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.

This is a collection of four short one act plays. Each exposes hard questions in the law. Nunc Pro Tunc compares the pros-- and the many cons-- of life in a law firm in 1961 to that in the present. Outcome Ordained explores the difficult and sometimes impossible issues that arise in a sentencing of a terrible crime, alluding to the perspectives of the victim, parents, the lawyers, the perpetrator, as well as the judge. The Interview, which is the only play partially based on a true story, asks whether the criminal justice system can ever truly deal with evil. Some of imagery in that play is brutal, and is not suitable for a younger audience. The collection ends with a lighter touch. Red Curtains is a conversation between two judges of different generations and very different approaches to the job of being a judge, but perhaps with other things in common.

This is a collection of reminiscences from visitors to the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, California, a Trappist monastery These contributions bring to life that tension between the secular and the holy; between inside and outside the monastic enclosure. These essays are about being in the moment as one walks to the chapel, or has a cup of tea; and about coming to or leaving the monastery, away from the place and desiring to be there. These are simple, straightforward poems, notes and diary extracts. None of the writers is an expert in theology or church history, or any master of the divine. None is a best-selling author. These are just people who have found something strange and wonderful, and write from the heart. They may remind you of something in your own life.

The first section of the book includes judges' answers to questions posed by a host of elementary and middle school visitors to the Superior Court of California, in the County of San Francisco. The questions range from how the courts work, treatment of prisoners, and what it takes to become a lawyer and a judge. The questions are serious, some light hearted, a few of them odd. Some were difficult to answer. The second section of the book collects a series of columns written for the California Council for the Social Studies. These address in a more systematic way the operation of the courts. Teachers will find them useful as they seek to augment their curricula and integrate an understanding about the courts into other course work, such as that in English, Social Studies, and History. The essays are also aimed at adults looking for a solid introduction to the courts, the role of judges and juries, appeals, family and juvenile courts, alternative dispute resolution and constitutional rights, among other topics. The book is designed to help our young and older citizens, our future voters and leaders of the state of California, have a good understanding of the critical role our courts play in the guarantees of a free, open, and democratic society. If we do not understand how our courts work, we will not be able to protect them; and without effective, independent courts, the promises of the Constitution are nothing but faint words on old paper. Every generation must learn anew the genius that is the American system of government, including the crucial role of the third branch of government-the courts-where rights are guaranteed, disputes resolved, and the law is enforced.

At the far reaches of a stellar Empire, Thomas Kempis, a revered player of The Game, is caught up in the schemes of the Imperial Ambassador Jessup. Jessup may be planning a feint, or war, or revenge, or pacification of a sector-wide uprising. Kempis is swept up in Jessup's enigmatic plans, never assured whether he is meant to oppose or fulfill the uncertain will of the Ambassador's Emperor. Keeper Stations is a novel of dreams and desire, love and its absence, the imaginary conspiracies that haunt our lives.

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.