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LexisNexis Practice Guide: Alabama Civil Procedure

Jerome A. Hoffman, Othni J. Lathram, and Anil Mujumdar

The 2024 edition provides Practice Points—quick, essential tips for practitioners—throughout the chapters. The Practice Points help solidify this treatise as a practical, everyday guide for litigators in Alabama. The Guide provides complete and current coverage on the many topics related to Alabama civil procedure.
Free Speech as Civic Structure

Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

Free Speech as Civic Structure: A Comparative Analysis of How Courts and Culture Shape the Freedom of Speech examines and explains the limited relevance of constitutional text to the scope and vibrancy of free speech rights within a particular national legal system. Across jurisdictions, text or its absence will serve merely as a starting point for judicial efforts to protect speech activity. These judicial efforts, involving an ongoing and dynamic process of common law constitutionalism, will set the precise metes and bounds of expressive freedom within a particular polity.

In the United States, the contemporary Supreme Court largely ignores the actual text of the First Amendment in "First Amendment" cases. Moreover, this pattern repeats elsewhere - including Australia, Israel, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Judges in systems with relevant constitutional text (the United States and South Africa), as well as relevant statutory text (the United Kingdom), will often disregard the precise articulation of the right in favor of deploying a dynamic common law approach to protect speech from self-interested politicians who seek to distort the process of democratic deliberation. Judges also take the laboring oar in countries that lack a written free speech guarantee (Australia) or even a formal constitution as such (Israel).

The strength or weakness of free speech protections depends critically on the willingness and ability of judges to police government efforts to censor speech - in conjunction with the salience of speech as a socio-legal value within the body politic. Thus, a legal system featuring independent courts, ideally vested with a power of judicial review, but that lacks a written free speech guarantee will likely feature broader protection of the freedom of expression than a legal system with a written guarantee that lacks independent courts. Across jurisdictions, text or its absence invariably serves as, at best, as a starting point for judicial efforts to protect speech. Judges, engaged in a common law enterprise, matter far more than text and common law constitutionalism constitutes the global rule rather than the exception.
The First Amendment: Cases and Theory

Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr., Lyrissa C. Barnett Lidsky, Caroline M. Corbin, and Timothy Zick

The First Amendment: Cases and Theory, Fourth Edition, uses the case method to elucidate theory and doctrine. In an area rife with multi-factor tests, mastery of First Amendment theory and doctrine requires more than rote memorization of three- and four-part tests; it requires a firm foundation in the underlying theories and purposes that animate the Supreme Court’s decisions. No less important, the casebook also includes Theory Applied Problems at the end of each major section. These Theory Applied Problems provide an easy and convenient means to assess students’ mastery of the relevant theories and precedents. The editors also have included carefully targeted coverage of how other constitutional democracies, such as Canada and Germany, have reached very different conclusions regarding the scope and meaning of expressive freedom. All major contemporary free expression and religious liberty controversies receive coverage, with helpful notes to answer student questions and deepen their understanding of the subject areas. The First Amendment: Cases and Theory is a highly teachable casebook suitable for a standard three-hour survey of the First Amendment, but also for more focused courses on the Speech, Press, Assembly Clauses, and the Religion Clauses.
Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment

John Witte, Joel A. Nichols, and Richard W. Garnett

This accessible and authoritative introduction tells the American story of religious liberty from its colonial beginnings to the latest Supreme Court cases. The authors analyze closely the formation of the First Amendment religion clauses and describe the unique and enduring principles of the American experiment in religious freedom - liberty of conscience, free exercise of religion, religious equality, religious pluralism, separation of church and state, and no establishment of religion. Successive chapters map all of the 240+ Supreme Court cases on religious freedom - covering the free exercise of religion; the roles of government and religion in education; the place of religion in public life; and the interaction of religious organizations and the state. The concluding reflections argue that protecting religious freedom is critical for democratic order and constitutional rule of law, even if it needs judicious balancing with other fundamental rights and state interests.

