"Marriage on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents" explores the evolution of marriage, a seemingly static institution that, in reality, has been dramatically redefined over time. An illuminating introduction tracing the reasons for ongoing controversies leads to a historical overview of the ways in which marriage has evolved, with a particular emphasis on women, racial minorities, polygamists, and homosexuals.

A review of significant court cases that represent key arguments regarding marriage--legal identity of women, polygamy, interracial marriage, rights of unmarried...

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...

"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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...