American Law in a Global Context: The Basics

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Oxford University Press, Feb 3, 2005 - Law - 696 pages
American Law in a Global Context is an elegant and erudite introduction to the American legal system from a global perspective. It covers the law and lawyering tools taught in the first year of law school, explaining the underlying concepts and techniques of the common law used in U.S. legal practice. The ideas central to the development and practice of American law, as well as constitutional law, contracts, property, criminal law, and courtroom procedure, are all presented in their historical and intellectual contexts, accessible to the novice but with insight that will inform the expert. Actual cases illuminate each major subject, engaging readers in the legal process and the arguments between real people that make American law an ever-evolving system.
 

Contents

INTRODUCTION
3
Common Law and Civil Law
13
Constitutional Identity
105
The Theory of the Common Law Liberalism and Its Alternatives
315
Criminal Law The Adversary System and Its Alternatives
525
The Right and the Reasonable
591
Appendices
613
INDEX
649
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About the author (2005)

George P. Fletcher is the Cardozo Professor Jurisprudence at Columbia University School of Law. He is the author of many works on the U.S. Constitution and legal theory, and has taught his comparative introduction to American law course to lawyers from universities throughout the world. Steve Sheppard is a law professor at the University of Arkansas. He has written widely on legal history and legal philosophy and recently edited The Selected Writings and Speeches of Sir Edward Coke, a founder of modern common law.

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