In nineteenth-century Brazil the power of the courts rivaled that of the central government, bringing to it during its first half century of independence a stability unique in Latin America. Thomas Flory analyzes the Brazilian lower-court system, where the private interests of society and the public interests of the state intersected.
Justices of the peace--lay judges elected at the parish level--played a special role in the early years of independence, for the post represented the triumph of Brazilian liberalism's commitment to localism and decentralization. However, as Flory shows...
In nineteenth-century Brazil the power of the courts rivaled that of the central government, bringing to it during its first half century of indepe...
