This text is designed to introduce students to both private and public law and to the nature of the judicial system. Anchored in social science concepts, The American Legal System demonstrates the relationships between private law and public law issues, the business legal environment, as well as related subjects of interest.
Part I introduces students to terms and concepts necessary for understanding the legal system, the jurisdiction and authority of courts, the organization of courts in the United States, judicial interpretation and decision-making, and the U.S. constitutional...

Firmly anchored in social science concepts, the second edition of The American Legal System demonstrates the relationships among private law, the business legal environment, and public law issues, as well as related subjects of interest. This fifteen-chapter book is divided into three parts. Part I places the legal system in a political perspective centering on the origins of the law, schools of jurisprudence, branches and functions of law, legitimacy of law, how the judiciary functions in the federal system of government, and judicial interpretation and decision making. Part II contrasts...

In an attempt to assess the Supreme Court's role in shaping constitutional law, this book examines the issues of whether judicial review is a usurpation of power and whether it is compatible with democratic theory.