Clear, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and balanced, this classic volume is an ideal classroom text. This new 5th edition addresses fully the new hot-button issues and cases on religious freedom versus sexual liberty; religious worship in the time of COVID; freedom of conscience and exemption claims; state aid to religion; religious monuments and ceremonies in public life; and the rights and limits of religious groups.
Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment

John Witte, Joel A. Nichols, and Richard W. Garnett

This accessible and authoritative introduction tells the American story of religious liberty from its colonial beginnings to the latest Supreme Court cases. The authors analyze closely the formation of the First Amendment religion clauses and describe the unique and enduring principles of the American experiment in religious freedom - liberty of conscience, free exercise of religion, religious equality, religious pluralism, separation of church and state, and no establishment of religion. Successive chapters map all of the 240+ Supreme Court cases on religious freedom - covering the free exercise of religion; the roles of government and religion in education; the place of religion in public life; and the interaction of religious organizations and the state. The concluding reflections argue that protecting religious freedom is critical for democratic order and constitutional rule of law, even if it needs judicious balancing with other fundamental rights and state interests.

Clear, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and balanced, this classic volume is an ideal classroom text. This new 5th edition addresses fully the new hot-button issues and cases on religious freedom versus sexual liberty; religious worship in the time of COVID; freedom of conscience and exemption claims; state aid to religion; religious monuments and ceremonies in public life; and the rights and limits of religious groups.
Law and Economics: Theory, Cases, and Other Materials

J. Shahar Dillbary and William M. Landes

Law and Economics: Theory, Cases, and Other Materials is a comprehensive introduction to the subject area of law and economics, with stimulating in depth discussion of actual case law by two leading scholars in the field. It provides a clear description of the key points of law and economics across various substantive areas of law, combining the traditional approach to the study of law and economics with new important insights from behavioral economics and competing theories. Importantly, Law and Economics artfully introduces and connects theory to practice to provide a coherent picture rather than a patch-like studying experience. Using detailed case-notes, comments and examples, Law and Economics explains why future lawyers should care about economic analysis of the law and how economics can and should play a role in litigation and conflict resolution. This important new casebook not only makes law and economics accessible to students but also indubitably establishes the importance of law and economics in a globalized world.
The Oxford Handbook of Prosecutors and Prosecution

Russell M. Gold, Ronald F. Wright, and Kay L. Levine

The power of the modern prosecutor arises from several features of the criminal justice landscape: widespread use of law and order political rhetoric and heightened fear of crime among voters; legislatures' embrace of extreme sentencing ranges to respond to such concerns; and the uncertain or limited accountability of prosecutors to the electorate, the bar, or other political and professional constituencies. The convergence of these trends has transformed prosecution into an indispensable field of study.

This volume brings together the work of leading international scholars across criminology, sociology, political science, and law - along with contributions from reform-minded practitioners - to examine a variety of issues in prosecutorial behaviour and the institutional structures that frame their behavior.

The Handbook connects the dots among existing theoretical and empirical research related to prosecutors. Major sections of the volume cover (1) prosecutor performance during distinct phases of a criminal case, (2) the features of the prosecutor's environment, both inside the office and external to the office, that influence the choices of individual prosecutors and office leaders, and (3) prosecutorial strategies and priorities when dealing with specialized types of crimes, victims, and defendants. Taken together, the chapters in this volume identify the founding texts, discuss leading theoretical and methodological approaches, explain the scope of unresolved issues, and preview where this field is headed. The volume provides a bottom-up view of an important new scholarly field.
Administrative Law

John M. Rogers, Michael P. Healy, Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr., and Kent Barnett

For instructors who prefer a case-oriented approach, the Fifth Edition of Administrative Law is a case-rich text that focuses on the core issues in administrative law. Lightly-edited cases preserve the feel of reading entire opinions and include facts, content, full analyses, and citations. Keystone cases introduce important themes and topics. Introductory material and questions following the cases focus students’ reading and stimulate class discussion, while helpful notes facilitate keen understanding of legal doctrines, introduce students to academic responses to judicial decisions and agency practices, and identify recent developments in doctrine and academic study. “Theory Applied” sections at the conclusion of major parts offer teachers an opportunity to evaluate students’ grasp of the materials in new factual and legal contexts. This flexible, easily teachable text is designed for a 3-unit course, and its self-contained parts can be taught in any order.
Beyond the Algorithm Qualitative Insights for Gig Work Regulation

