Legal Practice

Since America’s founding, the U.S. Supreme Court had issued a vast number of decisions on a staggeringly wide variety of subjects. And hundreds of judges have occupied the bench. Yet as Cass R. Sunstein, the eminent legal scholar and bestselling co-author of Nudge, points out, almost every one of the Justices fits into a very small number of types regardless of ideology: the hero, the soldier, the minimalist, and the mute. Heroes are willing to invoke the Constitution to invalidate state laws, federal legislation, and prior Court decisions. They loudly embrace first principles and are prone to flair, employing dramatic language to fundamentally reshape the law. Soldiers, on the other hand, are skeptical of judicial power, and typically defer to decisions made by the political branches. Minimalists favor small steps and only incremental change. They worry that bold reversals of long-established traditions may be counterproductive, producing a backlash that only leads to another reversal. Mutes would rather say nothing at all about the big constitutional issues, and instead tend to decide cases on narrow grounds or keep controversial cases out of the Court altogether by denying standing. As Sunstein shows, many of the most important constitutional debates are in fact contests between the four Personae. Whether the issue involves slavery, gender equality, same-sex marriage, executive power, surveillance, or freedom of speech, debates have turned on choices made among the four Personae?choices that derive as much from psychology as constitutional theory. Sunstein himself defends a form of minimalism, arguing that it is the best approach in a self-governing society of free people. More broadly, he casts a genuinely novel light on longstanding disputes over the proper way to interpret the constitution, demonstrating that behind virtually every decision and beneath all of the abstract theory lurk the four Personae. By emphasizing the centrality of character types, Sunstein forces us to rethink everything we know about how the Supreme Court works. Author: Cass R Susstein ISBN:9780190222673

A lucid, lively, and definitive one-volume history of the USA’s highest court. Schwartz ranges from the earliest history of court dress to history’s most important cases in this illuminating examination. Author:Bernard Schwartz ISBN:9780195093872

Over the last twenty-five years, there has been a spirited debate in the courts, Congress, and in the academy about how to interpret federal statutes, the laws of Congress. Federal judges spend a considerable amount of time trying to understand Congress’s meaning. Just as Congress produces laws, so courts are called on to interpret them. When the language of the statute is unambiguous, then, the job of the judge is generally straightforward. But when-as often happens-the statute is ambiguous, the interpretative task is not obvious. How a judge interprets statutes – sticking only to the text when the language is ambiguous, or going beyond the text to legislative materials – is of fundamental importance. For the methodology of interpretation can affect the outcome and thus whether the law has been construed consistently with Congress’s meaning. Justice Scalia has fueled the debate, arguing that courts should look to the text of the statute and to virtually nothing else. In Judging Statutes, Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, respectfully disagrees. Drawing upon his interdisciplinary background in law and political science, he argues that our constitutional system charges Congress with enacting laws; so, how Congress makes its purposes known, through text and reliable accompanying materials should be respected. Judge Katzmann contends that there has been scant consideration given to what is critical as courts interpret statutes – an appreciation of how Congress actually functions and signals its meaning, and what Congress expects of those interpreting its laws. Judging Statutes explores how Congress works; how agencies construe legislation; and examines two interpretative approaches, purposivsm and textualism. The author discusses cases in which he was the writing judge and which the Supreme Court reviewed, and concludes with some suggestions to promote understanding between courts and Congress. Author: Roberts A Katzmann ISBN:9780199362134

The best-selling legal skills textbook in the market, Legal Skills is the essential guide for law students, encompassing all the academic and practical skills in one manageable volume. It is an ideal text for students new to law, helping them make the transition from secondary education and giving them the skills they need to succeed from the beginning of their degree, through exams and assessments and into their future career. The first part covers ‘Sources of Law’ and includes information on finding and using legislation, ensuring an understanding of where the law comes from and how to use it. The second part covers ‘Academic Legal Skills’ and provides advice on general study and writing skills. This part also includes a section on referencing and avoiding plagiarism amongst a number of other chapters designed to help students through the different stages of the law degree. The third and final part is dedicated to ‘Practical Legal Skills’; a section designed to help develop transferable skills in areas such as presentations and negotiations that will be highly valued by future employers. The text contains many useful features designed to support a truly practical and self-reflective approach to legal skills including self-test questions, diagrams and practical activities. Students are given the opportunity to take a ‘hands on’ approach to tackling a variety of legal skills from using cases to negotiation. Each skill is firmly set in its wider academic and professional context to encourage an integrated approach to the learning of legal skills. Author:Emily Finch, Stefan Fafinski ISBN:9780198784715