This book considers how law is always enacted, or performed, in ways that can be analyzed in relation to fiction, theatre, and other dramatic forms. Of necessity, lawyers and judges need to devise techniques to make rules respond situationally. The performance of law supplements, or it extends the reach of, the law-as-written. And, in this respect, the act of lawyering is in many ways an instantiation of acts often associated with, for example, literature and the plastic and performing arts. Combining legal theory and legal practice, this book maintains that the modes of enquiry found in, and applied to, novels, paintings, and plays can help us understand how things like legal arguments and trials work-or don't. As such, and through the examination of a wide range of both historical and fictional legal cases, the book pursues an interdisciplinary analysis of how law is performed; and, moreover, how legal performances can be accomplished ethically. This book will appeal to scholars and students in sociolegal studies, legal theory, and jurisprudence, as well as those teaching and training in legal practice.

Randy Gordon has spent over 40 years in the world of professional boxing, as a broadcaster, ring announcer, New York State's athletic commissioner, editor of The Ring magazine, and host of SiriusXM Radio's At the Fights. No one else has ever seen the sport from so many different angles and from such lofty seats. In Glove Affair: My Lifelong Journey in the World of Professional Boxing, Gordon recounts never-before-heard stories of the boxing industry and offers insights into some of its most famous figures, including Hall-of-Famers Bert Sugar, Alexis Arguello, Bob Arum, and Mike Tyson. With the perspective only an insider can offer, Gordon also reflects on his times with Muhammad Ali-including the champ's mind-dazzling magic tricks and his thoughts on the "Thrilla' in Manila"-and provides a glimpse into the boxing commissioner's office with stories of a wild and fiery hearing and a commission employee's betrayal of the agency. From his days as a wheelchair bound, severely injured boy in 1959 to the most-widely-listened-to boxing talk show host on the radio, Gordon recalls his life story with passion, humor, and love. More than just another book on the Sweet Science, Glove Affair is a journey through the world of boxing through the eyes of a man who has seen it all.

In a popular sense, 'law' connotes the rules of a society, as well as the institutions that make and enforce those rules. Although laws are created and interpreted in legislatures and courtrooms by individuals with very specialized knowledge, the practice and making of law is closely tied to other systems of knowledge. To emphasize this often downplayed connection, Rehumanizing Law examines the law in relation to narrative, a fundamental mode of human expression. Randy D. Gordon illustrates the bridge between narrative and law by considering whether literature can prompt legislation. Using Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Gordon shows that literary works can figure in important regulatory measures. Discussing the rule of law in relation to democracy, he reads Melville's Billy Budd and analyzes the O.J. Simpson and Rodney King cases. This highly original and creative study reconnects the law to its narrative roots by showing how and why stories become laws.