In "The Missouri Supreme Court, " distinguished legal historian Gerald T. Dunne captures the people and personalities, conflicts and controversies of Missouri's rich legal history. Using a lively anecdotal approach to examine the key cases and political disputes, as well as the strong-minded incumbents who have served on the court's bench, he places Missouri's judicial system in the context of the overall political and legal developments in the United States as a whole.

Dunne sets the scene by presenting Missouri before it became a state, tracing the evolution of Indian, Spanish, and...