Deepa Das Acevedo

In Beyond the Algorithm: Qualitative Insights for Gig Work Regulation, Deepa Das Acevedo and a collection of scholars and experts show why government actors must go beyond mass surveys and data-scrubbing in order to truly understand the realities of gig work. The contributors draw on qualitative empirical research to reveal the narratives and real-life experiences that define gig work, and they connect these insights to policy debates being fought out in courts, town halls, and even in Congress itself. The book also bridges academic and non-academic worlds by drawing on the experiences of drivers, journalists, and workers' advocates who were among the first people to study gig work from the bottom up. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in gig work, the legal infrastructure surrounding it, and how that infrastructure can and must be improved.
Weapon of Choice: Fighting Gun Violence While Respecting Gun Rights

Fredrick E. Vars and Ian Ayres

Efforts to reduce gun violence in the United States face formidable political and constitutional barriers. Legislation that would ban or broadly restrict firearms runs afoul of the Supreme Court’s current interpretation of the Second Amendment. And gun rights advocates have joined a politically savvy firearms industry in a powerful coalition that stymies reform.

Ian Ayres and Fredrick Vars suggest a new way forward. We can decrease the number of gun deaths, they argue, by empowering individual citizens to choose common-sense gun reforms for themselves. Rather than ask politicians to impose one-size-fits-all rules, we can harness a libertarian approach—one that respects and expands individual freedom and personal choice—to combat the scourge of gun violence.

Ayres and Vars identify ten policies that can be immediately adopted at the state level to reduce the number of gun-related deaths without affecting the rights of gun owners. For example, Donna’s Law, a voluntary program whereby individuals can choose to restrict their ability to purchase or possess firearms, can significantly decrease suicide rates. Amending red flag statutes, which allow judges to restrict access to guns when an individual has shown evidence of dangerousness, can give police flexible and effective tools to keep people safe. Encouraging the use of unlawful possession petitions can help communities remove guns from more than a million Americans who are legally disqualified from owning them. By embracing these and other new forms of decentralized gun control, the United States can move past partisan gridlock and save lives now.
Failed revolutions: social reform and the limits of legal imagination

Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic

Forty years after school integration became the law of the land, African-American poverty, isolation, and despair are as deep as ever. Thirty years after the environmental revolution of the 1960s, our environment continues to deteriorate. Why have these and so many other hopeful revolutions failed? Focusing on the crucial discipline of the law.
The Disappearing First Amendment

Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

The standard account of the First Amendment presupposes that the Supreme Court has consistently expanded the scope of free speech rights over time. This account holds true in some areas, but not in others. In this illuminating work, Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr acknowledges that the contemporary Supreme Court rigorously enforces the rules against content and viewpoint discrimination for those who possess the wherewithal to speak but when citizens need the government's assistance to speak - for example, access to public property for protest - free speech rights have declined. Instead of using open-ended balancing tests, the Roberts and Rehnquist Courts have opted for bright line, categorical rules that minimize judicial discretion. Opportunities for democratic engagement could be enhanced, however, if the federal courts returned to the Warren Court's balancing approach and vested federal judges with discretionary authority to require government to assist would-be speakers. This book should be read by anyone concerned with free speech and its place in democratic self-government.
Must we defend Nazis? Why the First Amendment Should Not Protect Hate Speech and White Supremacy

Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic

Swirling in the midst of the resurgence of neo-Nazi demonstrations, hate speech, and acts of domestic terrorism are uncomfortable questions about the limits of free speech. The United States stands apart from many other countries in that citizens have the power to say virtually anything without legal repercussions. But, in the case of white supremacy, does the First Amendment demand that we defend Nazis? In Must We Defend Nazis?, legal experts Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic argue that it should not. Updated to consider the white supremacy demonstrations and counter-protests in Charlottesville and debates about hate speech on campus and on the internet, the book offers a concise argument against total, unchecked freedom of speech. Delgado and Stefancic instead call for a system of free speech that takes into account the harms that hate speech can inflict upon disempowered, marginalized people. They examine the prevailing arguments against regulating speech, and show that they all have answers. They also show how limiting free speech would work in a legal framework and offer suggestions for activist lawyers and judges interested in approaching the hate speech controversy intelligently. As citizens are confronting free speech in contention with equal dignity, access, and respect, Must We Defend Nazis? puts aside clichés that clutter First Amendment thinking, and presents a nuanced position that recognizes the needs of our increasingly diverse society.
Patent law essentials: a concise guide

