On Trial – serie

Since the mid-nineteenth century, the U.S. courts have attempted, in a series of landmark cases, to resolve bitter conflicts over an individual’s right to bodily autonomy. In this introductory volume, Lynne Curry draws on close readings of U.S. Supreme Court and other twentieth-century legal decisions, supporting case materials, public health records, and legal and medical theories to trace the ways in which the courts’ rulings have shaped the development of such controversial issues as mandatory vaccination, abortion and the right to die.An extensive collection of important documents is provided, along with a glossary of key people, events, and concepts; a chronology; a table of cases cited; an annotated bibliography; and a comprehensive index.

This introductory volume examines the relationship between same-sex legal issues, public opinion, and legislation since the late 1800s and explores the ways in which the American legal system has advanced--and hindered--the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.An extensive collection of important documents is provided, along with a glossary of key people, events, and concepts; a chronology; a table of cases cited; an annotated bibliography; and a comprehensive index.

An examination of the historical experience of African Americans as a case study of America's legacy of racial violence.In this comprehensive overview of how the law has been used to combat racism, author Christopher Waldrep points out that the U.S. government has often promoted discrimination. A veritable history of civil rights, the story is told primarily through a discussion of key legal cases.Racial Violence on Trial also presents 11 key documents gathered together for the first time, from the Supreme court's opinion in Brown v. Mississippi to a 1941 newspaper account entitled The South Kills Another Negro, to a 1947 New Yorker piece, Opera in Greenville, about a crowd of taxi drivers who killed a black man. Also included are a listing of key people, laws, and concepts; a chronology; a table of cases; and an annotated bibliography.Four narrative chapters examine the history of black–white relations since America was foundedA–Z entries cover important people, laws, events, and concepts and a special documents section includes court decisions, magazine stories, and personal accounts

An in-depth examination of the relationship between gay rights, public opinion, and legislation since the late 1800s.In this comprehensive overview of how the American legal system has approached issues pertaining to sexual orientation and how the law has advanced—or hindered—civil rights, author Lee Walzer reveals that while the United States has the world's most developed lesbian and gay community, it lags other countries on equality for sexual minorities.Gay Rights on Trial focuses on four significant cases that have shaped the development of gay rights, including detailed discussion of majority and dissenting decisions and analysis of their legacy and impact. Also included are a chronology; a section of key people, laws, and concepts; a table of cases; key legal documents such as the Defense of Marriage Act and the Vermont Civil Union Act; and an annotated bibliography.Introductory essay covers issues from the changing notions of morality and the law to the various sides in gay rights disputesContains edited excerpts of key legal documents such as Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), in which the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of state laws prohibiting homosexual conduct

A survey of the changing and charged relationship between pornography and legislation in 20th century America.Groups battling pornography must demonstrate that the products they seek to ban are truly obscene and not legitimately protected by the First Amendment—a requirement that often leads to public debate and controversy. Author Thomas C. Mackey thoroughly examines the problems and issues in public policymaking, legal precedents, and the people behind them.After a brief historical background, Pornography on Trial surveys and analyzes the leading issues and case law on obscenity from l957 to the present. Half the book consists of documents—judicial opinions—from key cases. There are biographical sketches of key people, laws, and concepts from Judge Learned Hand and the Hicklin test to Chief Justice Sir Alexander James Edmund Cockburn's judicial definition of obscenity from l868. The book also includes a chronology, a table of cases, and an annotated bibliography.Four narrative chapters discuss pornography in historical context from the founding of the United StatesIncludes a documents section with court cases, statutes, law reviews, and historical journal articles as well as a chronology of the development of free speech law

A thorough exploration of an individual's right to bodily autonomy versus the state's power to regulate and control the bodies of its citizens.The Human Body on Trial asks the basic question: Who's in charge of your body—you or the authorities? Four narrative chapters examine key constitutional questions addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court over the past century concerning the power of the state to regulate the human body, placing the issues in historical context and examining the contemporary legal and medical knowledge that informed each decision.The book focuses on individual cases, such as Jacobson v. Massachusetts (compulsory vaccination), Buck v. Bell (forced sterilization), and Roe v. Wade (abortion), and discusses such controversial issues as AIDS testing and physician-assisted suicide. A special reference section includes court decisions and other primary documents.Timeline of major events in the evolution of the legal right of individual autonomy from the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868 to the 2002 ruling in State of Oregon and Peter Rasmussen, et al. v. John Ashcroft regarding implementing Oregon's Death with Dignity ActExcerpts from key legal documents from the Roe v. Wade (1973) decision to the lesser known Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942) ruling by the Supreme Court overturning the mandated sterilization for three-time offenders convicted of certain felonies

A survey of Native American tribal law and its place within the framework of the U.S. Constitution from colonial times to today's headlines.Using five major court cases, Native American Sovereignty on Trial examines American Indian tribal governments and how they relate to federal and state governments under the U.S. Constitution. From the foundational U.S. Supreme Court opinions of the 1830s, to the California State Gaming Propositions of 1998 and 2000, the impact and legacy of these court cases are fully explored.The actual text of key treaties, court decisions, and other legal documents pertaining to the five tribal controversies are featured and analyzed. Clearly presented, this in depth review of essential legal issues makes even the most difficult and complex judicial doctrines easy to understand by students and nonlawyers. This concise volume tracing the evolution of Native American sovereignty will supplement coursework in law, political science, U.S. history, and American Indian studies.

