This book examines the American legal system, including a comprehensive treatment of the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite this treatment, the ‘in’ from the title deserves emphasis, for it extensively examines lower courts, providing separate chapters on state courts, the US District Courts, and the US Courts of Appeals. The book analyzes these courts from a legal/extralegal framework, drawing different conclusions about the relative influence of each based on institutional structures and empirical evidence. The book is also tied together through its attention to the relationship between lower courts and the Supreme Court. Additionally, Election 2000 litigation provides a common substantive topic linking many of the chapters. Finally, it provides extended coverage to the legal process, with separate chapters on civil procedure, evidence, and criminal procedure.
• Comprehensive treatment of American courts • Original research with online replication data and commands • Chapters on judicial process (civil procedure, evidence, and criminal procedure)
Contents
List of illustrations; List of tables; Preface; Part I. Introduction: 1. Judicial policy making; 2. Approaches to judicial decision making; 3. The Supreme Court in American legal history; Part II. Judicial Process: 4. Civil procedure; 5. Evidence; 6. Criminal procedure; Part III. Lower Courts in the American Legal System: 7. State courts; 8. The U.S. district courts; 9. The U.S. courts of appeals; Part IV. The Supreme Court: 10. Staffing the court; 11. Getting into court; 12. Supreme Court decision making; 13. Opinions and assignments; Part V. Impact: 14. The impact of judicial decisions; Case index.; General index.
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