Alan L. Durham

This essential desk reference for patent attorneys, engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators, development professionals, and students has been updated with the latest court cases and legislation. In a world in which businesses thrive on innovation, it is more important than ever to understand the sometimes arcane rules through which human ingenuity becomes intellectual property. Although many reference works on patent law exist, they are written for specialists. Through clear writing, specific examples, and focus on the fundamentals, Patent Law Essentials: A Concise Guide makes the basic rules of patent law accessible to businesspeople, engineers, students, and others who need to understand the rules of a notoriously complicated game. Patent Law Essentials begins with an overview of patent law and other aspects of intellectual property and then guides the reader through an example of an actual patent―one literally claiming "a better mousetrap." The chapters that follow discuss the types of inventions that can be patented (recently a subject of much dispute), the process of applying for a patent, the requirements of a valid patent, and the procedures for determining if a patent has been infringed upon. The appendix includes several examples of actual U.S. patents, including the mousetrap patent discussed in detail in the early chapters. • Makes patent law accessible to both novice and expert practitioners • Discusses a number of recent landmark Supreme Court decisions, including Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank (2014), discussing when software-implemented business methods are unpatentable as abstract ideas; Commil v. Cisco Systems (2015), on the intent required to induce infringement; and Samsung Electronics v. Apple (2016), addressing the award of the infringer's profits from infringement of a design patent • Contains sample utility and design patents for reference • Walks readers through the many parts of a patent
Thriving in the legal profession: three pillars of success

Pamela Bucy Pierson, Kenneth Minturn, and Adolph Philip Reich

Based on a successful law school course, Thriving in the Legal Profession is designed for use as a course book, as a supplement in ongoing related courses such as legal professions or law office practice, and as a resource for law school auxiliary programs such as Career Services, Student Support, and Financial Aid and Counseling. Law students and lawyers are encouraged to base their careers on “Three Pillars of Success”: 1. Economics―Understanding the changing economics of the legal marketplace and what these changes mean for lawyers: Technology and its impact on the delivery of legal services Being competitive in today’s legal market Advantages and disadvantages of public interest and government employment vis à vis private practice 2. Finance―Mastering the strategies for personal financial success: Financial implications of various career paths Repaying educational loans Savings and retirement 3. Emotional Intelligence―Building the EQ skills needed by every lawyer: Happiness and effectiveness at work Managing Stress Maintaining resilience in the face of hardship
A Cosmopolitan Legal Order: Kant, Constitutional Justice, and the European Convention on Human Rights

Alec Stone Sweet and Clare Ryan

In this book, Alec Stone Sweet and Clare Ryan provide an accessible introduction to Kantian constitutional theory and the law and politics of European rights protection. Part I sets out Kant's blueprint for achieving Perpetual Peace and constitutional justice within and beyond the nation state. Part II applies these ideas to explain the gradual constitutionalization of a Cosmopolitan Legal Order: a transnational legal system in which justiciable rights are held by individuals; where public officials bear the obligation to fulfill the fundamental rights of all who come within the scope of their jurisdiction; and where domestic and transnational judges supervise how officials act. Such an order was instantiated in Europe through the combined effects of Protocol no. 11 (1998) to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the incorporation of the Convention into national law.
Critical race theory: an introduction

Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic

Since the publication of the first edition of Critical Race Theory in 2001, the United States has lived through two economic downturns, an outbreak of terrorism, and the onset of an epidemic of hate directed against immigrants, especially undocumented Latinos and Middle Eastern people. On a more hopeful note, the country elected and re-elected its first black president and has witnessed the impressive advance of gay rights. As a field, critical race theory has taken note of all these developments, and this primer does so as well. It not only covers a range of emerging new topics and events, it also addresses the rise of a fierce wave of criticism from right-wing websites, think tanks, and foundations, some of which insist that America is now colorblind and has little use for racial analysis and study. Critical Race Theory is essential for understanding developments in this burgeoning field, which has spread to other disciplines and countries. The new edition also covers the ways in which other societies and disciplines adapt its teachings and, for readers wanting to advance a progressive race agenda, includes new questions for discussion, aimed at outlining practical steps to achieve this objective.
The First Amendment: cases and theory

Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr., Christina Wells, Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky, and Caroline Mala Corbin