Explores and documents the causes and effects of the long history of vote denial on American politics, culture, law, and society.The debate over who can and cannot vote has been "on trial" since the American Revolution. Throughout U.S. history, the franchise has been awarded and denied on the basis of wealth, status, gender, ethnicity, and race. Featuring a unique mix of analysis and documentation, Voting Rights on Trial illuminates the long, slow, and convoluted path by which vote denial and dilution were first addressed, and then defeated, in the courts.Four narrative chapters survey voting rights from colonial times to the 2000 presidential election, focus on key court cases, and examine the current voting climate. The volume includes analysis of voting rights in the new century and their implications for future electoral contests. The coverage concludes with selections of documents from cases discussed, relevant statutes and amendments, and other primary sources.A timeline giving the history of voting rights from 1619, when Virginia planters voted for the first time, to 2000, when the Supreme Court invalidated Florida's recount process, which ultimately determined the outcome of the electionExcerpts of key legal documents including Reynolds v. Sims (one person, one vote) and Bush v. Gore (debate over nationalization of voting rights)

A thought-provoking and engaging guide to the legal, moral, and political issues that arise when the United States goes to war.From the American Revolution to the Bush administration's new type of war on terror, Waging War on Trial views warfare from a legal, social, cultural, and political standpoint. Included are homefront debates during major hostilities, "brushfire" incidents, and how the events of September 11th have shaped our domestic wartime policy.The battle continues today as the President and Congress debate over who begins and ends military operations. Concerns about civil liberties, the draft, and internal security are as relevant today as during the Civil War. Questions arise on how dissenters and minorities are treated and if America can legally control the behavior of our soldiers. It's an intricate interplay between war and America's institutions.A–Z entries on key people such as Oliver Wendell Holmes and Senator Lee Overman, court decisions such as Abrams v. United States and Schenck v. United States, events such as the Gulf War, and issues such as the suspension of the writ of habeas corpusA chronology spanning the history of waging war from 1792, which saw the formation of the Society of Cincinnatus, through 2002, with the United States contemplating war with Iraq

From colonial times to the present, an insightful examination of how courts have determined the extent to which religion is accommodated in American public life.From the internationally renowned Scopes "Monkey Trial" of 1925, which pitted a public school teacher arrested for teaching evolution against the state of Tennessee, Religion on Trial chronicles key court cases that have shaped the tumultuous relationship between church and state throughout U.S. history.This volume chronicles such groundbreaking cases as the 1991 decision ordering blood transfusions for children of Christian Scientists in Norwood Hospital v. Munoz and the infamous case, Engel v. Vitale, that banned prayer in schools and ignited calls for Chief Justice Earl Warren's impeachment. The work addresses such inflammatory contemporary disputes as prayer in schools, allegiance to the flag, and the display of religious symbols on public property, and the impact they have had on American society.A–Z entries cover people, laws, events, and concepts that have shaped the legal debate over religion in the United StatesA chronology begins in colonial times and extends through the present, with a special focus on important court cases of the 20th century

A provocative presentation of medicolegal controversies within the American court system from the late 19th through the late 20th century.Medicine on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents chronicles the changing role of medicine in the American courtroom during the last 150 years. Integrating legal, historical, and medical perspectives, this comprehensive compilation tackles such public controversies as the "right to die" in the case of Karen Ann Quinlan, Dr. Jack Kevorkian and assisted suicide laws, reproductive rights cases such as "Baby M," and issues surrounding mental illness.The book gives special attention to medical personnel as expert witnesses in the courtroom, a challenge which calls into question deeply rooted notions of professionalism and ethics. A series of criminal and bioethics cases highlights the wide range of debates, while a lively discussion presents issues that may become even more controversial in the future, such as DNA testing and artificial reproductive technology.Includes entries on key people such as Thomas Noguchi, laws including the Frye Rule, and key concepts such as informed consentProvides a chronology of the most important events in the history of medicine in the courtroom, including the Baby M and duty-to-disclose cases

An extensive survey of the pros and cons, evolution, and current issues surrounding one of the hottest topics in today's social debates.Death Penalty on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents sifts through the rhetoric, politics, and emotion that characterize one of the most highly discussed, yet least understood issues facing the United States today. Placing the death penalty in a historical perspective with an emphasis on the last 50 years, this case-driven volume explains the legal theory that has perpetuated it and the judicial reasoning, both pro and con, behind such landmark Supreme Court cases as Furman v. Georgia and The United States of America v. Alan Quinones.From the first Massachusetts Bay Colony execution and the inventions of the electric chair and gas chamber to DNA testing of inmates, readers will learn how and why capital punishment continues to be so controversial.Entries on critical events; issues such as race, age, and evidence of innocence; and individuals like Velma Barfield, the first woman executed after the reinstatement of the death penaltyChronology of the most important events in the legal history of capital punishment, including Atkins v. Virginia, a case involving the execution of people with mental disabilities