Judicial System

Newly revised, this leading book in the field shows how to prepare for a jury trial and reviews the thought processes of a lawyer before and during each aspect of a trial. Structured to follow the stages of a trial, Trial Techniques continues to deliver practical advice and abundant examples of the courtroom skills needed to present evidence and arguments persuasively. This comprehensive yet concise handbook covers all aspects of the trial process, providing the perfect source for your elective course.

This long-time leading course book is an invaluable source for prospective trial lawyers, presenting:

• a best-selling author renowned for his skills both as a writer and litigator
• a clear, engaging writing style that breaks the trial process down into its critical components for more thorough and efficient comprehension
• excellent examples illustrating strategies for opening statements, jury selection, direct- and cross-examination, exhibits, objections, and more
• an appendix containing the Federal Rules of Evidence for easy reference

The rule of law has vanished in America’s criminal justice system. Prosecutors now decide whom to punish and how severely. Almost no one accused of a crime will ever face a jury. Inconsistent policing, rampant plea bargaining, overcrowded courtrooms, and ever more draconian sentencing have produced a gigantic prison population, with black citizens the primary defendants and victims of crime. In this passionately argued book, the leading criminal law scholar of his generation looks to history for the roots of these problems—and for their solutions.

The Collapse of American Criminal Justice takes us deep into the dramatic history of American crime—bar fights in nineteenth-century Chicago, New Orleans bordellos, Prohibition, and decades of murderous lynching. Digging into these crimes and the strategies that attempted to control them, Stuntz reveals the costs of abandoning local democratic control. The system has become more centralized, with state legislators and federal judges given increasing power. The liberal Warren Supreme Court’s emphasis on procedures, not equity, joined hands with conservative insistence on severe punishment to create a system that is both harsh and ineffective.

What would get us out of this Kafkaesque world? More trials with local juries; laws that accurately define what prosecutors seek to punish; and an equal protection guarantee like the one that died in the 1870s, to make prosecution and punishment less discriminatory. Above all, Stuntz eloquently argues, Americans need to remember again that criminal punishment is a necessary but terrible tool, to use effectively, and sparingly.

(20110918)

Open this book and step into America's court system! With Neubauer and Fradella's best-selling text, you will see for yourself what it is like to be a judge, a prosecutor, a defense attorney, and more. This fascinating and well-researched text gives you a realistic sense of being in the courthouse--you will quickly gain an understanding of what it is like to work in and be a part of the American criminal justice system. This concept of the courthouse "players" makes it easy to understand each person's important role in bringing a case through the court process. Throughout the text, the authors highlight not only the pivotal role of the criminal courts but also the court's importance and impact on society as a whole.

This book is case law on criminal procedure. The book has problems and outlines of every section. It is a very easy book to read and helps with the understanding of civil procedure. Good for first year law students.

This text provides readers with a working knowledge of the major structures and processes that underlie the American judiciary. This text provides complete, objective treatment and is a truly comprehensive introduction to the judicial process.

Written to impress upon students that the law of evidence remains far from "federalized." Many states remain without local counterparts to the Federal Rules of Evidence and, even where such counterparts exist, state law frequently varies substantially from the federal pattern. These considerations, together with the fact that vast areas of evidence are outside the purview of the federal rules, warrant continuing attention to state law.

Prepare and present a winning civil court case!

Written in plain English, Represent Yourself in Court breaks down the trial process into easy-to-understand steps so that you can act as your own lawyer -- safely and efficiently. Find out what to say, how to say it, even where to stand when you address the judge and jury.

Armed with these simple but thorough instructions, you'll be well prepared to achieve good results, without the cost of an attorney. Find out how to:

file court papers

handle depositions and interrogatories

comply with courtroom procedures

pick a jury

prepare your evidence and line up witnesses

present your opening statement and closing argument

cross-examine hostile witnesses

understand and apply rules of evidence

locate, hire and effectively use expert witnesses

make and respond to your opponent's objections

get limited help from an attorney as needed

monitor the work of an attorney if you decide to hire one

Whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant, this book will help you confidently handle a divorce, personal injury case, landlord/tenant dispute, breach of contract, small business dispute or any other civil lawsuit.

The 6th edition is completely updated to include the latest rules and court procedures and more sample documents to help guide you through your case. (20090101)

A distinguished and experienced appellate court judge, Richard A. Posner offers in this new book a unique and, to orthodox legal thinkers, a startling perspective on how judges and justices decide cases. When conventional legal materials enable judges to ascertain the true facts of a case and apply clear pre-existing legal rules to them, Posner argues, they do so straightforwardly; that is the domain of legalist reasoning. However, in non-routine cases, the conventional materials run out and judges are on their own, navigating uncharted seas with equipment consisting of experience, emotions, and often unconscious beliefs. In doing so, they take on a legislative role, though one that is confined by internal and external constraints, such as professional ethics, opinions of respected colleagues, and limitations imposed by other branches of government on freewheeling judicial discretion. Occasional legislators, judges are motivated by political considerations in a broad and sometimes a narrow sense of that term. In that open area, most American judges are legal pragmatists. Legal pragmatism is forward-looking and policy-based. It focuses on the consequences of a decision in both the short and the long term, rather than on its antecedent logic. Legal pragmatism so understood is really just a form of ordinary practical reasoning, rather than some special kind of legal reasoning.

Supreme Court justices are uniquely free from the constraints on ordinary judges and uniquely tempted to engage in legislative forms of adjudication. More than any other court, the Supreme Court is best understood as a political court.

(20080211)

In 1992, three hundred innocent Haitian men, women, and children who had qualified for political asylum in the United States were detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba -- and told they might never be freed. Charismatic democracy activist Yvonne Pascal and her fellow refugees had no contact with the outside world, no lawyers, and no hope . . . until a group of inspired Yale Law School students vowed to free them.

Pitting the students and their untested professor Harold Koh against Kenneth Starr, the Justice Department, the Pentagon, and Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, this real-life legal thriller takes the reader from the halls of Yale and the federal courts of New York to the slums of Port-au-Prince and the windswept hills of Guantánamo Bay and ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court. Written with grace and passion, Storming the Court captures the emotional highs and despairing lows of a legal education like no other -- a high-stakes courtroom campaign against the White House in the name of the greatest of American values: freedom.

This single-volume treatise is largely free of citations to authority, but retains the most notable footnotes. Topics covered include preparing and presenting evidence, cross-examination, and the procedure for admitting and excluding evidence. Discusses privilege against self-incrimination, privilege concerning improperly obtained evidence, scientific evidence, and demonstrative evidence. Reviews authentication, the hearsay rule, burdens of proof, and presumptions. Text also identifies current issues.