A comprehensive, up-to-date, and accessible text, The First Amendment: Cases and Theory, Third Edition, uses the case method to elucidate theory and doctrine. In an area rife with with multi-factor tests, mastery of First Amendment theory and doctrine requires more than rote memorization of three and four part tests; it requires a firm foundation in the underlying theories and purposes that animate the Supreme Court’s decisions. No less important, the casebook also includes Theory Applied Problems at the end of each major section. These Theory Applied Problems provide an easy and convenient means to assess students’ mastery of the relevant theories and precedents. Because the Supreme Court’s First Amendment jurisprudence has been a work in progress for many decades, the editors present the cases and doctrinal developments in historical context, thereby showcasing the Supreme Court’s evolving tests, standards, and approaches. The editors also have included carefully targeted coverage of how other constitutional democracies, such as Canada and Germany, have reached very different conclusions regarding the scope and meaning of expressive freedom. In an increasingly globalized marketplace of ideas, U.S. students need to have some appreciation of the idiosyncratic nature of U.S. free speech law and the degree to which the U.S.’s highly speech-protective legal metrics have failed to gain widespread acceptance in the larger world. All major contemporary free speech controversies receive coverage. Key Completely revised and updated coverage to 2017 – including coverage of the Supreme Court’s major First Amendment decisions since publication of the Second Edition Completely revised and updated coverage to 2017 – including coverage of the Supreme Court’s major First Amendment decisions since publication of the Second Edition Comprehensive coverage of contemporary major free speech and religious freedom controversies that are likely to generate future landmark Supreme Court precedents in the years to come Suitable for adoption in comprehensive First Amendment survey courses and also for more narrowly focused courses on only the Speech, Press, and Assembly Clauses or the Religion Clauses Includes the participation of Carolina Mala Corbin, a noted expert on the Religion Clauses and government speech, as a new casebook co-author Covers cutting edge free speech controversies such as sexting, revenge porn, racist trademarks, government speech, and student speech rights in the age of the internet Includes up-to-date coverage of the growing conflicts over religious exemptions to public accommodation laws Completely re-organized and updated coverage of the Religion Clauses, including dedicated coverage of RFRA and state mini-RFRAs Places doctrinal developments into a coherent historical narrative that shows the evolving nature of First Amendment doctrine Includes targeted coverage of free speech rules in foreign jurisdictions that have considered, but rejected, the U.S. approach in important areas such as libel, hate speech, national security, and sexually-explicit speech
Administrative Law

John M. Rogers, Michael P. Healy, and Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

For instructors who prefer a case-oriented approach, the fourth edition of Administrative Law is a case-rich text that focuses on the core issues in administrative law. Lightly-edited cases preserve the feel of reading entire opinions and include facts, content, full analyses, and citations. Introductory material and questions following the cases focus students’ reading and stimulate class discussion. Keystone cases introduce important themes and topics, and helpful notes facilitate keen understanding of legal doctrines. ‘Theory Applied’ sections at the conclusion of major parts offer teachers an opportunity to evaluate students’ grasp of the materials in new factual and legal contexts. This flexible, easily teachable text is designed for a 3-unit course, yet its self-contained parts can be taught in any order.
Constitutional Law: Cases, Materials, and Problems

Russell L. Weaver, Steven I. Friedland, Catherine Hancock, Bryan K. Fair, and John C. Knechtle

Constitutional Law: Cases, Materials, and Problems, Fourth Edition uses a thought-provoking problem approach that encourages students to delve deeper into constitutional doctrine and gives them an accessible and interesting way to learn constitutional issues. Problems at the beginning of each chapter are referenced throughout the text for continuity. Principal constitutional law cases are edited as lightly as possible to allow the Supreme Court to speak for itself, and shorter notes accompany the problems.
Iran's nuclear program and international law: from confrontation to accord

Daniel H. Joyner

This book provides an international legal analysis of the most important questions regarding Iran's nuclear program since 2002. Setting these legal questions in their historical and diplomatic context, this book aims to clarify how the relevant sources of international law - including primarily the 1968 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and IAEA treaty law - should be properly applied in the context of the Iran case. It provides an instructional case study of the application of these sources of international law, the lessons which can be applied to inform both the on-going legal and diplomatic dynamics surrounding the Iran nuclear dispute itself, as well as similar future cases. Some questions raised regard the watershed diplomatic accord reached between Iran and Western states in July, 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Program of Action. The answers will be of interests to diplomats and academics, as well as to anyone who is interested in understanding international law's application to this sensitive dispute in international relations.
Privacy revisited: a global perspective on the right to be left alone

Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

Rapid technological change, the advent of Big Data, and the creation of society-wide government surveillance programs have transformed the accessibility of highly personal information; these developments have highlighted the ambiguous treatment of privacy and personal intimacy. National legal systems vouchsafe and define "privacy," and its first cousin "dignity," in different ways that reflect local legal and cultural values. Yet, in an increasingly globalized world, purely local protection of privacy interests may prove insufficient to safeguard effectively fundamental autonomy interests - interests that lie at the core of self-definition, personal autonomy, and freedom. Privacy Revisited articulates the legal meanings of privacy and dignity through the lens of comparative law, and argues that the concept of privacy requires a more systematic approach if it is to be useful in framing and protecting certain fundamental autonomy interests. The book begins by providing relevant, and reasonably detailed, information about both the substantive and procedural protections of privacy/dignity in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and among Council of Europe member states. Second, the book explores the inherent tension between affording significant legal protection to the right of privacy (or human dignity) and securing expressive freedoms, notably including the freedom of speech and of the press. The author then posits that the protection of privacy helps to illuminate some of the underlying social and political values that lead the U.S. to fail to protect privacy as reliably or as comprehensively as other liberal democracies. Finally, the book establishes that although privacy and speech come into conflict with some regularity, it is both useful and necessary to start thinking about the important ways in which both rights are integral to the maintenance of democratic self-government.
Race and races: cases and resources for a diverse America

Juan F. Perea, Richard Delgado, Angela P. Harris, and Jean Stefancic

This casebook presents interdisciplinary, critical perspectives on race and racism and covers the roles of law and history in shaping the meanings of race in the United States. Updates the second edition with new
The business of being a lawyer

Pamela Bucy Pierson

Based on the successful law school course, The Business of Being a Lawyer, this book is designed for use as a course book, as a supplement in ongoing related courses such as legal professions or law office practice, and as a resource for law school auxiliary programs such as Career Services, Student Support, and Financial Aid and Counseling.
States of union: family and change in the American constitutional order

Mark E. Brandon

"In two canonical decisions of the 1920s--Meyer v. Nebraska and Pierce v. Society of Sisters--the Supreme Court announced that family (including certain relations within it) was an institution falling under the Constitution's protective umbrella. Since then, proponents of "family values" have claimed that a timeless form of family--nuclear and biological--is crucial to the constitutional order. Mark Brandon's new book, however, challenges these claims. Brandon addresses debates currently roiling America--the regulation of procreation, the roles of women, the education of children, divorce, sexuality, and the meanings of marriage. He also takes on claims of scholars who attribute modern change in family law to mid-twentieth-century Supreme Court decisions upholding privacy. He shows that the "constitutional" law of family has much deeper roots. Offering glimpses into American households across time, Brandon looks at the legal and constitutional norms that have aimed to govern those households and the lives within them. He argues that, well prior to the 1960s, the nature of families in America had been continually changing--especially during western expansion, but also in the founding era. He further contends that the monogamous nuclear family was codified only at the end of the nineteenth century as a response to Mormon polygamy, communal experiments, and Native American households. Brandon discusses the evolution of familial jurisprudence as applied to disputes over property, inheritance, work, reproduction, the status of women and children, the regulation of sex, and the legal limits to and constitutional significance of marriage. He shows how the Supreme Court's famous decisions in the latter part of the twentieth century were largely responses to societal change, and he cites a wide range of cases that offer fresh insight into the ways the legal system responded to various forms of family life. More than a historical overview, the book also considers the development of same-sex marriage as a political and legal issue in our time. States of Union is a groundbreaking volume that explains how family came to be "in" the Constitution, what it has meant for family to be constitutionally significant, and what the implications of that significance are for the constitutional order and for families"-- "In two canonical decisions in 1920s, the Supreme Court announced that family was an institution possessing a constitutional status and that certain relations within family were constitutionally protected. Since then, "family values" has become a staple of American civic life as the polity roils over issues like the regulation of procreation, the roles of women, the education of children, divorce, domestic economy, sex, sexuality, and the meanings of marriage. Brandon is the first to explain how family came to be "in" the Constitution, what it has meant for family to be constitutionally significant, and what the implications of that significance have been (and continue to be) for the constitutional order and for families"