twentieth century, the American founding has been presented as a struggle between social classes over issues arising primarily within, rather than outside, the United States. But in recent years, new scholarship has instead turned to the international history of the American union to interpret both the causes and the consequences of the US Constitution. In Perfecting the Union, Max M. Edling argues that the Constitution was created to defend US territorial integrity and the national interest from competitors in the western borderlands and on the Atlantic Ocean, and to defuse inter-state tension within the union. By replacing the defunct Articles of Confederation, the Constitution profoundly transformed the structure of the American union by making the national government more effective. But it did not transform the fundamental purpose of the union, which remained a political organization designed to manage inter-state and international relations. And in contrast to what many scholars claim, it was never meant to eclipse the state governments. The Constitution created a national government but did not significantly extend its remit. The result was a dual structure of government, in which the federal government and the states were both essential to the people's welfare. Getting the story about the Constitution straight matters, Edling claims, because it makes possible a broader assessment of the American founding as both a transformative event, aiming at territorial and economic expansion, and as a conservative event, aiming at the preservation of key elements of the colonial socio-political order.

This book analyzes the contributing factors responsible for the emergence of terrorism in the Middle East with specific case studies based on empirical data that anchors the analyses in real life observation and posits unbiased, bipartisan solutions. Terrorists are targeting civilian populations around the world and increasing pressure on civil liberties, public policy and democratic institutions. With the defeat of one terrorist organization several more take its place. This book includes case studies in public administration initiatives from various Middle Eastern countries, and investigates regulation, public information, monetary and financial responsibilities, security, and civic infrastructure as possible solutions to this ever-worsening problem. With terrorism emerging as a major global policy issue this book speaks to global security and public policy and administrative issues in the Middle East, and will be of interest to researchers in terrorism and security in the Middle East, public administration, international relations, political economy, and to government officials, security analysts and investors.